If we could have predicted anyone who would come to visit us in Alaska, it would be Justin’s sister and her wife! So it’s no surprise that Jamie & Rachel officially kicked off our summer as our first visitors.
These two are natural adventure travelers and really didn’t need us to “guide” them, as they jam-packed their Alaskan “vacation” with tons of activities and places we haven’t even been to! But we still wanted to wow them with our itinerary for the 4 days they spent with us.
We scooped them up from the train in Talkeetna and after eating at the Denali Brewpub (our fave in Talkeetna), we took them to our cherished campground–Kesugi Ken Campground in Denali State Park. We love campsite #4 because the views can’t be beat! And thanks to Rachel’s Peak Finder app, we could identify the mountains! Denali was in and out of clouds, but it was stellar nonetheless.
On Monday, we continued to soak in the Alaskan Range views with a 7-mile loop hike in the state park along Curry Ridge.
Then we continued north to our area, where the weather was less desirable, but we made the best of it. We hiked nearly every Denali National Park front country trail we could (Savage Creek, Mountain Vista, Horseshoe Lake, Oxbow), and someone tried to take a sled dog home in their backpack.
Even though we love hosting folks, our 300-square-foot cabin makes it a little tight. It’s fortunate that we have our camper van up here, so that was our “guest room.” And our back deck doubles our cabin size in the summer, so we hung out there … when it wasn’t raining or too cold.
I imagine Alaska state is on everyone’s bucket list, so we hope we get to host lots of people over the years! I mean who doesn’t want their own personal guides?! Oh wait, we live in a semi-dry cabin … so the outhouse thing might be a deterrent. But take it from Jamie: “your outhouse and shower far exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect either to be so warm.” And to quote one of the Denali National Park signs: “It is comfortable and permits one to enjoy being close to nature’s own without enduring hardship.” So come on up!
How two have found the perfect place to call home. I’m so happy we were able to see it and spend time together. It was an incredible trip! Alaska has been in my blood since 2003 and now it is in Rachel’s. We will be back!
Ah, so fun! And now I’m jealous! *plots trip to Alaska next summer* 😉
Beautiful photos! Jamie and Rachel raved about their Alaskan vacation. A great combo of perfect hosts and perfect guests.