Alaska, Day 4: Showers and Civilization, Moose Mug, A Typical B&B Experience

 Day 4 was pack-up-camp-and-leave-Denali, and while that was sad, it was also exciting to have a shower after 4 days and sleep in a bed after 4 nights.  It was also a gray, rainy day (read: FREEZING) in the park, so I was relieved I didn't have to be outside all day.  We headed to the park entrance and did our last hike in Denali:  A quick 5-mile, 1700 ft elevation trail up Mt. Healy, with pretty views but not quite as cool as our trail-less hikes deeper in the park.  It poured rain on us and we discovered the real glories of layering and rain gear.

On the way out, we got close up shots of this bull.  We were right next to him in the car and he hung out for a good 5 minutes.  I bought a mug--covered with moose--for my countless steaming glasses of cocoa on this trip, so I'm glad we got some views up close.  You know, because it is the souvenirs and not the experience that really matter, right?

We headed back to Anchorage, where it was sunny and beautiful.  We also caught a view of another moose (a cow this time) in the heart of the city.

My favorite sign of the entire trip:

When I made reservations for different accommodations for the trip, I had trepidations about our plans to stay in a B&B.  We've never gone the B&B route because I associate it with a certain stereotype:  old, floral decor, hanging out and pretending to be friends with the other visitors, checking in and out with a grandma, lack of privacy, etc.  This comes from my experience running vacation rentals here on Kauai and mostly from pictures.  Aaron and Julie assured me that B&Bs were classy and a great experience.

Enter my B&B Nightmare: creepy baby pictures, no bathroom door, floral decor, no privacy (we were sharing a master suite and loft with Aaron and Julie, so that wasn't a huge surprise), and exactly what I expected.  I was the one that booked it, so no blame game, and just funny!

This picture was like the Mona Lisa.  She could look at you no matter where you stood in the room.

Aaron and Julie think I need to give B&Bs another round before writing them off entirely.  After all, it was pretty sweet having a phone in the bathroom.  There was also an intercom system throughout the house.  Brady pretending to talk into the intercom:  "Ghost Rider, this is Easy Cheese" combined with our worry that Dee could hear everything we said had us in fits of giggles. 

That night, we "got permission" to leave the house from Grandma Dee, and we headed out to dinner at Sack's Cafe.  We had some outstanding seafood chowder and some fresh fish, then came back to the house for Rhubarb Cobbler.  How cute!  (She also took it upon herself to fold our laundry...weird!)  The next morning, Dee made us an unbelievable breakfast.  It was not enough to convince me that B&Bs are my thing, but it was tasty! 

Totals for Day 4: 
Hiked:  5 miles
Wildlife: 2 moose (bull in Denali, cow in Anchorage)