DAY 7 – June 24
Denali National Park to Houston
Light rain continued through the night and much of the morning. We slept in, then had breakfast and packed up the RV. The kids completed their Junior Ranger program by taking a pledge and receiving their badges at the visitor center.
We enjoyed the exhibits at the visitor center, especially the life-size models of the park's animal residents. After some shopping at the book store, we attended a slide show presentation on sled dogs in the winter at the park.
We also stopped by the Murie Science and Learning Center to see the dinosaur exhibit (finding moose tracks along the way). The wolf exhibit turned out to be more interesting – local schoolchildren had cleaned and assembled the skeleton of a wolf that had been caught in a legal trap just outside the park.
Tina wanted to shop in the Nenana Canyon area, but we couldn't find an easy place to park the RV. We drove on to Byers Lake, where we had a late lunch then walked part of the way around the lake to a suspended bridge. Along the way, a ptarmigan charged at Tina, making her scream – which in turn scared the kids. After a moment they recovered and we all laughed about it. We figure she was defending a nest nearby. We encountered the worst mosquitoes of the trip on the upper part of this trail.
We decided not to camp at Byers Lake. Everyone felt like traveling further so we would have more time for activities near Wasilla tomorrow. We stopped for gas at the Talkeetna junction, and ate supper at the restaurant next door to the gas station. Tina questioned their health rating. The food was ok, the servings were generous, and the prices were high.
We saw a moose by the road in Willow.
We considered staying overnight at the state campground at Nancy Lake, but it was more rustic than we wanted. Besides, there was no one staying there other than the host. That seemed like a bad sign.
We ended up staying in Houston at the Riverside RV Park. $36/night seemed high, but they offer free showers. They recommended showering before 9am when they open the laundry, or after the laundry closes at 6pm. Even at 9pm though, Tina experienced cold water with low pressure. The campground was spacious with green lawn and a few trees. The river runs by the very back of the campground.
Next: Day 8, Houston to Palmer
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