June 4th to 7th - Fairbanks, Cantwell, Denali

June 4th - Mon - Fairbanks
We spent time this morning checking out the coupon book online. Unfortunately, we paid full price for a couple of attractions here in Fairbanks but I’m sure it will more than pay for itself.
We picked up the discount book and took advantage of one of the offers by going to the Dredge #8 site. In addition to a dredge tour and gold panning (again!), there were several buildings to explore - warehouses, bath house and living quarters now with informational displays.
We met Max & Eva and Max’s son David at the Salmon Bake which is a buffet. It was a lovely day and we were comfortable sitting under the trees for dinner. The food was good but not exceptional - salmon, halibut, cod and prime rib along with the usual salad bar, beans, etc.
We heard from Clem & Marlene this evening. They had some trouble with their truck and their 5th wheel and are in Whitehorse. We told them that we will carry on to Denali/Cantwell and meet them in Anchorage which will give them some time in Fairbanks.

June 5th - Tues - to Cantwell
Left for Cantwell this morning - 27 miles south of the Denali Park entrance. We are staying in a PA park where Larry & Barb (met in Fairbanks) are staying. The Parks Hwy that we drove today had some rough sections and one slight construction delay. By the time we got set up it was time to join Larry & Barb for happy hour.

June 6th - Wed - Cantwell
Finally pulled out the golf clubs this morning and went to Black Diamond golf course in Healy with Larry & Barb. It is advertised as a “unique” 9 hole course. Should always be warned by that word! The fairways were pretty much mowed pastures and the grass on the greens was an interesting mixture of grasses mowed by an ordinary lawn mower. Halfway through the first hole we all agreed that we were not going to keep score. But the sun came out and we had fun.
We stopped at Denali for shopping and a late lunch. Since we didn’t really want dinner, I made some crème brule and invited Larry & Barb over for dessert.
We heard from Clem & Marlene late this afternoon. They are in Anchorage! There obviously was miscommunication between Clem & I when we spoke on Monday. We paid here for 3 days so now they are waiting for us!

June 7th - Thurs - Cantwell
We all went on a bus tour of Denali park today. We went 63 miles into the park (private vehicles can only go 15 miles) and it took 8 hours! This was the less expensive, less structured tour - take your own lunch and water as there is nothing to purchase on the drive. The driver told us a lot about the park, history, animals, flowers, etc on the ride. There were several scheduled stops and we stopped for any animal sightings which were not as numerous as everyone hoped. We saw 5 or 7 grizzlies (may have seen one sow & cub going in and coming out), 3 cariboo, a nest of nearly grown ravens, many Dall sheep too far away to see legs without binoculars, rabbits, ground squirrels and various birds. The scenery was wonderful and anyone checking out pictures once I can get them posted will probably get tired of mountains!
We spent some time with Larry & Barb going through maps, books and pamphlets trying to figure out where we want to go and what we want to see. We are going to Palmer (37 miles from Anchorage) from here - another PA park. Spoke with Clem again. They are not happy with their RV park in Anchorage so they are going to meet us in Palmer.