Getting Acquainted with Alaska

Author: Susan
Date of Trip: July 2004

Alaska, the last frontier, proclaimed the literature. My husband and I could hear this vast land calling our names. Primed with visions of glacier topped mountains, grizzly bears, and moose sporting enormous racks, we purchased guide books and ordered city guides. We determined how much territory we could cover in fourteen days and searched online for cozy B & B’s.

On the second night of our journey, we arrived at the Denali Dome Home in Healy, Alaska. A delicious aroma greeted us at the door. Our host was baking chocolate chip cookies and serving them with an assortment of hot and cold drinks in the kitchen. Most of us, who were seated at the bar, had plans to visit Denali or had just returned from a tour. Our hopes were raised as reports of seeing bears, wolves, and moose were voiced. We were shown to an Alaska-sized room with all the necessary amenities. To my delight, our hostess had left a children’s book about the Iditarod and a stuffed husky on our bed. She promised to wake me if their resident moose made an appearance. (He was not as anxious to meet me as I was to meet him.)

The next morning, after a hot cooked to order breakfast, we toured Denali. We had been on the bus for a few short minutes, when I spied a caribou. I was so excited to see my first wild Alaskan resident, I couldn’t remember the name of the creature! We returned, weary, to the Dome Home. I discovered the husky was missing from our bed. When I reported his disappearance, our hostess asked if someone had been left in his place. A whale was waiting for me. She rotates the books and animals each day. Even though we actually saw Denali’s majestic top and many furry natives, my fondest memories are of the Denali Dome Home and the gracious host and hostess.