Denali on the train

At the end of my week off in September, my friend Mae and I took our annual trip to Denali on the Alaska Railroad. I love the ride - four hours of beautiful scenery, eating in the dining car, relaxing in the comfortable seats and reading the Nook. I've decided that I prefer the park in September over May. In May, the leaves aren't fully out yet and it looks too much like winter. In September, the colors are all out - vivid reds, brilliant golds and the dark green of the spruce trees all make a gorgeous palette.

For the first 12 or more years, Mae and I were among the very lucky park visitors who get to see the mountain - Mt. McKinley. Bus drivers in the park say only 25% get to see it, so we felt very fortunate to see this enormous snow-covered peak so often. However, I think the law of averages has finally caught up to us. This year made the third year in a row it's been shrouded in clouds and not visible to us.

This year we only saw two squirrels - no moose, no caribou, no bears, no Dall sheep. But the colors and the scenery were awesome. We did see two moose cows, one with twins and one with one calf; two pairs of swans and a large flock of sandhill cranes flying out as the train made its way back to Fairbanks.

Here are a few of my favorites:



A low-lying fog bank moves in from Savage Canyon below Mt. Margaret's fall colors.





Even the weeds are pretty!



Savage River from the park road.



Healy Canyon & Nenana River from the train.

Two days after we got back I developed bronchitis that hung on for almost three weeks. Am finally feeling much better, able to get some sleep and only coughing a little.

I will be heading to Spokane, Washington, soon to visit my two granddaughters, who live with their dad. I haven't seen them in many years and am really looking forward to seeing them. Then, maybe, I'll stay home for a while and forget packing, trudging through airports and strange beds.

I went to the store early this morning. The sunrise was gorgeous; there was a cute little dog walking his human; Jimmy Buffet was on the CD player and there was no line at the store. Life is good. Happy October everyone.