Saturday, June 26, 2004

The sun hasn't set for two weeks

It's past midnight, Alaska time, and I'm sitting in my room at the Denali Overlook Lodge in Talkeetna. The sun has just dipped behind the mountains, but it won't quite set. I'm now at the point where 24 hours of daylight is normal.

This is what I've been looking at for the past week:

For the record, photos don't do Denali justice. The mountain is massive; it completely dominates the horizon.

All the locals have said we've run into an incredible streak of luck. Some people come to the Alaskan interior for 2 weeks and Denali is clouded over the entire time (the mountain is hidden from view about 80% of the time). And it's been out every single day we've been here.

It's also been hot, around 90 in the interior, where we've been for the last week. The heat prompted a spur-of-the-moment whitewater trip down the glacial Nenana River yesterday, and our guide let us hop in the 36-degree river to cool down.

Well, Vicki, Debz and Sharon just got kicked out of the hot tub for being loud and obnoxious. I guess that means it's time for bed. Even though it's still daylight out...

By the way, this is what I look like after almost 2 weeks of not bothering to shave.

• Posted by Brian at 4:45 AM
• Comments (5)
• Category: Travel