ALASKA!

 The last weekend of August was spent in Alaska! John wanted to see more of the Alaskan countryside and wilderness by rail since we've seen the glaciers on a cruise. 

DAY 1: Flew to Anchorage and spent the day on a downtown trolley tour, visited the Anchorage museum, the Alaskan Law Enforcement Museum (found Utah police patches on their wall!), ate amazing halibut at White Spot Cafe for lunch and more amazing fish for dinner at Tent City Taphouse, walked through the Anchorage Mall and walked all around town in the rain. Temperatures were in the 50s.

DAY 2: Took the Alaskan Railroad to Denali. We were Goldstar passengers so we had the domed windows surrounding us and we were served breakfast and lunch in the dining car below. Riding the train was an amazing way to see the vast Alaskan countryside. We arrived in Denali at 4pm and taken to the Denali Bluffs Hotel where we'll spend the next couple of nights. We walked down to the village near our hotel and went to dinner at The Crow's Nest.

DAY 3: Went river rafting down the Nenana River in Category 2, 3 and 4 rapids. The water temperature was 33 degrees, outside temperature was 50 and we wore dry suits so we weren't cold at all when we got wet. That evening we were picked up and taken to the Cabin Nite Dinner Theater with great musical entertainment and all-you-can eat ribs, salmon, potatoes, corn, beans, biscuits, salad and berry cobbler. Both food and entertainment surpassed our expectations and John thought it was one of the highlights of the trip!

DAY 4: Started the day off with a private airplane ride to see Denali (used to be known as Mt. McKinley), the tallest peak in North America. You can't actually see it from Denali National Park or get very close so we were glad we saw every inch of it from above! We also hiked around Denali National Park, visited the sled dog kennels and took the train from Denali to our final destination, Fairbanks. We stayed at Pike's Waterfront Resort and they gave us a free mini pie at check-in!

DAY 5: Got a call from the front desk at 12:15am that the Northern Lights were out!! This has been on our bucket list and we were so grateful the only night we were in Fairbanks and close enough to see them was the only night it was clear! They were beautiful! We went to the Fairbanks airport around lunchtime and flew to Spokane. Good thing we could walk across the street from the airport to the hotel because our plane was extra late and we arrived after midnight.

DAY 6: We had eight hours to spend with Hailey's family so we drove to Post Falls and played with the kids, went to the park in Coeur d'Alene, had lunch, went to the beach at the lake, got ice cream, the kids went down for naps and we went back to the airport to fly home! Loved this trip! And the best thing was Tank was well taken care of with the Nielsen family at home :)