Day 13: Denali to Anchorage

It's been so interesting to have the long days in Alaska: 20+ hours of daylight everyday. We've used eye masks so that we can go to sleep while it's still light out, but we wake up frequently during the night. This morning we were both awake by 4 am, but stayed in bed until 5. We got dressed for riding and were packed up by 6; after a quick breakfast we started riding at 6:30 am. The day was cloudy but dry. We jumped on the bike trail and headed towards Denali. By 8:45 we'd made it to the gravel road, the place where all cars have to stop and only buses, bikes or vehicles going into campgrounds can continue. Pete had gotten used to captaining the tandem on gravel, so we were able to ride much faster, and I was able to take photos while we rode. We cruised out about 20 miles before we needed to turn around.

Once we were back on pavement, Patty and Bill came along in the van. They had spent the morning hiking. Mom got this picture of Pete and me in action. As you can see it was cloudy, but the temperatures were in the high 60's so it was very pleasant riding. Since we'd been able to ride an extra day today, our total mileage for the trip increased to just over 550 miles.




After showering and driving back to Anchorage, we enjoyed our final meal at a wonderful seafood restaurant called Kincaid Grill. We started with champagne, crabcakes and salads. For dinner Patty had troll caught salmon that was cooked perfectly and served with sweet potatoes, green beans and topped with fried onions. I enjoyed blackened salmon, which was moist and flavorful. Pete had scallops a la Nicoise which had a delicious and not-too-salty sauce that coated the green beans and preserved tomatoes. Bill had halibut that was also very tasty. For dessert we shared a chocolate hazelnut bread pudding that was flavored with frangelico which Pete has promised to try to make at home. It was an exceptional meal and a perfect way to end our fantastic vacation!

This is our last post for our Alaskan adventure. We hope you've enjoyed reading it. Thanks to everyone who posted comments!

All the best,
Pete and Kristina
June 25th, 2010