Willow Creek

We left the Denali RV Park & Motel on Friday, July 3^rd around 8AM, headed south on the Parks Highway. We arrived at Mary’s McKinley View Lodge around 11AM where we had planned to stop for lunch. We had stopped there four years ago and really enjoyed the grilled halibut sandwich and homemade brownies.

The lodge is located on the original homestead of Mary Carey and is still operated by her family. The glass-walled restaurant has a spectacular view of Mount McKinley. Yes, it was a beautiful, sunny day and we were lucky enough to see Mount McKinley for the first time in several days.

 

I took some photos of the nearby fireweed, with its beautiful magenta color. You can see where the flower petals are only half-way up the stem. When they bloom all the way to the top, the saying goes that it’s the end of summer or there are only 6-weeks until winter in Alaska.

 

We all wanted to stop in Talkeetna on the way and drove the 14-miles from the main road to the small town. It was crowded with July 4^th holiday weekend visitors, with no place to park. We arrived at Willow Creek Resort for two nights and met up with John & Pat, the sister and brother-in-law of some of our Colorado Springs friends Rick & Diana.

 

On Saturday, July 4^th, John took Julie and me on an 8-mile float trip down Willow Creek. It was our first float trip and we really enjoyed it. Julie spotted a bald eagle. We both saw many king salmon swim past as they were spawning further up the creek. We also saw several female hooded merganser ducks, each with 10-12 babies.

John & Pat roasted a pig to celebrate the 4^th and invited us to join them, along with many friends. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them at their summer retreat at Willow Creek Resort.

 

We head out tomorrow for Anchorage where we’ll spend three days sightseeing.

Steve & Julie Cornelius