The Weiss Family: Denali was out!

We stopped in Talkeetna on the way to Denali and like an oasis in the desert, we saw an amazing playground to break up the road trip.

The train tracks often followed the road, the train bridges were a hit with Willem.

We ate dinner at the 49th State Brewery our first night which was ideal for families. Willem enjoyed a game of Bean Bag Toss (which I later learned was a drinking game... oops) and Ellie enjoyed playing with the rocks. We ordered fish and chips and mac and cheese. The kids demolished the fish, so Jason and I enjoyed the mac and cheese. Willem literally woke up one night in a nightmare saying he needed more fish. He is all about the Alaskan diet.

The next morning we headed to Denali and what a clear day it was! We stayed just outside of town in Healy and the kids slept so well that we didn't head out until almost 11am.

We drove the 15 miles of park road that is open to vehicles and then did a hike and picnicked at Savage River.

A ranger told us we had the clearest day of the year. We were excited that Denali (aka Mt. McKinley) could be seen.

Our 1st wildlife siting: a caribou. After the reindeer farm, seeing a caribou from this faraway wasn't too exciting for the kids.

Thanks to the wildlife guide from our Discovery Backpack the rangers lent us, we learned this is a Mew Gull. These birds weren't scared of us at all and we saw quite a few of them. Apparently, a relative of the seagull.

As far into Denali as we could go... Aren't our kids excited!

The Savage River where we picnicked.

Sled dogs serve a big role in helping the Park Rangers deliver everything from VIP guests to building material in the winter and in the Summer, they demonstrate their skills for people like us. We were amazed at the role they play in the park and at how fast they were. Willem and Jason petted one of them. Very loving dogs!

Our 1st female moose sighting. Luckily, without calf. They are very dangerous if they are with a calf.

That afternoon we hiked to Horseshoe Lake. The start of the trail followed the train tracks, which was a hit! Maybe one day we'll take the train up here.

Willem walked/ran over a mile down to the lake, we were very proud of him. Marley has been inspiring him to get out of the stroller more and run and he definitely took note.