I decided to take my first vacation day of the year (not counting the days I used for leave) since Tuesday was forecast to be a gorgeous day and my dad is threatening to not come back until next summer. And while I had to fast that morning to do a physical for insurance - I had great plans of making up for that later in the day at the Roadhouse!
Thomas did pretty good at lunch, though we did have to do some toddler/baby swapping at one point because he wanted to go look at something on the wall *right* *that* *second* - toddlers aren't known for patience... But the staff at the Roadhouse is so awesome, they brought him a choo-choo book to read while we waited for our food.
I can't remember who it was, but someone told me next time I was in Talkeetna to keep walking down the main road until I reached the river because Denali is so close and it is a great view if it is a clear day. Yeah - no kidding! What a beautiful day to take off!
Grandpa was showing Thomas how to skip rocks. Thomas loves rocks, so he was all about any activity involving them! And I think he is pointing at the awesome mountain across the river. :)
Tried to get a photo of me and the boys with Denali. Nope - this was the best I got. Ha, it's like herding cats sometimes... And he is totally blocking the view of the mountain!
Nonni had the better idea - trap him so he can't get away! And they aren't blocking the mountain. My mom was pretty excited about the view - Denali has a tendency to hide from her every time she visits...!
After a nice lunch and stroll around Talkeetna, we headed back south and then cut across Hatcher Pass. We drove it a short way from Independence Mine the other day, but the washboards were pretty rough, so we turned around. One of Matt's coworkers swore that it was smooth just past where we turned around, so the parents and I risked it. And it was a great drive, smooth for a dirt road and great scenery!
It was a bit muddy though... "/
Getting close to the Mine, we noticed there were several old mine tailings up on the hillside. Pretty easy to spot with the big rock piles - this one still had some framing around the entrance - though admittedly a little hard to see in this photo.
This building had no red last week - I guess they are doing some sprucing up at the mine. Which meant we had to go right instead of left, so I managed to convince my parents to go up the hill we skipped last time.
It was totally worth it, the cool mining equipment was up there! Thomas loved the train (of course!) that was sized appropriately for both mines and toddlers. I didn't see any signs forbidding it, so I let him pretend to be the conductor. A captain and a conductor in one week - busy guy!
How do you know where the train went? "Follow the tracks!"
I know, cheesy joke, but that's what I thought when Thomas was checking out the rails. :)
Nice view of the mine ruins from above. And the sad state of the old tracks coming out of the mine.
Thomas was a little disappointed that this train didn't move. And that it wouldn't go in the "tunnel"! They have just the very front of the mine shaft open and it is soooooo cold right past the opening. Apparently it was a steady 38 degrees in the mine year round. That's not pleasant working conditions. Brrrr!
And I would like to point out that I didn't get as much of the creepy vibe this time with the sun out and shining. Though we weren't below in the building ruins, so maybe that made a difference too?
Whatever the perceived level of creepiness, my parents had a great day and it was well worth burning a day off. So hard to work on a sunny Alaskan summer day anyhow!