Our second day in the park, we decided to check out the visitor center and educate ourselves a little. It is very informative and a relaxing morning.
We stopped for a beer, and to make some decisions on the rest of the week. We decided that we wanted to try and take a flying tour of McKinely, and found out that there is a coupon booklet with a 50% discount... basically worth $100's of dollars. So we began asking around and found out that the tour companies give them out as gifts for the patrons. So we sent Mom on a scavenger hunt over to the hotels to see if she could finagle some poor soul into selling us a coupon book for $20. The rest of us headed back into the park, to try and get a little intimate with the park.
We got back on the bus and headed up to Savage Creek and hit the trail up the Savage Alpine Loop. The local ranger informed us that the trail was not complete, and we may need to "bushwhack" a little. When we ascended the mountain we came to a small section of snow where we post holed up to our knees, but finally found the trail again. When we made it to the lookout, we thought we were past the "bushwhacking" section. Only were we to find out that we would be walking through marshy tundra in soaking wet shoes for the next hour until we made it to the eastern side. We began to count every time we sank in the frigid bog, Ala Count Dracula... two soggy feet... ah ah ah.
If the bushwhacking hike taught us anything, is to follow two rules.
#1 - The Captian is always right.
#2 - Rerer to Rule #1.
He was right that we were only about 1/4 of the way, when we thought more like 1/2. And he seemed to know the driest ways through the tundra. Etc, etc.
After the few hours with my fellow bushwhackers, we made it back to the road, and began to wait for the next green bus that would take us back to relaxation and our coupon hound of a mother. The first bus didn't have enough space, so we passed a couple of seats, thinking that another would be by soon. Sure enough a bus came up and had plenty of space... only it was a training bus that couldn't take us back. When the next bus came up, Laura, the Captain, and I all saw the "training" placard in the front window. MacKenzie didn't.... and she didn't hear the driver say training either. She thought he said cleaning, in which she replied, that's ok, we will take whatever we can get.. he almost had to physically stop her from getting on. When the fourth bus came by, after almost 45 minutes of waiting we thought we would lose it.... another training bus. We had so much time to kill, that we began to play totem pole. The bus was a beautiful site, and we cruised back to the RV to find a frantic mother who thought we were eaten by bears. Good thing she didn't call the Bolivian Consulate.
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