Hatcher Pass - 1

Though this was our third trip to Kodiak to visit Lauren & Josh, we had never visited the Alaska mainland - just the Anchorage airport. Oddly, the same was true for L&J. They had visited around Anchorage when Josh's younger brother was stationed there several years ago but had never ventured north. As they entered their final year of their Kodiak assignment and they had some personal time-off flexibility, we decided it was time to visit the mainland. We all flew to Anchorage on a late Friday afternoon and rented a SUV for our trek north. Donnice and I got to see a little of Anchorage - just a nice, normal-looking town. Our first destination was Talkeetna, essentially the gateway to Denali National Park. Along the way, we took a side trip to Hatcher Pass. Though only 3886 feet above sea level, we started the climb at sea level making it feel like a Rocky Mountain climb/pass! Typical Alaskan views - simply beautiful. We had pretty good weather but it was windy making it a bit chilly. After leaving 105 °F temperatures in Texas, we were not going to complain.

Thanks,

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