Playing in the Mud
Our Niece grins from ear to ear after ATV riding
Before we left Denali National Park on Wednesday, we spent the morning playing in the mud. My wife, my daughter, our niece and I had all opted for an optional excursion of ATV riding.
Mommy and daughter on ther ATV
We were picked up by a van at our lodge and driven to another cruise line’s lodge where we boarded a bus to Healy about 10 miles away. Interestingly, one person got on with a walker and my wife and I both wondered if she too was going to be ATV-ing!
Beautiful views of Alaska
After arriving, we had to sign liability release forms and watch a short video about how to properly drive and handle an ATV. We were then fitted with raingear and plastic grocery bags for our feet. It didn’t matter how much “protection” we had though, we were going to get muddy. I was on a double seater ATV with a more powerful engine with my daughter riding on back. She was all giggles with each successive puddle we drove through.
My Niece on her ATV
It had been raining off and on through the night. Not being able to see the mountain was tempered by the fact that all of the stress of packing and unpacking and moving from one room to the next each day melted away on that 90 minute ride! We all had a blast. At one point, we switched off and mom took the double-seater. At the next stop, I asked if my daughter wanted me to switch back and she said no, “Mommy drives faster!”
Mommy and daughter got down and dirty
It turns out that the woman in the walker and several others had taken a covered wagon ride through on some of the same trails we had been riding on. A couple of times we drove past them and you could see the men and some of the women in the wagon looking longingly over at what we were doing. I bet many of them wished they were with us. Having just six of us in total on the ride made for a very nice group and allowed us to maximize our ninety minutes of riding.
The girls are ready for a relaxing train ride
From there it was back to the lodge to change out of our clothes and board the train for Talkeetna. We were so glad though that we had spent the morning playing in the mud!
Good food on the Wilderness Express
Chuck and Laura Flagg own The Flagg Agency in Canton, GA and our number is 770-355- 9569
We are fee-based cruise consultants and our specialty is the selecting,
planning, marketing and administering cruises for groups of all sizes.
We help people find a cruise experience that matches both their wants AND their needs.
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