Alaska 2026: Denali, Grizzly Bear Lodge and Hunter’s Cabin
Grizzly “prints” at entrance to Lodge
Thermometer on Hunter’s Cabin Deck:
Arriving at Denali Grizzly Bear Resort, I was hoping the cabin I had reserved didn’t have an old musty smell and was clean enough. We enjoyed the check-in with two young women from Jamaica who love working in Alaska, who were very helpful. They showed us on the map where the Hunter cabin was and how to get there.
When we got there, we were thrilled. It is a sweet cabin, well thought out and well prepared for visitors. As we walked in the door, we were met with an electric fire place all turned on and heating up the cabin.
The cabin has a full kitchen, with a fridge and microwave and coffee maker, a sink and running water and even a few basic cooking supplies. a table and chairs, cupboards, a separate bed room with a separate toilet and shower area and a sweet washing area with plenty of counter space for both of us.
There is another radiator to provide heat if we need it, extra blankets, and hooks to hang our jackets and outerwear. It also has thick dark blackout curtains, a definite must in a state where it doesn’t get dark until very late and starts getting light very early.
View of Nenana River through the trees.
We took a quick trip across the street to figure out where we will meet our Wilderness Tundra Tour tomorrow morning, and picked up some Seafood Clowder at the Denali Village Lodge for our dinner.
Back in our cozy cabin, we ate dinner and got ready for bed. The three hour time difference is breaking our routines; we are exhausted and ready for bed way too early. But this is a vacation! We can sleep when we want! Routines are not dictators! So we are in our nightclothes and AdventureMan is snoozing on and off, now up and running through his bed time routines while I joyfully write up today’s adventures. I can’t wait to show you the photos!
Alaska 2026: Talkeetna and the Drive to Denali
After a couple hours, tired of sitting and driving, we decided we needed movement and took a short side trek (14 miles) to Talkeetna, a colorful little town on the Talkeetna River where trains stop, and tourists come to shop, eat, and check out the scenery. Talkeetna is known for being a staging area for people hiking Mt. Denali, and a great community. They have so many visitors that they bring in people from many countries to run the food wagons, the stores, to prepare meals, and clean and run the businesses and hotels.
At one of the crafts exhibits in Talkeetna, AdventureMan met a man who was selling truly gorgeous knives. This is a limitation to carry-ons – you can’t carry knives on board with you, even in a carry-on. This man and his son work through the winter – about nine months – making knives. In the three-month tourist season in Talkeetna, he sells out everything. He makes enough to get them through the winter, making more knives for the next year.
It was a lot of fun, good crafts vendors, good truck stop food (we had really good salmon burgers) and fun photo shoot opportunities. We got to do lots of walking, and were ready to finish our drive to Denali.
The trees lining the highway slowly gave way to impressive mountains, Chugach mountains on the right, and Denali on the left. Although we had showers early in the day, the day had brightened and the clouds had lifted. They had not lifted enough to see the tip of Denali, but the mountains showed off for us and we were suitably impressed and delighted.
Delicious salmon burgers:
Road Hazards leaving Talkeetna:
The entire day, we kept meeting interesting people from all over, coming to visit Denali. One woman we met at the North face oversight, said “this really is a special place, isn’t it?” and I agreed. There was a grandeur and a silence that reinforded the grandeur. It didn’t make you feel small; it made you feel you were experiencing something immense.
Denali is behind us, shrouded in clouds.
You’ll notice we are all dressed warmly. The temperatures are in the 40’s F. We were never cold; we were just happy it wasn’t raining. Even in the clouds and cold, the mountains were spectacular.
Alaska 2026: Fred Meyer and Leaving Anchorage
I started the day anxious – was this horrid hotel room an omen? Today we were to drive to Denali, what if something went wrong??
We packed, we joked around and we went to breakfast. The breakfast was simple, but well prepared and had choices we like. In addition, we met a man from Houston and his wife, of Indian descent, who was later joined by his daughter and her friend, and we learned they, too, were headed to Denali. We had a great conversation, chatting away, and by the end of breakfast we were feeling much more positive.
As we headed out, I saw a giant stuffed polar bear and AdventureMan wanted to take my picture with it, so we had a lot of fun. We spent a few minutes taking photos for other people who wanted the same photo with the bear.
It’s a little dark and drizzly as we start. Across the street is the Puffin In, and if anything, it looks worse than the place we stayed. On the road to leave Anchorage, AdventureMan spots this and it brightens our spirits:
We had decided we wanted to pick up a few things for the road, small things, snacks, bananas for our breakfast cereals, and water. AdventureMan said, “Hey! A Fred Meyer!” and we were elated.
Fred Meyer is a West Coast grocery/department store we love. I was able to grab a coffee – and couldn’t resist a Starbucks Alaska mug for our son. We were in and out in minutes, found everything we needed, and were back on the road. The road was straightforward, only a turn here and there, and we were on our way out of Anchorage to Denali, and the road was smooth with very low traffic.
Corn in Pensacola is under 50 cents a cob
Alaska 2026: My Favorite Photo of the Entire Trip
We ate a quick breakfast the next morning and made some new friends. They were intrigued that we brought our own breakfast cereal, and we explained that we are trying to eat well for our health. As we went back to the lobby to check out, AdventureMan spotted something we had missed the night before, and insisted on taking my picture.
The best picture from the worst place we stayed during our entire trip:
Some things are just meant to be.
Alaska 2026: Have I Made a Big Mistake?
There’s a certain amount of anxiety when you do your own trip – like how bad can it be if you make a bad choice?
For the first time, our grandson picked us up to take us to the airport for this trip. He’s working for his second summer, two jobs, maybe three, so we hired him to pick us up and drop us at the airport. He showed up on time, helped with the bags and was courteous and professional – and a lot of fun. What a great way to start a trip.
We slipped in between the early-departure crowd and the mid-morning departure crowd, and, because we are not going overseas and we are doing only carry-ons, we were able to go straight to the gate.
For the first time ever, we didn’t see a single person we know at the Pensacola Airport. The Pensacola Airport is intimate – lots of people making quick trips here and there, sometimes to Atlanta or Houston and back for work in the same day. We always see people we know! Not this time.
Our plane boarded quickly, even though it was a full flight, it was efficient, departed on time and arrived on time. We had a good layover in Dallas/Fort Worth and wanted some Texas BBQ. We went to a BBQ restaurant in the airport, and it turned out to be nothing special so I won’t even share the name. It was just a disappointing place to eat. Nothing memorable.
On our next flight, something interesting happened. I was just about to nap when I heard a voice say “Go Back! This is a national security issue. Go back!”
That will wake you up in a hurry.
One of the female cabin attendants was standing at the front of the cabin, barring access to the forward lavatory, while the captain and co-pilot took brief comfort breaks. She was formidable and serious. She was protected from the back by a barrier and two other attendants. She later told us it was a procedure in effect since 9-11. I had never experienced it before.
And then we started seeing mountains. Blue sky and snow-topped mountains. Exhilarating.
We landed ahead of schedule in Anchorage, our car, exactly the one we wanted but with new technology we had to figure out, was waiting for us. We were totally fried, so tired, but the rental agency had a task for us – to photograph the car and send them eight photos.
Our hotel was nearby and we got there easily.
I really do my research. This hotel was nothing special, but the Marriott where we stayed the last time was $658 per night, and I was shocked at how expensive Alaska hotel rooms had become. I was shocked again when we reached the hotel I had reserved. It was unkempt, with trash in the parking lot and on the property. I found a surly desk attendant at the check-in desk.
She was dealing with an unhappy guest who found no shampoo, conditioner or body wash supplies in her room, and no hair dryer. As I wait, I am thinking I have made a big mistake. She agreed, or maybe she was put out by the previous guest; she gave us the worst room in the hotel, on the hotel sub-floor, right by the elevator and fitness room, and right across from the swimming pool. From the time we arrived until late in the night, it was full of squealing children, lots of children.
I had asked for a higher room and she told me she had groups coming in who got the higher floors. True, the flight we came in on was full of cruisers, and AdventureMan and I were tired. AdventureMan is philosophical, he figured we could manage the one night. I didn’t want to try to find another hotel; we were really tired. And I still had to connect to the internet and send the car photos to Budget.
The room was tired too, but the bathroom was clean and well supplied. While AdventureMan showered, I got the photos sent, listening to the shrieks and laughter from across the hall where the pool was in full party mode. While I bathed, AdventureMan went sound asleep, and to my great surprise, once I hit the bed, I did too. It was only for one night.
Map of Alaska 2026
AdventureMan first started talking about going back to Alaska in mid-winter. He found a very expensive, exclusive six-people tour. As a frugal Alaskan, I objected. “Let me see what I can do,” I said, “I’ll try to put together something where we can choose our own adventure, but include the places you would like to see.”
This is what we came up with:
The drawback – we did the driving ourselves, but the longest drive was six hours. We won’t do that again, but we had some wonderful breaks and was not a bad day.
There were hazards:
By the grace of God, we managed, amidst this glorious beauty, to stay on the road.
Alaska 2026: Still the Last Frontier
For a welcome shift in pace and point of view, I am about to take you with AdventureMan and me as we escape “the lower 48” and the current murky political situation and escape, as so many have before us, to Alaska, The Last Frontier.
I’m a born Alaskan. I lived there until I was 11. I still know all the words to the State Song, although Alaska was not a state when I was born; it was still a territory, and became a state while I lived there.
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue
Alaska’s flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow’rsnearby;
The gold of the early sourdough’s dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The “Bear,” the “Dipper,” and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
O’er land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska’s flag to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.
Marie Drake
I am still moved by the song.
Education: Florida Ranks LAST in United States
My husband and I volunteer at a public elementary school. The teachers and administrators are heroes, battling a cynical Republican administration that increasingly limits public spending on education and local initiatives. This is a heartbreaking but accurate indictment. I ask myself why an administration would NOT want an educated population?
Florida schools rank last in new national report
ALAIJAH CROSS, TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT
Tue, June 23, 2026 at 4:06 AM CDT
Among other national education research institutions, the Network for Public Education ranked Florida last for its lack of commitment and support for public schools.
The network, a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes and researches policies supporting traditional public schools, has evaluated and held states accountable for how public education is managed and upheld.
With scores up to 100, each state was evaluated based on privatization, school finance, and student and teacher supports.
“The grades in this report are not merely academic assessments influenced by demographics or changing test standards. They are a measure of how seriously each statehouse takes its obligation to the children who attend public schools within its borders,” says the report, released through a press release.
Florida earned an F, with 14 out of 100 possible points earned.
“The states most aggressively redirecting public funds toward private alternatives were also the states most neglectful of their public schools, their teachers, and their students. Privatization and disinvestment, it turns out, go hand in hand,” the report adds.
Florida has steered billions in taxpayer funding to private school programs with limited oversight, a policy critics say disenfranchises public schools and the communities they serve.
Proponents contend that private school programs increase educational choice and competition, potentially improving outcomes for students and families seeking alternatives to traditional public schools.
A lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association against the State Board of Education argues that traditional public schools must comply with a growing set of laws governing safety, staffing, student services, facilities and finances, while charter and private schools receiving public funds operate under significantly fewer requirements.
FEA President Andrew Spar said the last straw which prompted legal action was the 2026 legislative session.
“We saw bills that were going to address the massive teacher and staff shortage, address the pay and equity gaps that exist, address the funding inequities we have between public schools, charter schools and private schools; and lawmakers didn’t act on any of those,” Spar previously told the Tallahassee Democrat in May at a press conference.
Including Florida, 17 states received F grades, 13 states received B grades and 13 additional states earned a C grade. Seven states were scored a D and only two states earned an A, Nebraska and Vermont.
The report says: “States that most aggressively expand vouchers and charter schools are the same states that underfund their public schools, underpay their teachers, and provide the weakest protections for students. Our analysis found what statisticians consider a moderate/strong relationship with a probability of occurring well beyond chance between the expansion of irresponsible ‘choice policies.’ ”
Florida lawmakers reached an agreement May 29 on a $115 billion state budget, boasting a total of $21 billion in funding for education at a time when critics are calling out the state for chronically underfunding public schools.
For example the base student allocation, which is also considered “per student” funding, increased by $85, from roughly $8,900 to about $9,000.
After rising expenses, however, some say it isn’t an increase at all. With rising health insurance, supply costs and labor, advocates say the increase should be at least $1,000 per student.
Spar said the budget “ignores the needs of hurting communities.”
Florida has now ranked at the bottom of several national research reports on education, including the National Education Association’s listing on teacher pay, and the Education Scorecard’s state-by-state analysis on academic achievement.
“It’s no surprise that a failing woke institution would rank Florida, a national leader in education, last whenever possible,” a state education department spokesperson previously told the Tallahassee Democrat in response to its low ranking on the Education Scorecard in May.
“Who Would Do Such a Thing?”
From Heather Cox Richardson’s post on June 20, 2026:
Until his second term in office, Trump has always been protected from the fallout from his own actions, and it appears he has become accustomed to simply describing his fantasy world and expecting that others will agree they see it. If his “fix” for the reflecting pool failed, someone else must be responsible, and they must pay for it. . . .
Minnesota governor Tim Walz commented: “Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.”
Here’s what I love. Trump gave a no-bid, inflated contract to one of his Mar-a-Lago buddies to do this job. Guess it’s name: GREENWATER SERVICES. He got what he paid for.
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