Thursday -excited in anticipation of the Iditarod start!!!

 Yesterday was a day of shopping and visiting and gawking............

First off was a trip up the mountain to visit with a  nurse named Linda Sandstrom - and buy a wolf ruff from her that was attached to a kasper coat that was handmade by someone - we wanted the ruff for my new red coat so the pink one it was sewn onto was a byproduct = she was wonderful - a really good, joyful and welcoming person who also happened to be a nurse!  we visited her home that was in process of contrstruction up on the mountain about a mile high and just beautiful with the view!!!

We then went further up the mountain to a park and took more pictures of Denali (Mt. McKinley) which was doing a rare appearance (very hard to see because of cloud cover in the winter)  the road was a hairpin switchback and made Randy very nervous - we hiked to the very top of Flat top and it was exquisite!!!!!

Then to the Alaska Zoo - my favorites were the grizzly bears playing and the eagle!!

To lunch at a place that has a contest during the Fur Rondy for shucking oysters!!!  we didn't stay til 5 but it would have been fun to see!!

site of the oyester shucking!!!

same place as above - delicious halibut blackened salad and the biggest bar (the actual wooden bar in a huge rectangle!!) I have ever seen!!!  also 21 tv's!!!!

here you go "Wolverine" fans!!!

red tail hawk

hugest porky we have ever seen!!! 70 pounds!!!  glad they are not that big in Michigan!!!

2 Grizz bears playing

snow leopard

the road down was mighty steep!!!

the yak

Awesome Denali!!!

atop Flattop!!

Randy talking to Linda

the view from her dining table

it's like this all the way up the mountain - looking down on half your neighbors!!

handsome isn't he???