Another cold morning made waking up at a decent hour prohibitive. I won't say how long we slept in, but the tent was just so much warmer than outside. We packed up camp to head to Fairbanks, stopping to take a picture in front of the Denali National Park sign on our way out.

pre-season = free

We started our day by packing up our stuff and talking a walk down to the river. This was followed by a phenomenal breakfast at the Roadhouse. The Roadhouse looks like it is two hundred years old, but it was actually built only in 1942. In Alaska-years, however, this is around 200 years old, seeing as how the nearby highway wasn't built until 1971 and Talkeetna didn't even have a paved road until the mid-70s. The breakfast was great... biscuits and gravy (with reindeer sausage) for Justin and a single sourdough hotcake (from a 1902 starter) for Cara. Not a bad way to start a day.

We're staying at the neatest little hostel, House of the Seven Trees, which is run and owned by an older woman: Pat McGee. The hostel consists of an historic cabin in the front (which Pat lives in), with a large added on piece in the back with four bedrooms and a kitchen and family room...then a bunkhouse out back (looks like it might have used to have been a barn or shed or something). Justin and I chose to rent a room, and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Pat is hysterical, her first interest is in having everyone put a pin in the world map showing where they're from.

House of Seven Trees (actually only has six trees and one stump)