Lunch was served family style that day at the original mining camp dining hall where Dredge workers once ate their meals.  It consisted of plentiful and delicious Miner's Beef Stew, a tasty blueberry crunch cake for dessert, and iced tea.  Many of us took seconds ... and thirds.  Mmmm.
Our riverboat ride on a classic stern-wheeler carried us, and dozens of other passengers from around the world, up and down the Chena and Tanana Rivers.  It was peaceful, pretty, and prehistoric as we went ashore to visit a reproduction of an Athabascan native village.  We also had many Alaskan sightings from the boat.
For example, we saw float and ski planes that are common in this territory.  We watched them take off and land on very short rugged runways.
We viewed training grounds for huskies that run in the famous Iditarod races and watched them pull four-wheelers for fun and exercise.
We saw a river contraption that was once used to catch tons of salmon as it went round and round itself, scooping in and out of the water.  An Alaska lady demonstrated from shore how to clean and get the salmon ready for smoking.  River waters are gray because of the color of the natural occurring soils.
The next morning, after a tasty light dinner of tomatoes/bruschetta/pesto, we caught a ride from Fairbanks to Denali on the "McKinley Explorer."  It was a peaceful and picturesque 400-mile train ride to Denali National park and Mount McKinley, the highest mountain on the North American continent. 
The slow and silent start led to an exciting and breathtaking conclusion as our train wound through mountain tunnels, narrow mountain ledges, and awesome views of whitewater rafters.  Breakfast in the dining car was an elegant morning affair. 
Views from the train continued to be astound in every dent and detail.  From our panoramic perch we waved to adventurers on the rambunctious rivers below us ... and then caught our own barreling breath as we burrowed into mountainous tunnels ... and emerged from the train around noon to embark on another mode of transportation.
We might have called it "Tripping on the Tundra," for there cannot be more uneven and scalloped earth anywhere else on the planet on which horses can trip or trot. It was Friday, July 25th, at Denali National Park.
Allan likes horses because they remind him of his childhood on the farm and riding out to the pasture to bring in the cows.  Our fellow travelers are not of the same mind.  John doesn't like horses but he gallantly sang Gene Autry and Roy Rogers songs for the entire two hours on horseback ... to himself and others within hearing.  Dick prefers golf.  Lloyd prefers tennis.  And in case you've missed it in the past, our women stand, or ride, behind our men.
After an evening that included danc-ing and family style dining with excellent ribs, salmon, baby potatoes, fresh blue-berry dessert, and live piano and vaude-ville entertainment at the Cabin Night Dinner Theater, we were up early to catch a bus (versus motor coach) into the deep interior of Denali National Park. 
The road was narrow and oftentimes harrowing.  When we met oncoming traffic, one or the other had to give way, find a wider patch in the road, and come to a complete stop to make passing possible without scraping against each other.  I didn't like this part.
Cold mountain air outside the bus and our steamy breaths inside the bus kept the windows constantly fogged over.  We learned to keep the windows open a bit.  Our new bus driver went on and on about all the different kinds and colors of buses that the park uses to move visitors. 
We participated in roadside stops and ate lots of homemade chocolate chip cookies and enjoyed sightings galore of many native Alaskan animals including bear, moose, caribou, and wolves.
We only got one clear and very short view of Mount McKinley on this longest bus ride in the whole wide world ... on roads that were too close to the edges of the mountains ... and where we experi-enced "steep" in some very steep ways.
At our day's destination on this Denali tour, we could pan for more gold, learn more about the Iditarod huskies, or sit by the fire before we headed back to dinner at the McKinley House.
It was ironical, when our tired busload finally landed that evening at the same point at which we had begun 14 hours earlier, to witness the most spectacular close-up window view of wildlife.   'Twas a moose and her calves that we saw in the city within a few inches of the bus!
After one week, our Alaska adventure was only half done.  We had witnessed and experienced great and awesome wonders, and yet the best was yet to come as we prepared to board a luxury cruise liner that would take us from the Alaskan Gulf port of Seward ... to other port cities of Sitko, Juneau, and Ketchican ... and then south to Vancouver.
Stayed tuned for more.  It ain't over till it's over.

P.S.  An array of full color photos and captions is on display in Sue's Album.