Steve has been working around the clock lately, in town and out of town.  He was thankfully able to take the 4th of July off, so we packed up the trailer and headed out to our newly acquired property.  We were looking forward to getting away from Anchorage and all the Pongo-frightening, firework mayhem that comes with the 4th of July.

The day before we headed up, we had our driveway improved: cleared of brush, leveled and a circular drive built around the dry cabin for easy in and out of the trailer.  There’s a lot of dirt right now but that just means more planting fun!

What is so nice about spending time at the property is Pongo gets to romp and roam (within eye-sight).  He loves it and all the ball playing that comes with having more space.

What we weren’t expecting though was the HEAT.  I LOVE the heat but unfortunately, my boys don’t tolerate it very well.

There was a lot of shade seeking…

…and trips to the creek to cool off.

We were lucky enough to have Mt. McKinley out in its majestic glory two out of our three days up at the property.

We had an amazing time, and Pongo and I feel very fortunate to have some Papa time before he gets really busy again!

What Steve and I are slowly realizing is that there aren’t many more weekends available to get out and camp.  Summer is quickly flying by and before we know it, our trailer will need to be Winterized and put back into storage (sigh).  Alaska’s camping season is so darn short, and we are trying our best to make the most out of the time we have to enjoy our trailer and explore the great outdoors.

This past weekend Steve and I went camping in Denali National Park at the Savage River Campground, with some friends of ours and their two girls.  We left Friday evening, after Steve got off of work, for the four and a half hour drive up North.  We hit rush hour.  We hit construction.  We drove through a torrential downpour that had the possibilities of hail but thankfully the storm did not release it’s full fury on us.  We were really pushing it as check-in at Riley Creek Mercantile is no later than 11:00 PM.  We pulled in at 10:30 PM to this beautiful scene.

After we checked-in, we had another 13 miles to drive to reach Savage River Campground.  We found the last two spots available, set-up, got the girls to bed, and poured a much needed drink after the stress of driving.  I am always amazed by the differences in light as you travel through Alaska; the farther North you go, the lighter it stays.  This picture was taken around 1:00 AM (with no flash).

It ended up being a late night for all of us, especially Pongo who had spent all day at daycare while Mama prepared the trailer and food for our trip.  He was overly tired and beyond CRAZY!

The next day we explored down by the Savage River.

Here’s Steve photo-bombing Jenn and Matt’s family photo (don’t worry-I got the perfect Christmas card photo for them, minus my goofy husband).

We knew that it might be a little difficult for Pongo when we made reservations, as there are some pretty strict rules pet owners must follow when bringing their pets into the park: dogs are not allowed on any of the trails.  You can walk your pets around the campground loops and along the road.  He adapted though and enjoyed the places he could go.

Walking along the main park road, which was heaven…no other dogs for miles.

Pongo enjoyed using the well more than his bowl.

What we found was most of the A campsites (for RVs and tents between 30-40′) at Savage River were uneven and you had to do some leveling.  Our campsite 32A had some pretty incredible views and had some great sun exposure, when it was shining.

We were excited to see our campground host living in an Airstream.

A sight-seeing plane taking off near the park entrance.