Isn't Denali spectacular?

Yep. That's what it looks like from inside the park, on a clear day. Isn't it nice that there are people that take these beautiful pictures and post them to the internet so that you, too, can see Denali. I'd have posted the pictures we took on our trip but the mountain that is Denali makes its own weather and the weather it makes most often is clouds. And apparently rain. Boo.

Steve and I did, however, have a lovely time. We packed a cooler and a little bbq and stayed at very a moderate but very clean and comfortable hotel. The weather was indeed lousy but the company was excellent. I did the driving (Steve is amazingly willing to fold up his very large body and put it in my relatively small car) and he did all the cooking (I happily supervised from a reclining position). We played a fair amount of cribbage (I was five games ahead of him when we started but he narrowed it to three before we were done). He was a great co-pilot on the long drive. He's retired from Federal Fish and Game and worked for many years as an observer on big fishing vessels all over the world and then worked as a detective for the agency (he was a "fish dick" ha ha). He had some pretty good stories from both lines of work. And there's nothing like a long car trip to find out what your communication skills are like. Steve is as good a listener as he is a talker and I really appreciate that about him. It would be swell if y'all could meet him but you'll proabably have to come to Alaska to make his acquaintance.

Thomas is still slogging around the Carolinas spending time with family. While he has been glad to have time with his mom, he is itchin to get back home. Jilli and I have been having some nice slumber parties at Tommy's, taking advantage of cable and DVR to watch So You Think You Can Dance. What a great show and what a great group of dancers on it this year. If you're remotely interested in dance, this is a must see!

Oh yeah, earthquake this morning around 10:00. A 5 point somethin. Even if there's no damage, it's always unsettling to feel the ground move under your feet.