Denali, the second attempt for a sunny day
Sunshine predicted for the Denali area and the interior. That means it is time to pack and head north. Perhaps we will be among the lucky ones who see Denali from top to bottom (visitors have a 30-40% chance of seeing the 20,320 foot tall mountain). Upon arrival at Denali National Park we checked out the visitor’s center which has several good exhibits. As we were returning to our cabin we noticed an airplane company and Paul wondered if an evening flight might be available since the mountain was in the sun. Turned out they have a few seats remaining for the flight leaving shortly so we wolfed down a PB&J sandwich for dinner and headed for the plane. As we were preparing to board the pilot asked if I wanted to ride in the co-pilot’s seat. YES! This was my birthday present and I loved it! The flight was “magic” as they say in NZ with the mountain absolutely brilliant in the evening sky.
The next day we took a 60+ mile ride into Denali National Park on a shuttle which is the only way one can enter the park, no cars allowed. We saw 3 grizzly bear which are blonde in this part of AK, a caribou, a moose and her calf and several dall sheep on the mountains. Denali was again in the sun and between the scenery and wildlife we had an exceptional 8 hour tour.
We wanted to see what the road to Fairbanks is like so we drove 2 hours from Denali to Fairbanks, Alaska’s 2nd largest city. Good road and scenery and we saw a red fox on the way. While in Fairbanks we took the Riverboat Discovery tour on the Chena river and stopped at the Old Chena Indian Village for about an hour of outdoor cultural education (this was my favorite part of this tour).
Head south from Fairbanks for Paxson. Stopped in North Pole, AK to visit the Santa Claus House. Visited Rika’s Roadhouse along the way to learn more of the history of this area. The Denali hwy. is 134 miles long (120 of that is dirt). We spent nearly 6 hours on this out of the way road because of the sensational scenery. Views of lakes, the Alaskan range, glaciers, the Wrangell mountains with 12,000-16,000 ft. peaks, rivers, eskers, kames and kettle lakes. Just amazing!
Did you know that Alaska is the size of 8 Washingtons?
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