Waking up to a gorgeous day put pep in our step! We were excited about what we would be experiencing on this day.

Our group set out on our drive to Chitina, following the road less traveled— Denali Highway (Alaska Route 8). This mostly gravel highway is completely avoided by other tour companies, and rental car companies do not allow their cars to be driven on this route.

Before the Parks Highway was built in 1971, this was the first road access to Denali National Park. This poorly maintained highway was an obstacle course for Bobby, our bus driver, but he did an outstanding job avoiding potholes and the worst of the bumps. Why did Odysseys Unlimited choose to travel this road on their Alaska tours? This is one reason:

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

That, my friends, is Mount Denali. At least that is the name the state of Alaska renamed “Mount McKinley” in 2015, because the Koyukon people, who were native to the area had referred to the mountain by that name for centuries. Just because a gold prospector named it “Mount McKinley” in support of the presidential candidate (and later the 25^th U.S. president), it shouldn’t, in my opinion, have made it official. The Obama administration rightfully changed it back to Denali, but our current occupant switched the name again to Mount McKinley.

Mount Denali has a summit elevation of over 20,000 feet and is the third most prominent and isolated peak on Earth. We were incredibly fortunate to have seen the entire mountain clearly; only ten percent of visitors ever do, because it is usually shrouded in clouds. Only thirty percent of visitors see just a portion of the mountain peeking out from those clouds.

We stopped to take in the gorgeous views of the mountain at a lake, and I felt grateful for the opportunity.

We continued our journey, and at one point, when we reached the bridge crossing Susitna River, Bobby stopped the bus to let us out, so we could walk over the bridge while he continued driving to the other side. The views were stunning, and it was nice to be able to take some photos off the bus.

There were more incredible views during the bus ride, some of which I successfully captured on the bumpy road:

On our way to Chitina, we stopped at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve Visitor Center, which had some nice walking paths, beautiful views, and much-needed restrooms!

Upon arrival at Chitna’s little “airport,” (a tiny office and porta-potties in a parking lot located up a gravel path), our group of 25 (with Julie, our tour leader), was divided into five prop planes. Our pilot, Brian, chose Bruce for the co-pilot’s seat. Here is our takeoff:

As you can see, it was a beautiful day for a bush plane flight!

I hadn’t flown on a small plane like this in years, and Julie hadn’t said much about the flight ahead of time, except to emphasize the importance of keeping our small bags limited to 30 pounds of weight for our two nights at Kennicott Glacier Lodge. Otherwise, notta. That was a good thing! I had no expectations, and when the plane lifted off and gained good altitude, the amazing views gave me a huge dopamine hit! I was lovin’ it!

When the plane landed, I had tears in my eyes. I was that taken by what I had just seen and experienced. I gave Brian a big hug!

Next up: SEATTLE & ALASKA #8: RAMBLING TO ROOT (GLACIER)