Tag Archives: Denali National Park

SEATTLE & ALASKA #7: OUR FABULOUS, FANTASTIC FLIGHT!

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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 25th 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.

That’s Bobby with his rechargeable Magic Mesh bug zapper. It really worked! I had a go of it on the bus when some mosquitos tried to join us for the ride.

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

By this time, we were off the gravel portion of the highway.
This photo was taken during our lunch stop.

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!

Down below is Kennicott Mill, which I will be writing about in a future post. Our lodge was located near the mill.,

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!

Kennicott Glacier Lodge
The view from the balcony just outside our room.

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

SEATTLE & ALASKA #6: DOUBLE DOG DAY IN DENALI

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Although we don’t have dogs, because we travel so much, we love them! The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has always amazed me, and I looked forward to learning all about it. But today was double dog day in Denali, so first things first!

First, we visited the Denali National Park Visitor Center where we had the option to catch a shuttle to see a demonstration of the husky dogs the National Park Service uses as working dogs in Denali. Heck yeah, count us in! We hopped on the first shuttle.

Denali is the only national park with a kennel of sled dogs. These huskies are a more reliable form of transportation to remote areas of the park in extreme sub-arctic conditions than an airplane or snowmobile. The dogs are adapted to cold temperatures down to -40 degrees, and they prefer being outside in the snow running rather than lounging around in a warm indoor setting. Besides, there is no problem starting their “motor” whereas a snowmobile can be finicky in those extreme temperatures.

The dogs assist rangers in everything from protecting the wilderness of Denali National Park to rescues. If equipment needs to be hauled in the sleds along with the rangers, the dogs will do it with enthusiasm. This is an excellent video about the training of the dogs and how they work as a team with the rangers.

Here are some of the dogs we got to meet:

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

Following the demonstration, we returned to the visitor center where Bruce watched a couple of excellent films about the sled dogs and Denali, and I hiked the Spruce Forest Loop Trail and a portion of the Triple Lakes Trail. By the end of my hike, the clouds had started to clear and blue skies shined through. YES!

In the afternoon our group visited Husky Homestead, owned by Jeff King, four-time Iditarod race champion (1993, 1996, 1998, and 2006). His final win was at age 50, and he was the oldest musher to ever win the grueling 1,049-mile race. Husky Homestead is where he trains sled dogs, and it is open for tours and demonstrations.

Have you ever wondered how sled dogs are trained during the warmer months when there is no snow? Check out this short video clip I shot during the demonstration:

Fake snow; a humorous touch to the presentation on dog sleds and the Iditarod race!
A pup in training

Meeting the pups was the best part!

Sunny scenes from around our lodge:

Coming up next: SEATTLE & ALASKA #7: OUR FABULOUS, FANSTASTIC FLIGHT!

SEATTE & ALASKA #5: DRIVING THROUGH DENALI

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Ok, I am just going to say it now, so you can bail on this post if you want to: This was our least favorite day of the trip. What should have been one of the highlights was just a downer.

It was cold and wet during our “Welcome to Denali Walking Presentation” (although our guide was excellent), and our “Denali National Park Bus Tour” was uncomfortably cramped on the old school bus they used for the tours. In addition to our jackets and daypack, we were given a boxed lunch at the lodge to take with us, and the tour included a box of snacks. It was challenging trying to juggle all of that plus my camera with absolutely no room to move during the nearly six-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour. Twisting to take pictures out the bus window resulted in boxes falling off my lap.

If it had been a nice day with inspiring views, none of this would have bothered me at all. But not only was it a gloomy day, the wildlife I was hoping to photograph was so far away the guide used a video camera so we could view the animals on a TV screen in the bus. Having just watched the incredible videography on The Americas (NBC) the day before we left for our trip, seeing wildlife at a long distance didn’t compare.

We saw some caribou and moose at a distance, but the highlight was seeing (if not being able to adequately photograph) a grizzly bear, just one of 300-350 estimated to live in Denali National Park, which spans over six million acres and is roughly the size of Vermont. We were very fortunate, so I was grateful for the opportunity. This shot has been cropped as far as I could go without totally obliterating the image, but it’s admittedly bad:

I forgot to mention in my last post that on our way back from dinner, our group saw a moose with two babies not far from the side of the road—much closer than in the National Park. Very cool!

After the bus tour, I was in desperate need of some exercise and enjoyed a walk around the grounds of the lodge and beyond. The lodge is situated on the bank of the Nenana River, a glacial river along the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. I shot photos of the river and grounds (of course!), but why show you gray and depressing pictures of the river now when I have pretty ones in the posts to come? Here, then, are a few shots from the lodge grounds and adjacent property:

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

Next up: SEATTLE & ALASKA #6: DOUBLE DOG DAY!

SEATTLE & ALASKA #4: ALL ABOARD! RIDING THE DENALI STAR TRAIN

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The pilot on our flight from Seattle to Anchorage warned us our Seattle sunshine would turn into Anchorage rain, so we knew our weather luck had run out. We were just grateful for all the fabulous weather we experienced on our previous tours. If you look back on my previous blog posts, you will see just how lucky we were during our travels.

For that matter, we were just happy to be traveling again! We were supposed to go to France for a month last spring with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT); however, an unexpected medical issue arose with Bruce that required canceling the trip.

(As a side note, although we prefer the smaller group size with OAT—16 rather than 24—we chose Odysseys Unlimited for this tour because we preferred their itinerary. They also did a great job on our Canadian Rockies Tour.)

We arrived in rainy Anchorage with just enough time to settle into our hotel room, walk to a restaurant for dinner, and then relax back at the hotel before bed. Sometime between leaving the restaurant and returning to the hotel, downtown Anchorage lost power. Fortunately, we were able to take the stairs to our third floor room and get in with our card key. Our room had a huge window, and even though it was raining, it was still light enough in our room. It doesn’t get dark in Alaska during the summer until nearly midnight!

Relaxing in bed with nothing to do but talk, Bruce started singing, “Hello darkness my old friend…” I don’t know how Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel would have reacted, but I laughed hysterically. What else could we do but laugh at the situation? Thankfully, a couple of hours later as we were falling asleep, the lights came on and woke us up. Figures.

The following morning, we met up with our Odysseys Unlimited tour group and guide, Julie, for breakfast and introductions, before departing by bus for Talkeetna to catch the train to Denali. We arrived early, so we had time to take a wander through the little town before boarding the train. It was cold and rainy, so Bruce and I opted to duck into a bakery to warm up. Having just eaten breakfast, we passed on the incredible looking cinnamon rolls and opted for a small bag of cookies instead. I couldn’t stop staring at the bakery case, though; it sure was tempting!

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

Talkeetna Roadhouse Bakery is located across the street from this sign.
A t-shirt hanging on the wall of the bakery
So true!

Our group boarded the private dome car of the Wilderness Express, pulled by the Alaska Railroad locomotive on the Denali Star train route. Although it was raining, the ride was still beautiful, and the service outstanding. We tried not to think about what it could have been like on a beautiful day. All was forgotten, though, when we went to lunch in the dining car and tasted the smoked salmon chowder. It was delicious; the best chowder of the trip! And there were many during our two weeks in Alaska.

Watching the scenery pass by as we enjoyed our chowder, we were grateful for the wonderful experience!

Scenes shot outside from the train’s platform, and getting wet in the process!

A wood carving in the dome car; a nice touch!

Upon arrival at the Denali Park Village Lodge, we had learned that July had already been the wettest July on record in Denali, and it was only July 22. Would the rain ever stop? Stay tuned, I promise there are sunny days ahead!

Flower baskets were abundant on the grounds of the lodge. This post needed a splash of color!

Coming up next: SEATTE & ALASKA #5: DRIVING THROUGH DENALI