Our Journey

8/18/2024

August 17th, 2024 Riley Campground Shuttle Loop

We had a slow start today and didn't get moving until after lunch.

The park has a number of free shuttles that take you to various places. So today, we decided to check out those places. First stop was the bus depot for shuttle tickets to take us deeper into the park.

The Denali Park Road goes 92 miles into the park. Near the end is Wonder Lake and at the end is Kantishna. Sadly, there was a landslide at MP 45 and nothing is allowed past MP 43 (East Fork). Private vehicles can only go to MP 15 so a bus is needed to go beyond that.

There are three buses that go to MP 43: two are tour buses ($$) and one is the shuttle bus ($). We had good times on the shuttle bus in 2007 and 2009 so we decided to do that again.

That will be tomorrow.

From there we picked up another shuttle to take us to the Visitor Center Complex. Our first stop was the theater to watch two movies: "Heartbeats of Denali," and "Dog Sledding in the Park" (I just LOVE the national park movies.)

You can find videos here: https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/videos.htm

The park has an Artist-in-Residence Program:

"The Artist-in-Residence program is dedicated to exploring new ways for visitors to experience Denali. From hundreds of competitive applications each year, about a half-dozen accomplished artists, writers, and composers are invited to spend time at a historic cabin in Denali at their own expense the following summer.

During their residency, each participant is required to lead a public outreach activity with visitors. Visitors enjoy sharing hands on activities and time with our artists, and in turn find unique ways to connect with Denali on a more personal level.

Artists may choose to donate finished work to the park. However, due to lack of appropriate storage and display locations, the park prefers digital and performance-based donations. Artists are challenged to create artwork or activities for visitors that offer a fresh and innovative perspective drawn from their own experience."

One of those works was in the theater:

Outside the theater, there were many other types of works - nice to see.

From there we headed downstairs to the museum.

This guy is their centerpiece - he is huge:

If you look at the above picture on the right, there is a replica of a mountain. Dall Sheep were on that mountain:

And a bird of prey also:

This section of the museum talked about the ecosystem in the park.

Some interesting tidbits:

There was an area called "Sounds of the Park" where the sounds in various seasons were recorded. It was interesting to know they are trying to keep the wilderness as it should be.

There were two short videos in this area about the park's beginnings and about the Native Peoples of Denali.

Fannie Quigley's cabin:

The native people used all parts of the moose:

More information can be found here:

https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/native-heritage-dena.htm#:~:text=The%20Denali%20region%20is%20home,wildlife%20and%20other%20wild%20resources.

Our last stop before heading to the shuttle was the book store / gift shop where I picked up a great jacket!

The shuttle driver was the same one we had for the other two buses and since it wasn't busy, we spent some time talking with him and his story. (I love to hear stories.)

We had planned to have a campfire tonight but lots of wind and rain. Hopefully we will be able to have one before we leave.

Tomorrow we are heading deeper into the park so stay tuned and enjoy today.

August 16th, 2024 Travel to Denali National Park

We woke to pouring rain... packed up and headed north to Denali National Park. (As a side note.. in 2007 and 2009, we had to make reservations way before we got here because it was difficult to get a site. I made reservations less than two weeks ago and was very surprised to get a site. HMMM!)

Rainy and cloudy as we made our way north:

If it were sunny, I bet this lake would have great reflections:

There were homes/cabins in the middle of "nowhere". Now I may say nowhere but... if you need groceries or any other services, it is about 80 miles south and about 40 miles north. And that is just small stores. Brave souls, I say!

Interesting lakes and rivers:

The sun is appearing..do you see the rainbow?:

Incredible! But we did not find the pot of gold - LOL!!:

Love the fog thru the mountains:

And then the clouds parted and the sun shined thru:

We arrived at Denali National Park!:

This park reservations are very interesting. It is run by Aramark instead of the NPS. So when we made reservations, we made them for an A site, which means an RV greater than 30 feet but less than 40 feet. So we needed to check in first and then find an A site. She only asked how long we were - didn't check. Since we tow a vehicle, she told us to find a "double site" to fit the truck and RV - because we could not park on the road.

So as Andy did the dumping and filling with fresh water, I "trolled" the campground. A and B loop were mostly taken but in C loop I found a few good sites so here we are!

After setting up, we took a road trip - first to the town of Denali and then to Healy, north of Denali. We needed gas, propane and some groceries and Healy had all we needed. After filling up, we headed back home.

Sites along the way - the Alaskan RR bridge:

Nenana River Canyon:

Our final stop was at Prospector's Pizzeria and Alehouse for a pizza (Great) and beer. They have over 50 beers on tap, mostly Alaskan brews. We tried the Prospectors Gold Lager (brewed by the 49th State Brewery) and it was pretty good.

What a great day!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 91 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Alaska: Parks Highway - AK3

Tomorrow we are going to explore the park so stay tuned and enjoy today.

8/17/2024

August 13 - 15, 2024 Denali State Park

August 13th, 2024

We left our little place in Talkeetna and headed north in the fog.

Oh My! We have some blue skies!

And the mountains:

We stopped at the Denali South Viewpoint:

The mountain is in there but cloudy. If you look in the middle of the picture, Denali is behind the break in the clouds. Hopefully we will be able to see it in its full glory!

Heading north to the campground:

We landed at Byers Lake Campground in Denali State Park. The reviews said that the road had potholes and it did. As long as we took it slow, it was okay. The campground is beautiful and it is almost empty. The sites are large and spread apart. We will be here for three nights so hopefully the weather will cooperate.

After setting up, we went to the Alaska Veterans Memorial near us. This has been on my bucket list. We have passed by many times but never stopped.

"The memorial consists of five 20-foot tall concrete panels, one each to represent the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, arranged in a semi-circle. A statue of two Alaska Territorial Guards, carved by Canadian sculptor George Pratt, greet you at the entrance. On each panel is a short history of that branch's contribution to Alaska."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Veterans_Memorial

Territorial Guards Statue:

The panels:

Back of the statue and the view:

Inscriptions on each of the panels:

Other smaller panels:

Andy at the panels - they are huge!:

Next to the panels is a display area on Alaska and the wars.

Interesting article on bush pilot rescue:

So sad:

A good read - they found the plane remains in 2016:

Around the area is lots of plants, flowers, and trees - it is beautiful:

Not sure what these berries are but they are a rich red color and then turn to orange:

Fireweed turning to fluff:

There is a saying: "When fireweed turns to cotton, summer will soon be forgotten".

"As each successive flower blooms above the one underneath, Alaskans begin to mark their calendars. As the older blooms seed and turn to cotton and the last of the flowers garnish the top of the reed, one can be rest assured, that according to legend, winter is six weeks away."

Yep, it is soon time to head out. Bummer!

This is the height of some of the fireweed.

https://medium.com/usfws/fireweed-c0b0f07d905c

Back home, we enjoyed a campfire and made steak and baked potatoes over the fire - YUM!

I found a website, that had a live picture of Denali. We checked it a few times to see if the clouds had cleared. After supper, it looked like there was some clearing so off we went to the viewpoint.

A little hard to see but there she is!:

What a treat! One of our views heading back to camp:

"Denali (/dəˈnɑːli/; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base-to-peak on land, measuring 18,000 ft. With a topographic prominence of 20,194 feet and a topographic isolation (the distance to the nearest peak of equal or greater height) of 4,621.1 miles, Denali is the third most prominent and third-most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U.S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali

https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/historyculture/denali-origins.htm

What a great day!

Stats for today

Miles Traveled: 62 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Alaska: Talkeetna Spur Road; Parks Highway - AK3;

August 14th, 2024

Today was road trip day. We headed south to the Denali South Viewpoint State Park but no view. We decided to head north to the Denali North Viewpoint State Park with a quick stop at K'esugi Ken Campground. We were going to stay at this campground but it was reservation only and it was all booked. They do have four first come first served sites but I didn't want to chance it. The campground is more modern than where we are staying and they have electric. Maybe next time.

Along the way:

Glaciers on the mountains:

Denali is hiding today:

Our last stop for the day was Hurricane Gulch Highway Bridge. We were on the Railroad Bridge a few days ago so we had to check out the highway bridge. It is 558 feet long and 254 feet above the gulch.