Denali Highway, AK

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Sunday August 19, 2007 It was cloudy in the morning, but not raining and as the day progressed the sun peaked through the clouds. We had to cover some miles today since the we had only covered 50 of the 133 miles Friday and Saturday. It really wasn’t a problem because there weren’t as many geology or photo stops today. The terrain changed as we moved along. We were up on a higher plateau and white spruce trees started to dot the landscape more frequently. There were still plenty of small lakes (left by glaciers years ago). The Alaska range came into view. Mt. McKinley is part of that range. Mt. Deborah (among the 6 highest mountains in the range) came into view. We could see the peak for a short time then clouds moved in. Denali Highway is a favorite of hunters. We saw several this morning. They rode ATV’s, were dressed in camouflage and had a gun rack on the front of the vehicle. They park their RV on the road and use it as base camp. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used walkie-talkies to communicate.
Around mile 88 the road started to get very rough with washboard, so I was glad we stopped at the BLM campground at mile 104. It was only 1:30 pm. This one costs $8.00 a night, but it is a very nice campground right on Brushkana River that is listed as a good birding site in one of Frank’s books. Frank got right into birding and was excited about the birds he saw. I went blueberry picking. This is an Alaskan pastime everyone does and talks about. I guess it’s because there are sooooo many blueberries around. I didn’t have to go more than 50 feet from where CT was parked and got enough for us to have with dinner. They were good. The bushes are very low to the ground. I think Alaska must be one of the berry and wildflower hot spots in north America. There are numerous varieties of berries and wildflowers are profuse. I guess it’s the climate and rain.
The campground is almost empty (in this area most people camp right off the road) and is very quiet. You can hear the rushing river and the birds. The temperature is cooler than yesterday and there’s a brisk breeze blowing. It’s very comfortable.

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Photos

Mt. Deborah
Part of the Alaska Range

Scenery along Highway
More spruce trees on this area of the highway

Blueberries
Blueberries were plentiful at the campground and they were good!