http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , United States , Alaska , Denali en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:51:12 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:51:12 UTC After Seth and I were done with SAGA...the real fun began We started with a 20 mile back country trip through Denali.... http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-344197.html Much of the day was spent inside Denali National Park the first of three national parks we would visit on this trip. We took a 120mile round trip journey over seven hours inside the park. The weather was just a tad less than optimal. It actually began with the sun playing hide and seek with us but as we rose in elevation the cold air dawned upon us. The drizzles and fog came as well.The fo http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-339116.html Tuesday August 19 Thursday August 21After a short ride to the Railroad Depot we boarded the luxurious McKinley Explorer for the 8hour trip to Denali. The weather Gods are with us The sun is warm and with only a few clouds we have fantastic views of Mt. McKinley starting from 200 miles away as we take in the spectacular scenery along the rails. A plane flight later in the day brings Sylvan t http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-329585.html Alaska proved to be a great time filled with memories of old and with plans for the future. For the first leg of the journey we headed south and east from Tok Junction to Anchorage after a less than friendly bordercrossing experience. Passing the WrangellSt Elias range was awe inspiring to say the least and the Matanuska Glacier was a specifically memorable highlight of the trip into Anchorage http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-317962.html We left Seattle to head for Alaska. After a fairly uneventful flight we arrived in Anchorage in the middle of the night. As usual the hire car company did not have our small compact car and we ended up with an oh so practical Mustang. Gary was in his elementWe arrived at our hotel to discover they did not have a room for us. They had overbooked even though we had booked and paid in March and sh http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-311489.html In Search of the Midnight Sun Chapter 4August 6 2008 DenaliThis day apparently had more sun than they had seen in a month here. We went to the Information Center in the Park to book our bus pass for the next day to drive into the Park. They only allow private vehicles to drive to the 15 mile mark. But there are many options for bus tours. We opted for the most popular and cheapest using t http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-310358.html Alaska was sold to US by Russia in the 19th century at a few cents per acre Russian empire which had sovereignty over present day Alaska thought of Alaska as a huge wasteland. It surely is huge with most of its area untouched by civilization. With the discovery of gold in late 19th century prospectors began to arrive. Later oil was found along Arctic coast. More than a century later it still c http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-304532.html Friday July 11th Since we finally got to bed last night around 130 the airport is on the opposite end of Anchorage from Centennial Park we slept in. Anne had a shower and Mariko tried to amend the fact that she left Japan at 500 pm technically 2 days before she came in to Anchorage at 1203 am. So much for the International Date Line. Since she hadnrsquot seen much of Anchorage on he http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-300690.html Saturday 31st May 2008 Denali Nationa ParkGood wram weather. Up at 6am and off to Denali National Park Our only stop was a loo with a view at mile 384 and the Alaskan State war memorial. Arrived at Denali at 11am. Booked on the 12.30 bus that would drive us on a 5.5hr trip into the park and back 22.50 each.Hungry drove to the Visitors Centre. Joined the National Parks 80 for entry into all http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-286232.html Denali National Park is one of the greatest places in this country to see. The scenery and wildlife is so spectacular. As Dave and I walked up to the Wilderness Center for our bus tour a moose was standing just feet from us on the path. I quietly took her photo and she quietly scratched her head on a branch. Once at the center we boarded our 730 am bus to Fish Creek. It was a partly cloudy http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-283926.html Happy Birthday being sung by grandsons is how Grampy started his day. Michelle called at 7 am to wish her Dad a Happy Birthday along with the boys. The Old Man turns 60 today. He looks pretty good to me for an old coot. It was great to sleepin this morning. After breakfast we hiked to the Visitorrsquos Center and took a short bus ride to the Dog Sled Demonstration that the rangers put on. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-283140.html Todayrsquos critter sightings we finally caught up with some Snowshoe hares near one of the currently unused winter ranger stations this one was not far from Savage River and the Parks Road in the Denali Wilderness. This is a log cabin in the bush. Outside there are half a dozen wood dog kennels. The outside window battens of the cabin have long nails protruding thru to the outside to stop nos http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-282008.html This morning was brilliant sunshine. Todayrsquos aim was to drive the long trip back to Anchorage including some stops of interest before flying out late tonite and overnite for Denver then immediately onto Los Angeles where we are stationed for a whole day before the really long flight home.Todayrsquos features included two wayside stops to see Mt McKinley and a chance black bear sighting. Bo http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-281996.html Well last nightrsquos sleep was interesting it never got really dark and twilight was probably a better way to describe the 4 or so hours of night.This morning we caught the 1030 am 6 hr return bus into the Denali Nat Park and almost immediately critters started appearing. First a gray wolf gray to white trotted on the road just in front of our bus for about 50m before catching a small rode http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-281535.html We left Anchorage about 10.30am for Denali National Park about 250 miles inland after obtaining some quick food stocks from our local mall. The drive was uneventful passing thru suburbs and towns. We did see a few businesses advertising building log cabins with examples out front we saw float planes on a river bank and on a lake. Whilst mentioning this Alaska has the highest number of float plan http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-281525.html I flew to Minneapolis on September 8 2006 changed planes and flew on to Anchorage Alaska. I flew Northwest Airlines using Expedia.com. Roundtrip was 731.80. It was inches and feet. Things close early in Alaska. I took the city bus downtown from Ted Stevens Airport. Stevens is a Republican senator. The Hilton Hotel served as a landmark. I walked to the Alaska Railroad depot on 1st Street. It w http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-232657.html We got up packed the car had breakfast and headed to the sled dog presentation. It was a real treat. We had about 20 minutes to visit the dogs before the show. The girls had a blast petting the friendlier dogs and looking at the puppies that were sleeping in a mass in their dog house. The presentation was interesting and then the rangers went to hook a team to the summer modified dogsled. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-199976.html After the exhausting day yesterday we all slept in a bit. We headed to the visitor center and caught a little bit of a talk about what it is like to climb Mt. Denali. We have yet to see the mountain on this trip. Interesting that we had such beautiful views from Anchorage just the other day and now there is no sign of it with rain and a mix of sun and clouds. We found out during our bus ride http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-199796.html We even set the alarm clock this morning to get an early start. We had reservations for the 830 shuttle bus to Toklat Flats. The park road is accessible by private vehicle only until mile 15. Beyond that you have to take a shuttle bus. We made our way to the Wilderness Access Center and met our bus driver Morty who did a great job livening the ride up with stories about the park and helping u http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-199792.html Off to Denali We got an early start today It was my flex day and headed north. It was overcast so there wasnrsquot a whole lot of scenery. It took us just over 4 hours to get to the park. Our first stop was the visitor center to see the displays and pick up the junior ranger books for Gabbi and Jacqui. To our surprise not only were the junior ranger books free unlike Acadia Rocky Mou http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-199791.html Tuesday September 4 2007 Today wasnrsquot as cold as yesterday and the sun was shining. We got on the bus for Wonder Lake around 900 am. We hadnrsquot been to the end of the shuttle bus road which goes to mile 87 so we thought today was our chance to do it. The bus was packed. The autumn colors on the mountains were beautiful. Here and there gold aspens would be scattered on the ridges http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-199456.html Saturday August 25 2007 This morning was a beautiful sunny morning. The temperature was in the low 40rsquos and it warmed up to the midsixties by afternoon. We caught the bus to Fish Creek at 910 am. Since we werenrsquot hiking I took my telephoto lens hoping to get some good shots when we saw animals. The bus driver was good willing to stop and take time and we saw a fair amount of http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-196436.html Friday August 24 2007 Denali National Park AKThis morning the bus picked us up in front of the campground at about 915 am. Ten people had signed up for the Ranger led hike and only those people were on the bus. We stopped on the way to our destination to watch several elk in the distance and a bear that was way out there in the tundra. The day was sunny at the campground but as we went fur http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-196433.html Thursday August 23 2007 This morning we traveled to Teklineka Campground to stay for 3 days. There was blue sky and there were clouds so we didnrsquot know if we would see Mt. McKinley or not. We took our time traveling the 30 miles on Denali Road to the campground. We looked for wildlife but didnrsquot see any. The animals are around you just have to be at the right place at the right http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-196431.html Wednesday August 22 2007 Today we were out of bed before 500 am to get ready to catch the shuttle bus by 600 am. The day was cloudy but it wasnrsquot raining. The shuttle buses take visitors into the park to see the scenery and wildlife since private vehicles arenrsquot allowed passed mile 15 unless you are staying at Teklineka Campground at mile 32. Limiting the number of vehicles kee http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-196429.html Tuesday August 21 2007 This morning we started down the Denali Highway about 800 am. We drove to Savage River which is 15 miles into the park. Our plan was to walk a loop trail recommended in a book I have on Denali Hikes. This was a marked trail into the Savage River Canyon. Before we started charting our own path we wanted to get a feel for the area. It was cloudy and rained alittle as we http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-196427.html Monday August 20 2007 Denali Highway to Denali National ParkThe last 30 miles of the Denali Highway had some very bad parts and some pretty good parts. The terrain was rolling tundra with white spruce. The day was cloudy so at the Mt. McKinley viewpoint we were out of luck. We didnrsquot make many geology stops today but we did have to turn around and recover some miles because we missed s http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-196426.html On our way to Denali we stopped at a Museum that was in a cabin from The 59ers. They were a group of homesteaders from Michigan that George remembers reading about when he was a teenager. Of course it caught the imagination of a teenage boy so it was interesting for him to learn more about it many years later.We arrived in the Denali area and camped north of the park entrance at Denali RV Park. I http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-192831.html