Artic Circle to Denali

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Low temperature hit freezing overnight and it was nice to be able to run the van for heat. We spent the night in the wilderness on the Haul Road with just one other camper, a Japanese man on a bicycle with a small tent. He really didn’t speak much English. The only building here was an outhouse and the biker kept his food sacks in the building to keep it away from the wildlife overnight.

We ate a banana for breakfast and heated water in a container that works off the 12-Volt plug and we made a cup of coffee for each of us. We drove out the sixty miles of the Dalton Highway and then onto the paved roads back toward Fairbanks. At the Arctic Circle Trading Post we received a certificate that we had made it to the Arctic Circle and were also served free coffee. Stopping at the first real sign of civilization, the Hilltop Truck Stop, we had egg, cheese and ham sandwiches with home fries. Nice break from the oatmeal and toast breakfast we normally have.

We entered the Parks Highway which travels from Fairbanks to Anchorage, past the Denali National Park, our next destination. The most scenic area in our travels today came just about 2 miles before Denali at Nenana Canyon. Long, steep, solid rock cliffs line the canyon while the Nenana River twists and turns violently below and a train tressles hangs on the far side.

Once in Denali National Park, we stopped at the Riley Creek Mercantile where we promptly got a campsite for 3 nights and received most of the information needed to be able to get around the park. The store is pretty well stocked, has hot showers ($4 each) , a Laundromat and free WI-FI. After picking out our site (it's a first come, first serve basis) we headed to the Visitor’s Center, watched an orientation film on Denali and received more info on what to do in the park.

Private vehicles can only drive to Savage Creek, about 15 miles from the entrance. To see the park past there requires a bus tour. Learning that the bus schedule changes on June 1st and the bus will go out 20 miles further we went to the Wilderness Activity Center and booked a 7:30 am tour for Sunday.

Back at our campsite, we set up our tent and awning and relaxed knowing we didn’t have to drive anywhere for 3 whole days.

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Photos

Our campsite at Riley Creek
Settled in At Denali National Park