Parks Highway

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Sorry it’s been a couple days. Our last campground offered wi-fi, but at a price. At this point in our trip, we’re pretty much not willing to pay for anything extra. I’ll be adding those blogs after I put this one in.

Today was another driving day. We retraced our drive from two days ago and were fortunate to see Turnagain Arm at higher tide. It was again very hazy/smoky, so we still didn’t see much. We didn’t see any Dall sheep, either. At Anchorage, we transferred onto Parks Highway, which Milepost’s describes as running “through some of the grandest scenery that Alaska has to offer.” For many, many miles, we were confused. Really, it didn’t look any different than northern Minnesota, aside from wider shoulders.

Once we neared Denali though, the views improved. The haze subsided a bit, too, which helped. There are mountains everywhere up here. We saw Mt McKinley through the haze, just a pinkish peak barely visible. Despite that, it was incredibly impressive. We had much better views of other peaks and mountain ranges around here through Denali State Park and north into Denali National Park.

Tonight we are staying at Rainbow RV Park, which is essentially a parking lot behind a tourist strip mall. It has free, secured internet access, though and even cable, not that we’ll use it. The boys are a little stir-crazy, but they found a friend next door from New Jersey. Right now Liam is “reading” a story about pirates to her. Interestingly, the title reads Fahrenheit 451.


Conversation of the Day (with a woman in a Fred Meyer parking lot):

W: What city are you from?
K: St Peter.
W: Are you moving here?
K: No, we’re just on vacation.
W: You should move here. We have the most stable economy in the country.
K: (smile)
W: What do you do?
K: I’m a doctor.
W: We need more of those. You should definitely move here.
K: I have a great job and I’m the lead at my clinic. They’d kill me if I left.
W: They’d have to find you first.

License Plates Noticed: AK, FL, TX, BC, CA, AB, AZ, WA, OR, ID, NM, NH, IN, ON, SD, MT, NJ, NY

High Temperature: 83o (Denali State Park, AK)
Low Temperature: 56o (Moose Pass, AK)

Miles: 375.5

Total Time on the Road: 9:00

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Photos

Turnagain Arm
This is what all the scenery looked like until we got past Denali State Park.

A sleeping Cole is a good Cole.
Unfortunately, he didn't sleep long enough and went to bed twenty minutes ago.

Sleeping Liam
Liam functions much better without much of a nap, as long as he's by himself.

Mt McKinley
I love that it looks ghostly through the smoke.

Comments

[Sandy]

Jersey girl
Cute picture. Bet the boys enjoyed playing and talking with her. Fun for them to meet so many new friends. Liam-I hope the bump on your head is better and be careful of that door. Hi Cole-looks like you are having lots of fun.Hi to Mom and Dad.

[Snowhawg]

Question
Have you guys considered driving Denali Highway to the East when you're done with Denali Park? I had several people it's spectacular, but I couldn't fit it in my timeframe. Next time I will.

[kengelha]

Maybe next time
I don't know if Jeff considered it or not. He had planned for us to drive to the Arctic Circle tomorrow, so my guess is not. We already know many things we'd like to come back and do or do again. Liam has decided, though, that our next vacation should be a cruise.