From Seward to Denali

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Geo: 63.2237, -151.002



Monday, 8/2/10 – Up fairly early for our longest drive of the trip, from Seward to Healy and Denali NP. Passed through very scenic country from Seward to Anchorage and then through the mostly flat Susitna valley to Cantwell and the Southern edge of the Alaska Range. Arrived at Denali NP around 4:00 PM and stopped at the Wilderness Access Center to pick up our bus tickets for the next day (and get our refund of the entrance fee which is automatically added to the price of the bus tickets when you reserve seats on the bus on-line). We then did a short 4-mile hike/walk from the Visitor Center to Horseshoe Lake and back.

Drove on to Healy and checked into the Denali Park Hotel, a pleasant change from the previous two accommodations. The hotel is more motel than hotel but is clean, had two queen beds, TV, weak WiFi (but good signal in the lobby), refrigerator, coffee maker, etc. We were in room A-9 and were able to get a usable WiFi signal by placing the laptop on the luggage rack right in front of the entrance door. A bit inconvenient but it worked. Not a huge room but so much nicer than other places and the cost was a very reasonable, for Alaska, $99.00 per night.

Just a few pictures from this day.

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Photos

Welcome to Wasilla
Drove through Sarah's hometown and couldn't resist getting a picture of this sign. This one is especially for LeeAnne.

Horseshoe Lake
Destination of our one hike of the day. Several of the entrance area trails were closed due to an airplane crash that had occured nearby the day before.

Beaver handiwork.
Beavers obviously live and work near Horseshoe Lake