Alaska 2014 – Day 9 June 22th

Well I’m sure most of you know, but yesterday, June 22nd was my 53rd birthday. It was also my oldest sons 28th birthday. Wow, I still feel 25, so where does all the time go? Don’t blink, you’ll be looking downhill Christopher just as I am at you today. Whew!

Today after we ate breakfast and donned our coats for the 46 degree wakeup call, we drove over to Denali National Park. There we walked through the Visitor Center and looked at all the displays and watched their 18 minutes movie on the wild landscape of Denali. After that we made are way down to the buses and got ready for our 8 hour journey back and forth through the Park.

It was an amazing ride through some of the most pristine land that I have ever seen. First thing to note that caught my eye was no garbage anywhere to been seen. I mean nothing. I was impressed because we humans are a disgusting bunch when you boil it down. I have been through many clean parks, but always somewhere along the ride you see where someone always makes our parks their personal garbage can. The other thing that was unusual was that after the 15th mile into the park, unless you were on a bus, you do not pass here. There are exceptions, but I do not know all the rules for passage. One of the big ones is if you are hiking. They will drop you off in the park and you can hike as long as you like and they will give you ride out when you are ready as long as the buses are running.

Seeing all the wild life was also right up there. We saw Grizzles, Caribou, and Sheep. We also saw something like a Prairie Dog, but they were calling it something else. Last thing to see and hope to see is Denali, (The Native name), or Mt McKinley. In most cases, with the winds pushing in from the south and the colder air on the northern slope, you rarely get to see the mountain fully.  Today we got to see the mountain. It was an impressive sight. In case you do not know, Denali is 20,322 feet tall and the highest peak in North America. The ride back and forth took 9 hours with many stops for breaks, pictures, bathroom, scenery, and animals. Some of the riding was right on the edge of the road with 1,000 feet drop-offs and no guard rails. Lori just looked the other way, like that was going to save her if we fell off the edge. To me the most impressive thing about watching the driving was when two buses meet in a corner with the large drop off. You could hear the gasps and oh’s! To funny.

That was our day in Denali and well worth the ride inside on a National Park Tour bus. Tomorrow we are back on the road and heading to Fairbanks to roost for three nights in a Bed & Breakfast named, “A Taste of Alaska”. Seems fitting to me. Enjoy the pictures.

Picture of the Day