Denali National Park

We have been told that 70% of the time, Mt McKinley is hidden from view by local clouds. 30% of the times it is visible but only 3% of the time is a “picture perfect day”. When we woke up in Fairbanks, there was not a cloud in the sky. We could not leave early because I had an appointment for a blood test first thing in the morning when the lab opened; so we rolled out at 9:40 AM. However, not twenty minutes outside Fairbanks, there it was on the horizon: Mt McKinley over and above all the surrounding green ridges. Julia was whooping with joy and I got such goose bumps that from that point on I was cold.

There is a fair amount of road work done in the summer in Alaska (and the northern provinces of Canada) and the crews are usually friendly and interesting. The fellow holding the Stop/Slow sign in the hills outside Fairbanks had come to Alaska in 1975 from Ohio. In the conversation he asked what my accent was and upon my answer he switched to a fluent and easy conversation in French. He has a masters degree in French!

The highway outside Fairbanks rises onto a ridge and follows it for quite sometime. It is spectacular because we can see out of both sides. This day one could see forever. On our left our ridge overlooked a wide valley hemmed in far away by sharply defined mountains. On our right large parallel hills resembled the scenery in New Hampshire around Conway (but without any villages). Texas felt big, really big to us when we rode through its breadth … Alaska? Let me just suggest that Alaska’s purchase must have been sponsored by a Texan who felt constricted at home!

We made Denali our goal for the day as it is the gateway into Denali National Park. So after a somewhat short ride (130 miles, or so) we arrived in Denali, AK. Upon arrival we booked a trip on the official Park Bus into Denali then we began looking for a place to stay. We asked a local where to spend the night; he suggested doubling back to the next services 11 miles up the road (our time was running short as we needed to eat lunch and be back at the bus stop in 90 minutes). As we thanked him and pondered our options, a man walked to us and introduced himself as the nurse in the health center next door. He had heard our conversation because he had stood close by on his smoking break. He offered the use of his desk phone and the list of the local businesses from his offices. The first few tries brought concern (and a wasted 20 minutes): no vacancy except a room at $360.00 a night! So, Bo, the nurse said: “Don’t sweat it: I have plan C for you.” He offered us his trailer for the day and night as he would be sleeping in the clinic that night. So we had our lodgings for free! God is good.

The ride into the park was very interesting as regard to flora and fauna: the guide/driver was knowledgeable and spectacular as regard to vistas. The park is a 6 million acres preserve originally set aside for the protection of the Dahl sheep. We saw ptarmigans, caribous, snowshoe hares, Dahl sheep, ground squirrels, one cow moose and eleven grizzlies (5 sows, the rest were cubs and yearlings).