Hi...no wifi in Denali. Arrived there on Wednesday afternoon. Pretty nice drive up from Anchorage on the George Parks Highway. There are so few highways in Alaska, that everyone of them is named for the "first" somebody.
Denali was absolutely fantastic, amazing and downright fabulous. (see, I'm running out of adjectives). I have tons of photos but need to get them from the camera to you.
Denali National Park and Preserve: much different from any other Natl Park I've been in. First, there is no "gate" as such, to pay your entry fee. You must go to the Wilderness Access Center and pick a plan. You can only drive in the first 15 miles of the park - total mileage on the road is 93. Everything else is by bus. You have a choice of about 4 different bus tours. Road is dirt and gravel and very, very narrow in many places. We decided on the full tour...13 hours all the way to the end. The end is an old mining town from the early 1900's called Kantishna. Wonderful history to this place. Denali NP is now over 6 million acres. The Alaska Range, 600 miles long, goes right thru it. This includes Mt. McKinley - which we could not see. In the summer the warm air from the Pacific hits the ice fields (the upper 10,000 feet are ice) and clouds are formed preventing anyone from seeing it. December is the best month. The town of Denali is about a 1/2 mile long. Not on roads, just dirt and gravel off the George Parks Highway with buildings that are only open from mid May to mid September. The road that goes thru Denali Natl Park takes 10 weeks to get ready for the tourist season. We saw, moose, grizzlies, beavers, golden eagles, dahl sheep and wolves. The park is a preserve. No human intervention at all with the land or wildlife...what a concept, huh? It is studied by the best and many discoveries have come from there. They literally let nature do it's thing - and only those who will sit on a bus can be a part of this fantastic environment.
Our driver and guide is a resident of Kodiak and was a commercial fisher person for 25 years and also participated in a couple of the Ididarod sled races. She now works the summers in Denali and raises and trains sled dogs. She's 50 - what a life!
I am in Fairbanks now. Left Denali this morning. Easy drive, 110 miles. Will stay here until Monday morning and then start the trek east and south. I'll tell you more about Denali when I add pictures later tonight/tomorrow. Wifi here seems to be working well.
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