Denali National Park

At 20,320 feet Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in North America. The North face is nearly sheer, almost a 10,000 foot drop. It is the single tallest vertical rise of any mountain in the world. On a clear day, it can be seen from Anchorage over 100 miles away.

Entrance to Denali National Park, home to Mount McKinley. Denali means “the High One” in the native language.

Accommodations afforded the park care takers. About as primitive as our tent, but at least we got access to indoor plumbing and electricity in the bathrooms.

Spartan living awaited the park rangers 100 years ago. Our campsite was some what primitive. We were totally out of touch with the civilized world. At first even the pay phone at the lodge did not work because a line was cut. It was perhaps a welcome relief to discover that there was no cellular service in the area.

Notice the way the rangers decorated their windows. Do you think they are on good terms with their neighbors? Guess that is one way to ward off unwanted guests.

Modern living in contrast. Notice the antique dogslead above the bar used as a rack for the drinking glasses. The animals in Denali were actually very sparsely distributed. It is after all essentially an Artic desert.

Happen to find this Willow Grouse, Alaska's State Bird, walking along the side of the road. Notice the feathers covering their legs, which makes them unique.

Here is one of nature's engineers at work. That is his dam covered with grass on the left. There is about a 3 foot difference in the water elevation to the next pool, not pictureed on the left.

Natures sure footed mountain climbers. When danger approaches they seek rocky crags on higher ground to elude pursuers.

We had to resort to getting down on all fours to climb up and down this peak where the paved road stops at the Savage River Ranger Station.

A friendly face we found at the top came out of his hole to greet us with a shreek and a howl.

This is one of the views we found of Denali on the park road. McKinley can be seen at various opportunities as soon as you enter the park, but it is normally shrouded in clouds. Whenever there was a viewing opportunity, the bus riders would usually yell "STOP".

Please note that you cannot drive on the park road past Savage River (mile marker 15). You can also save a bunch of money by choosing the shuttle instead of the tour bus – we did both. On the geriatric tour you will get a box lunch and you won’t get left behind, but it cost about $40 more per person than the shuttle. With the shuttle you get the tour guide, you can go hiking on your own from any stop, and it goes deeper into the park; and, the deeper you go the better your chances of seeing a grizzly bear.

There are several ways to see the park by air. The mountain climbers normally go in by helicopter. It is quite a racket if you ask me. Cost was about $250 per person for a 45 minute plane ride from the a strip near the park entrance. More than we paid for the round trip fare on Delta from Atlanta to Anchorage.

Here is a bouquet of flowers. Thanks for visiting.