The original plan for today was to check out of the hotel, grab breakfast from Biscuitclub in downtown Anchorage right when it opened at 9:00AM (biscuits and gravy is my fave!), and then hit the road for the 4+ hour drive to Denali National Park. But after we parked the car (and paid in the ParkMobile app), we saw the sign on the door that they were closed for Labor Day weekend. 🤦🏻♀️ At least we'll have another chance to try it out when we come back to Anchorage in a few days...
All of the other interesting options we found online for breakfast seemed to be in the wrong direction, so we decided to just get going and messaged R's cousin-in-law about restaurant recommendations in Wasilla instead. She sent us to the Windbreak Cafe & Trout House Lounge, which was right along the George Parks Highway (AK-3). Yum! Thanks for the great suggestion, B!
 |
| Country fried steak benedict and reindeer sausage benedict |
From Wasilla, we continued north on the Parks Highway to the Denali Viewpoint South, arriving just after noon. Sadly, Denali was completely covered by clouds so we couldn't see it at all. But there were waysides with the various mountain peaks labeled, so at least we could attempt to figure out where it actually was supposed to be.
 |
| The peaks on the left are about 5000-6000'. Mount Hunter is obscured by clouds in the middle. The slope that rises on the right contains the peaks labeled in front of Denali (South Peak 20,320') in the pic below. |
 |
| Denali is in the center of the pic (trust me! 😉) |
 |
| Fireweed (foreground) with clouds also covering Mount Foraker (17,400') |
About 30 miles farther up the Parks Highway, we stopped again at the North Viewpoint, but it was more of the same. Clouds. 😞
Around Mile 201, there was a turnout with this view to the southeast...
We made it to Denali National Park just after 2:00PM. First order of business: family selfie in front of the sign! (Note - Denali National Preserve is a separate unit, but since we won't actually set foot inside the preserve portion, the stickler in me is not going to count it.)
 |
| ☑ Unit #209 for me, #203 for R, #154 for the boys |
- Purchase our annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass ($80)
- Get my passport stamps
- Ask the rangers about recommended trails for short day hikes
- Pick up booklets for the not-so-junior rangers
Since we had about 45 minutes before the shuttle bus departed for the sled dog kennels, we went through the exhibits while M and J worked on their junior ranger booklets. I thought this display handled the naming issue delicately...
 |
| Koyukon Athabaskans call the mountain Deenaalee, meaning the "Tall One" |
There is one road through the park. It's 92 miles long, and only the first 15 miles are paved. In the summer, private vehicles are restricted beyond Mile 15, while buses provide transportation along the rest of the route. The bus tour I booked for tomorrow will take us out as far as the East Fork Area at Mile 43, because the road is closed beyond that due to the Pretty Rocks landslide.
Data collected since 1923 indicates that the climate in Denali is warming, contributing to the thawing of permafrost, which, in turn, affects the stability of the soil. According to the display, the Pretty Rocks area has been experiencing movement for decades, but the rate has increased dramatically in recent years. Prior to 2014, the landslide created small cracks in the road which could be repaired every few years. In 2016, the park started monitoring movement of the road. Per the link above, the rate of road movement within the landslide evolved from inches per year prior to 2014, to inches per month in 2017, inches per week in 2018, inches per day in 2019, and up to 0.65 inches per hour in 2021. Construction of a steel truss bridge to span the Pretty Rocks landslide began in 2023 and is expected to be completed next summer.
 |
| Love 3D topographical maps! |
Then we headed outside to the bus stop down the hill from the visitor center to line up for the shuttle to the kennels for the 4:00PM sled dog demonstration. We had about 20 minutes to see the sled dogs, look at the exhibits, and collect my passport stamp before the program started.
It was interesting to learn that sled dogs were used to patrol for poachers when the park was first established more than one hundred years ago, and that they have had working dog teams ever since. Today, sled dogs are used for mushing during the winter months for park projects in the wilderness, such as transporting supplies. And in the summer, they serve as the most adorable ambassadors!
 |
| Apollo, Jack, and Boomer in their kennels, with Kusko outside |
 |
| Jolie |
 |
| Blitz |
 |
| Mush! |
Afterwards, we went back to the yard to spend more time with the dogs, and then we rode the shuttle back to the visitor center and our car.
 |
| Throne with one of the rangers |
Our home base for the next two nights is the Denali Lakeview Inn in Healy, just 12 miles north of the park.
 |
| Gorgeous view of Otto Lake and Mount Healy from our room! |
After checking in and unloading our stuff, we headed right back out for dinner because we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. The first place we tried had a long wait, so we opted for the Black Diamond Grill just up the road from the inn.
According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Aurora Forecast website, there may be high enough geomagnetic activity in the next few days to see the aurora borealis, if the skies are clear. Fingers crossed!
 |
| 255 miles, 4.5 hours |
No comments:
Post a Comment