From Fairbanks we drove the 131 miles to Denali. On the way we stopped in the small town of Nenana which sits at the point where the Nenana River enters the Chena River. There was a wonderful elderly gentleman at the visitor center who gave us a list of places we HAD to see – most for free (you can’t beat that). We went to the Indian Cultural Museum where we learned of the annual Solstice boat race – an 800 mile race on the Chena River in old Indian style speedboats. We were there as they were expecting the remaining three boats (the race started with 18 boats the day before) to fly by on the second and final day of the race. But with an hour to wait, we decided to continue on toward Denali.
We arrived at Grizzly Bear Campground as the rain began – there was thunder and lightning and rain, rain, rain!! But the next morning we woke to a beautiful clear day (and lots of puddles). We had time to go to the large Denali Visitor Center and to visit the little town of Denali - hotels, gift shops, and eateries which are along the Nenana River. When we returned to the RVs that afternoon, it began raining again and rained until about 10AM the next day.
We were so lucky that two months ago we signed up for a 13-hour tour into Denali Nat’l Park for June 25. We awoke to a beautiful cloudless day and had a truly spectacular trip. Not only did we see Mt. McKinley in all its glory, we saw animals – moose, red fox, snowshoe hare, Grizzly bears (three times), Caribou, Dall sheep, geese with goslings, and even a golden eagle. And the mountain scenery was amazing. We rode in regular school buses and were provided a nice hot lunch at Kantishna before the return trip. Denali is different than most National Parks. It was begun to preserve Dall Sheep. It is now seven million acres and has only the one 91 mile road into the park that is available only to the tour buses and campers/hikers/photographers/etc with permits. There are no trails in the park – it is kept as pristine as possible. We were even told that while we were eating, we were to eat ON the bus, not at the rest areas. The only areas open to the general public are the visitor center area where there are some nature trails, and the first 15 miles of road into the park. After that it is by permit only. It truly was spectacular, and to have a clear sunny day – what more could we ask?
We left Denali National Park in a rain storm and headed south to Talkeetna. Our plan was to take a flight seeing tour by fixed wing plane – we wanted to get close to the mountain and also land on a glacier. But the weather didn’t cooperate and we were grounded. Instead we spent time in the lovely little artsy Talkeetna. What a great little place. One day we had fish sandwiches and local beer in a pub there – every place was highly decorated with flower baskets – so pretty. Our RV park backed up to the small railroad station where folks going between Fairbanks and Anchorage (with stops in Talkeetna and Denali) would come and go. Each time the train came in, there would be a line of tour buses (Princess, Celebrity, etc) waiting to load and unload folks. In Talkeetna the businesses said that they had buses full of people on a daily basis.
And from here it was on to Anchorage – that’s the next installment.
Traveling on, Ellen & Gordon
