We never actually saw the mountain that Denali National Park is named after whilst in the park.

Denali – “the high one” in the local Athabascan language, is shrouded in clouds most of the time . Our guide told us that ninety percent of people that visit Alaska don’t see Denali at all. Ten percent see it partially exposed and only five percent see it ‘naked.’

We set off the next morning under the clearest sky we had seen for some time and coming over a small crest all of a sudden there it was.

 

Denali stands out so much from this aspect as it is one of the few snow covered mountains at this time of the year and it was simply spectacular.

We took photos, drove a little further and took more photos (along with many other travellers) as the clouds chased each other across the horizon.

The view kept getting better the further we headed south and culminated in an almost perfect picture.

Feeling like we were at least in the lucky ten percent we reluctantly said goodbye to Denali and resumed our journey toward Talkeetna.

For those of you old enough to have watched or perhaps just heard of “Northern Exposure” – the highly acclaimed comedy drama series from the nineties – it is widely thought to be based on Talkeetna.

It is a funky little town with only about a thousand year round residents, home to galleries, historic buildings, a brewery and better than average souvenir/gift shops.

We had booked an afternoon trip with Mahay’s Jetboat Adventures and we arrived with only thirty minutes to spare as the rest of the group were chatting to our gun toting guide and waiting for the train.

The trip today involved an outward journey on America’s last ‘flag stop’ train up to the now abandoned town of Curry and then returning via jetboat on the Susitna River.

Curry’s history is fascinating, it was the halfway stop between Seward and Fairbanks during the two-day steam train trip and a very popular resort in the early 1900’s. The grand Curry Hotel built in 1923 was luxury personified in its day and also technologically advanced for the times. Hospitals in Anchorage sent their linen out on the train to be washed in the hotel’s laundry as the facilities were better than in town. It had a pool, a golf course and a suspension bridge over the river and was billed as a “wilderness palace.”

Our return trip was aboard the jet boat along the Susitna and we saw more bear on the shores as well as numerous bald eagles. Stopping at a replica ‘settlement’ of the Dena’ina Indians and early trappers who lived in the area, our guide gave us an interesting talk about these practices and the flora and fauna of the area.

I had planned a ‘flightseeing’ trip the next morning (to view Denali and the mountains including a glacier landing) but had received a phone call just as we left on the train asking if I could make the 6.30 pm flight that evening as the weather was so good today and might not be tomorrow.

We rushed from the Jetboat drop off to the airport as the rest of my group were waiting and a storm was forecast to arrive in the next couple of hours. Russell who is not a fan of small planes, opted not to go and went and found our accommodation – Denali Fireside Cabin and Suites – an excellent choice.

Our pilot was very knowledgeable and throughout the flight gave us comprehensive commentary about the mountains and surrounds before we started our descent for the glacier landing.

I can’t describe the feeling of getting out of the plane onto pristine white snow in absolute silence, enclosed by a ring of mountains. It was simply breathtaking.

We spent about 30 mins on the ground and then were quickly airborne again for the return trip. We could see the storm above Talkeetna as we approached and landed in lashing rain.

Russell picked me up and once again we were searching for somewhere still serving at 9pm but found a decent meal at the lodge just out of town.

The next morning we wandered about town and admired the local personalities whilst doing a bit of last minute souvenir shopping..

We had a pretty easy drive back to Anchorage, interspersed with the ever necessary summer roadworks, but by mid afternoon had returned the car, checked in to the airport hotel and started the onerous task of sorting out luggage.

Alaska has been an absolute delight and is probably my favourite US state now, I spent the flight back to Seattle working out how soon we can come again and in what season, maybe check out the polar bears???😉

Thanks for reading.

For the next two nights we would be based about 20 kms south of Denali National Park and Preserve.

I had done a lot of research about Denali (previously Mt. McKinley National Park) which is six million acres of wild country, inclusive of Mt. Denali (more about that later) and bisected by just one road.

You can drive your own vehicle for the first fifteen miles of paved road but after that you can only access the more remote country on the park’s shuttle bus services which run regularly throughout the summer. You can get off at any spot to hike and you simply flag an oncoming bus down to reboard. The road is 91 miles long and showcases the pristine, unspoiled wilderness and its resident wildlife with the primary intent of keeping it that way!

Unfortunately in 2021 the road suffered a major landslide at roughly the halfway mark (mile 45.4) and requires a major re build, possibly not traversible again until 2024.

There was a lot of discussion on various forums about the road closure with many people preferring to delay their visit until the ‘full experience’ was available. Given that we thought initially we may never visit Alaska again, we decided that we would see what the 43 miles that are open have to offer and had shuttle tickets booked for the next day.

My research recommended doing the first fifteen miles the evening that we arrived time permitting and with plenty of daylight that far north we started into the park at about 6pm.

I think I’ve run out of superlatives for Alaska but Denali was breathtaking! We were later to find out that she only wears her ‘fall’ colours for a couple of weeks and we were there at peak viewing time. It made all of those “it’s not normally this rainy in August” comments worth being there in August. 😁

This time of the evening of course was also prime wild life viewing and it wasn’t long before we saw our first mini ‘wildlife jam’ as a group of cars had pulled over to photograph a massive caribou bull. Caribou are part of the deer family and are the same as the animal known as reindeer in Europe. They are the only deer where both sexes can grow antlers although not all females do, with the males losing their antlers each year, growing bigger ones the following summer.

The antlers were the first thing visible on this fellow and his best feature for sure.

Feeling pretty privileged to have seen him, we then saw a very distant bear and as we were almost back to the entrance and Visitor Centre we had to wait while a black bear strolled down the road ahead of us!

Exhilarated and super excited for tomorrow’s trip further into the park, it was 9pm by the time we checked in to our cabin, (Creekside Cabins Denali) and we were very grateful that the kitchen was open until 10!

Back at the park at 0800 the next morning we boarded our green ‘transit’ bus (not a tan bus, they are the ‘tour’ busses which are narrated by a naturalist) for the trip into mile 43 and whatever it might hold.

We had already seen ptarmigans, eagles and a distant caribou by the time we reached the end of the paved road and entered a new (to us) landscape.

Eventually we reached mile 43, as far as you can go at present due to the aforementioned landslide and we got out and admired the Teklanika River.

We had no sooner boarded for the return trip when we spotted this fellow on the side of the road..

More grizzlies, more caribou and even some distant dall sheep high up on the mountain produced many ‘oohs,’ ‘aahhhs’ and photo stops not to mention the landscape in its own right!

Almost back to the paved road again and we spotted this cheeky coyote on the side of the road. I can only begin to imagine what the experience would have been like if the full 91 miles of road were open but we were so happy that we made the decision to visit Denali in 2022.

Denali National Park has had sled dogs since 1922 but in Alaska, sled dogs have been a part of the landscape for hundreds of years. Prior to the introduction of mechanized transport, almost every family had a few sled dogs that served as transportation for trapping, trading, and traveling to neighbouring villages.

We watched a fun and informative demonstration of what these wonderful animals are capable of and heard about their function within the park.

After the presentation I convinced Russell to drive the fifteen miles that private vehicles are allowed once again as we still hadn’t seen a moose yet… I suspect he could happily have gone to the accommodation and had a glass of wine at this stage but he agreed 😉 On the way out we stopped where a few cars were parked and saw moose way in the distance, further along a rainbow caused another stop…

Can you tell I loved these landscapes???

Turning around at the 15 mile mark I said to Russell that we were a little earlier than the previous night and maybe out of luck for wildlife viewing but two miles later we spotted many cars (and twice as many tripods) and jumped out to see what they were viewing.

A group of four moose were relatively close to the road and proving VERY popular!

We watched (and photographed) them for quite some time until the ‘moose jam’ grew to epic proportions and the rangers arrived to manage things – the female wanted to cross the road but cars were bumper to bumper either side and she couldn’t get though.

A mature male can grow antlers 1.8 metres wide that weigh as much as 30 kg but differ from the caribou in that they are more shovel shaped than branching spikes, they too ‘drop’ their antlers each year after the rutting season.

By now we were exhausted after a huge day so reluctantly left the park and headed back to our cabin to reflect on this amazing day over a glass of wine. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time I visit Denali.

From the Denali National Park and Preserve website:

“The Denali Wilderness is a land of paradox. It is inviting and it is terrifying; accessible and remote. It is an essentially undeveloped wilderness with a road corridor through the middle that brings millions of people to its edge. It is untrammeled, yet managed. Some of the land within its boundaries is well known and studied, but much of it is full of mystery. It is a natural and intact ecosystem celebrated by scientists, writers, hunters, adventurers and artists alike.

As our world is beginning to experience dra­matic and widespread change, all wilderness is at a crossroads. Encroaching development and climate change threaten to dramatically alter these environments but also present a unique opportunity to preserve their excep­tional wilderness character and linkages to other conservation units in Alaska and Canada.”

Leaving Matanuska Glacier we had a long drive to Fairbanks which would be the most northerly point on the itinerary. For the most part we had the road and its stunning scenery to ourselves.

 

Fairbanks is Alaska’s second largest city and the coldest city in the US. It is only about 230 kms by air south of the Arctic Circle and we arrived at the end of their short summer. The temperatures were sitting in the mid teens and comfortable enough. The ‘northern lights’ season started the the day before we got there but unfortunately there was too much cloud cover for even a chance at seeing, perhaps next time.

We had a lovely air BnB which backed on to the Chena River and after unpacking we headed off to nearby Pioneer Park which is a 44-acre city park commemorating early Alaskan history with multiple museums and historic displays on site.  

The following day we visited the highly recommended Museum of the North which houses cultural and historical exhibits and was well worth the visit.

Leaving the Museum we were headed toward Creamer’s Fields Migratory Waterfowl Refuge but stopped at a lovely little farmers market for lunch on the way – Russell couldn’t go past the crepes where the gentleman serving asked me to repeat my order three times so he could hear my accent 😁

We had been told that the timing was perfect for us to see the return of the Sandhill Cranes to this 2,200 acre bird sanctuary and our intel was spot on. We spent an hour or more watching these beautiful birds as well as large numbers of Canada geese before it was time to get back on the road, this time heading south.

The road south was pure Alaska, long picturesque valleys, towering mountains and the occasional good humour 😉

We were on our way to Denali but that deserves a whole post to itself so stay tuned.

Loading the car the next morning was put on hold when we spotted a pair of bald eagles on the neighbouring roof, too good an opportunity to miss. We had heard their distinctive call the day before so we knew they were around and we watched them for a while, retrieving food for their nearby young.

Our destination the next day was the Matanuska Glacier, a fairly long drive so we were breaking the journey at Summit Lake Lodge, only a few hours up the road which meant we had time to do our laundry in the fanciest laundromat I’ve seen in my travels so far 😁

The next day we traversed the Turnagain Arm again and then basically had to bisect Anchorage and head north toward Palmer before getting on to the Glenn Highway toward the glacier. Unfortunately the GPS had other plans and delivered us to the entrance of the Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, a US military facility! We were met by a fresh faced young man with a rifle over his shoulder who very kindly put us on the right track and we continued on.

Stopping for morning tea at a marked picnic spot we discovered it was also a very popular salmon fishing area and the anglers were out in force (as were the mosquitoes.)

I had read about another really interesting place to visit in this area and so a little later we pulled in to the tiny car park of the Eklutna Cemetery.

The Athabascan people have lived in this area for centuries and historically their dead were cremated but when Russian Orthodox missionaries arrived in the 1830s the two cultures began intermingling. The Russian tradition forbids cremation but believes that there is a 40 day period during which the spirit of the dead make their journey from the grave. Burial became widely accepted but the Athabascans began building tiny houses over the graves so that their spirits would have somewhere to rest until they were ready for their final journey to ‘higher ground.’

It was a very interesting and unique place to visit.

As we resumed our journey along the Glenn Highway the scenery was increasingly stunning, necessitating lots of unscheduled photography stops.

The reason for us taking this route initially was so that we could take a guided tour on the Matanuska Glacier but unfortunately Russell wasn’t feeling up to strenuous climbing so I dropped him at our beautiful Glacier Overlook cottage and hastened back to the glacier entrance point for my 1pm departure.

Matanuska is a valley glacier and the largest accessible by car in the US. Having said that, the land surrounding the glacier is locally owned and you have to stop at a boom gate and buy a guided tour, there is no independent access to the glacier. I was aware of this but saw lots of disappointed tourists baulking at the $125 tour fee and turning away.

It was definitely worth the guided tour especially given that I was allocated to a small group of six instead of the large group which contained several toddlers 😁 Our group made it to the highest point with a fairly challenging climb so I was quite pleased with myself as the rest of them were half my age.

Matanuska was pretty spectacular, many shades of blue and endless beautiful formations. This glacier is 27 miles long and is advancing at about 30 cms per year but due to ablation the ‘toe’ remains at about the same place each year.

By the time I got back to our cottage Russell was ready for dinner, our options here were somewhat limited as there was no town nearby but we found the Long Rifle Lodge was still open according to google and we hastened to get there before closing.

We ended up having the best chicken burger of the trip so far and where else can you gaze at a glacier whilst sipping your wine??

Tomorrow, the pace continues, on to Fairbanks.

Back on the highway we saw numerous signs detailing moose fatality numbers and large sections of the road were bordered by high (presumably) moose proof fences. We had been told in Anchorage that residents can go register on the roadkill program and when their name comes up and a moose is hit by a car or ‘dispatched’ they have 30 minutes to meet a state trooper at the scene and take ‘possession’ of the moose, butcher it and stock their freezer!

We stopped several more times en route for tea breaks and scenery and it was quite late when we finally reached Homer at the southwestern end of the Kenai Peninsula.

We were staying at the aptly named Alaska Moosehorn Cabin and had gorgeous views down to the sea and across the Kachemak Bay to snow capped mountains on the horizon.

Unfortunately Russell was feeling a bit under the weather at this point and wasn’t up to our planned activity the next morning – bear watching! Leaving him to sleep in I was off at 5.45 am to meet our pilot at his office on the Spit to then be transported to the airfield for our 45 minute flight to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Since the inception of this trip this has been my highlight. Hours of research had been spent on what was the best month to go, the best geographical area, the best company to use etc. etc. – it had been booked six months previously and despite being very disappointed that Russell wasn’t up to it, I was VERY excited.

We landed safely at a respectful distance to the bears and proceeded to walk quietly down the beach until we were parallel with them as mum waded along the waters edge and the two cubs played and fought each other like puppies.

The cubs were quick to react though when it looked mum had caught something!

As mum (known locally as ‘Agro’ as she doesn’t like other bears apparently 😜) wandered off, Chris had spotted a young male who had just gotten a whiff of the dead porpoise on the beach near our plane so we headed back that way.

Once again his behaviour reminded me of a dog. He dragged the porpoise a few metres up the beach then sat there looking at it for ages, occasionally standing on it and rolling it over before eventually deciding to cover it up for later! Chris said he hadn’t witnessed this behaviour before, he had thought the bear would rip into it and wondered if the bear was deterred by the porpoise’s tough skin but when we viewed the animal later the skin was indeed broken in a small area.

Chris then took our group inland to the river where normally at this time of the year the bears would be fishing for silver salmon but the run is apparently ‘late’ this year and we only saw anglers seeking the same prey. Stunning scenery though.

The flight home was stunning in itself as the weather had cleared considerably and we were able to get a wonderful view of the beach and river as we left plus numerous lakes and crater formations on the mountain tops.

Luckily Russell was feeling a little better when I got home so we headed down to the Spit where I had been told by a companion on the bear trip that there were some ‘cute critters’ in the Harbor.

Indeed there was, we spent quite some time watching this very cute and photogenic sea otter…

The Spit itself was buzzing with action, all types of sea craft coming and going and lots of tourists wandering through the many shops and eateries. We had possibly the best (and definitely the most expensive) fish and chips of the trip – locally caught Halibut – as the sun did its best to break through.

We spotted some real Alaskan ingenuity on the way back to our car and given my early start and Russell’s lurgy we decided to call it a day and headed home for a cup of tea and a Tim Tam 😉