Mt. McKinley or Denali (as the Athabaskans call it) is AWESOME !!!

We have now been at Denali National Park for a week and have, literally, run out of words to describe the incredible beauty. The park, which was originally established in 1917 and expanded in 1980, comprises more than 6 million acres. It's centerpiece is, of course, Mt McKinley, but the park is also a hiker's and wildlife-watcher's paradise. There is only one "official" road into the park, coincidentally named Park Road, and no private vehicles are permitted past milepost 16. In order to venture the remaining 74 miles, to the base of Mt. McKinley, one must take a designated park shuttle bus. This certainly cuts down on congestion and pollution and enables Denali to remain pristine and support a complete eco-system - the ONLY place in the United States that remains, essentially undisturbed and unchanged since the first human contact. The Denali that one sees today is EXACTLY as it has always been. For anyone that has visited Smokey Mountain, or Yellowstone, or Yosemite or Grand Canyon National Parks they can REALLY appreciate this unique jewel.

The mountain is not visible very often (most estimates hover around 30% of the time) BUT we have now seen it on THREE different occasions! How lucky is that? For the first 4 days we were here "The High One" was totally enshrouded in clouds. It is so tall, 20,320 feet, that it actually creates it's own weather. Often it is socked in with clouds when the rest of the area is sunny and bright.

On Tuesday, Judy had a hunch at about 11:00pm that Denali, the mountain, just might be visible. Sure enough, after driving the 16 miles to the first vantage point, there it was in all its glory. Attached are several pictures from different times and different locales. Notice the two shots at sunset and then at sunrise - just a little more than 3 hours later.

We also went on a Jeep Safari where WE actually drove the Jeeps through the backcountry. Well, Pat and Freddie drove, Judy and Sally were the, sometimes willing, passengers ;) Notice the one picture taken from Freddie's Jeep forward toward Pat's which is going through a "puddle". Don't miss the "Safety First" decal on the dash; does that include going through water that's halfway up the doors? It was a blast. Pat must have done fairly well because the Jeep Safari company offered her a job IMMEDIATELY. Perhaps next year...

Yesterday we took a Monster Truck tour and traversed the only other road into Denali. This is the "unofficial" route into the Park that has to be accessed via a private railroad crossing. We went through forests, across streams, forded rivers, traveled to the tundra and ended in an alpine meadow. We saw caribou, moose, eagle, trumpeter swans and much more. It was incredible to spend 7 hours, surrounded by such vast wilderness and NEVER encounter another human being.

Today is our last day here in Denali and tomorrow, Saturday, we head to Talkeetna where, if the weather cooperates, we will take a flightseeing tour around Mt McKinley. On Sunday we're taking a jet boat tour up three different rivers where, hopefully, we will again see the mountain.

Stay tuned, more to come...

Today's pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMKW&notag=1

Take care,
P&J