We left Fairbanks at 2:15 this morning so that we could arrive in Denali National Park for our National Park tour at 5:30. The picture is Fairbanks at 2:00 AM. It was strange driving in daylight at that time of the morning. We had reserved the Wilderness Access Tour that went 64 miles into the park. The views were unbelievable; we drove down a very tight gravel/dirt road that was perched on the very edge of the cliffs. The road had everyone on the bus a little uneasy to say the least. The wildlife viewing was fantastic, we saw Moose, Dall Sheep, Grizzly Bear, Fox, Caribou, Mountain Goats, Eagles and many others. Mount McKinley was covered in clouds at most of the areas where it could be viewed, but we did get some sightings of it during the day. This is a magnificent site, dwarfing other mountains in the Alaskan Range. We had a great tour guide for the 8 ½ hour trip. This has been a high point of the trip so far. We are now in Anchorage till in the morning when we board the Alaskan Railroad Dome train for a trip to the south side of Denali. We will be spending two nights at a wilderness lodge within 25 miles of the mountain before returning to Anchorage. We plan a jeep excursion to the base of the mountain on Thursday, with an airplane glacier landing on Mount McKinley for Friday morning if we can get Debbie and Janice on the plane. Janice says she has some things to make right before she lands on a glacier. Something about a Chuckie Doll and the Grand Canyon being in Colorado along with others. Roddy, Debbie and myself will most likely take a separate plane from her. Debbie discovered that the pedal that looks like a grate in the floor of the outhouses is for flushing the toilet and not a thing to clean the bottom of your boots........ What a Janbie. More adventures to follow.
Total Miles To Date: 6214
Denali National Park and the National Park Service – A++++
