Denali National Park, AK

Denali National Park

Mt McKinley, Denali, AK

September 12-14,2012

Following 2 chock full days in Talkeetna we jumped on yet another train. This train was dissimilar from the Talkeetna train.  This was a two-story train with the entire top level being glass enclosed.

Once more, we were presented with predetermined seating. Each night before either reaching a port of call or a scheduled stop on this tour, we were given a package with instructions for the following days activities.  They are tremendously methodical and every last detail was accounted for. They left nothing behind and each excursion ran effortlessly.

We took our places and were greeted by our very own tour guide. His name was Keith. We also were introduced to our own bartender and two servers. They were all very amusing and kept us going the entire trip.

inside the main lodge

Observing the scenery was done from the top level and lunch was served on the bottom level of the train car. The dining room was tasteful. It had white linen table cloths, sterling silver cutlery and the meals were served on fine china.  The menu was limited but phenomenal.  Reindeer chili was amongst the favorite, although I could not get myself to eat Rudolph so I went with seafood chowder – again! I was not disappointed.

Fire Grass

Keith, our tour guide, was great.  He was educational and very comical. The ride was just over 4 ½ hours. 121 miles. The scenery was incredible. The pictures will not depict the real appeal, particularly since I had to take them on my iPhone due to submerging my camera in the washing machine. I hope you have appreciation for them anyway.

Once we arrived in Denali we checked in our lodge. It was top rate. First class. Gorgeous.  Vast. Extensively spread out. Our room faced the largest mountain in the US and it was still exposing itself.

We meandered the grounds and scoped out the eateries for dinner that night. The food was just extraordinary. The weather was a chilly 53 degrees. That might not sound too cold to a lot of individuals but for us, who live in South Florida, it’s pretty damn cold. It plunged in the low 30’s throughout the night.

I drank an abundance of hot tea this past week along with bowls upon bowls of chowder. Winter meals are something I seldom get to eat so I consumed it all, every chance I could.

pure awesomeness!

The following day we were scheduled to take an excursion into the park - Denali National Park. It is called The Natural History Tour. We gathered on the bus early and headed out into the oblivion.  The middle of nowhere. The untouched wilderness.

  

The bus driver was a terrific guide all throughout the mountains. He pointed out animals and birds and scenery that the average person, like me, would have not picked up on. The tour itself introduces you to the parks wonders with a stop at the visitor center, savage cabin and Primrose Ridge, but having a guide was helpful.

While viewing is the highlight of mostly all of Alaska, wildlife in Denali National Park is also well known. It offers excellent opportunities to see Alaska’s ‘Big Four’. The ‘Big Four’ is made up of; Grizzly, Moose, Caribou, and Dall sheep. There are Grey Wolves also in the park, but seldom seen.

After about one hour into the park we got off the bus and walked around to this area called Stony Hill Overlook. There, waiting for us, was an authentic Athabaskan Indian.  Her adopted name was Julie in English and Neechiigw in Athabaskan. She told us of her history, cultures and native ways.

Julie

She educated us of how her Great Grandmother taught her mother, her mother taught her, how she her own daughter and now her daughter is teaching her grand daughter, of their age-old customs.

Salvage Cabin

They are very proud people. They utilize the earth for every type of medicinal purpose necessary – to this day.  They eat off the earth and very rarely buy supplies. They still live in huts and hunt their own meat.

typical dog house

Julie was informative and seemed to enjoy telling her stories. She told us that they hunt otters, wolves, birds, moose, and caribou.  She said they did not hunt bear because they would just show up. There was no need to hunt bear when they are in your own front yard, (and she said they taste terrible).

The tour of the park was beautiful. As the lighting of the sun moved from the time change of the day, the mountains were incredible. We arrived back at the lodge somewhere around 3pm.

sporting my 'coon cap'

The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around town. It was nearing the end of season for most of the hotels and restaurants and things were becoming scarce. The stores were depleting inventory and not replenishing because they were closing in less than a week. It took us 3 stores to find a small travel size of toothpaste. The up side to this was, everything was on sale.

Beautiful winter jackets with Alaska embroidered on the lapel were marked down to $29.00. Everything in AK is extremely overpriced, except the seasonal stuff. 

the BEST crab chowder! EVER!

We had dinner at one of the 5 restaurants within the lodge called Base Camp Bar & Grill. It is located on the edge of an overhang and faces Mt Denali. The view is spectacular, and the crab legs - intense.

We had one more day in Denali and utilized our time remaining by exploring every nook and cranny we could find. We bundled up for the cold weather and headed out on the town. We had fun going from store to pub and eating along our way while hanging out with the locals.

view from the lodge deck

ET was here, lol

We headed back to our room early because we knew the next day would be another day of travel. We were set to go to Fairbanks and were excited to move on.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to click on the pictures to enlarge.