Denali

Denali, Alaska

July 31- August 2, 2013

Days # 18-20 of our Alaska Adventure. Well here is a very important question. Can people have too much fun, too many beautiful views, too many fun activities, too much good food??  We are attempting to answer those questions.  At this point one would have to say NO!!  This trip just continues to get better and better!  Our travel to Denali from Fairbanks was quick and uneventful. The views were a bit hazy, but one could still appreciate the mountains in the Alaska Range and the gorgeously green valleys.  After arriving at camp we set out for a helicopter flight to see Mt. McKinley or Denali as she is now called.  The weather Gods were not so cooperative, we had some pretty good thunderstorms over the mountains, so they flew us to the eastern potion of the Alaska Range (away from Denali) but we saw some amazing mountains, vistas, valleys and GLACIERS! Wow who knew that they would be so numerous and incredible.  We have seen a few glaciers on other mountains on our trip but NOTHING the size, variety and number we saw on this flight.  We did see the blue color that is visible because water is very good at absorbing light; only the strongest light with the most energy is able to escape.  The color blue has the most energy, so it can escape without being absorbed. The thicker the glacier the bluer is appears (I think I got that explanation right?).  The 50 minutes we flew vanished before we knew it.  Another fantastic experience on the “trip of a lifetime”.

Glacier view from Helicopter

Outer Range of the Alaska Range

We took a daylong bus ride into the Denali National Park. The driver was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining.  It didn’t hurt that the weather was close to perfect. We were so fortunate to be able to see Denali (Athabascan Indian word for “The High One”), the 20,322 feet tall mountain from 4 different viewpoints. We are in the 30% club; only about 30% of the visitors get to see the mountain, clouds often shroud it. The views were nothing short of spectacular: the creeks, rivers, lakes, valleys, rock formations and beautiful sky. The trip was also a good wild life-spotting event. We saw several moose, caribou and one very shy golden grizzly bear (he was hiding behind some bushes and never really did make himself very visible). The bus was outfitted with a camera that the driver could focus in on the scenes and project them onto small video screens through out the bus, this gave everyone a good view of things.

Caribou

Denali

Denali River Valley

“Ya Hoo – Ye Haw and Oh My God!!!”  We took a 2-hour whitewater raft trip on the Nenana River. What a rush it was. Because the water comes right off the Nenana Glacier less than 24 hours earlier it was COLD – about 38 degrees ----- brrrrrrrr.  We all wore dry suits that did a pretty good job of keeping us dry and warm, but the splash was still quite exhilarating. 3 other couples & Mike and I banded together for the trip. We had some discussion on the type of trip we would take: a simple float trip or a Canyon Run Excursion – the Canyon Run, it was. The girls rode on one raft and the guys on the other. Think the girls had the most fun! The views were grand, beautiful canyon to rip and roll through, splashed through 7 level III rapids—what a blast!  After returning to camp and putting on dry clothes we went up to the Grande Denali View Hotel and enjoyed a little lunch and a stunning view of the river we had just rafted and the surrounding area.

white water on the Nenana River in Danali

We enjoyed an evening’s entertainment – Nite Cabin a dinner theater – the serving staff are all singers and quite the characters.  After a good family style dinner, we enjoyed a show of skits, singing and dancing, a great ending to our Denali Experience.

Miles for the day: 124  Total miles for the AK Adventure: 1722.3