Day 39 - Denali National Park, Alaska

We drove to our next campground called Midnight Sun RV Park in Healy, AK. The day was a mix of rain and cloud. I don't really care at this point, I'm just so excited to get close to Denali. First let me talk about Healy and why we chose this campground.

Healy is situated 113 miles from Fairbanks at an elevation of 1,294 feet. This area has everything you need from grocery stores to gas/diesel, to an Ace Hardware, and lots of places to eat. The main industry in Healy is coal. You can easily see the large cranes stripping the overburden on the hillsides in search of precious coal. The mine produces more than a million tons of coal per year. This coal is so valuable because the sulfur content is among the lowest in the world.

As we settled into our new place, I was excited to get started. So we all jumped into our trucks and headed towards Denali which is 11 miles down the road. No sooner did we literally get out of the park and across the road was a mama moose and her young calf. How amazing. We watched for awhile then pushed on. In Alaska or anywhere on our trip so far, whenever someone is stopped on the side of the road you quickly look for wildlife.

The shear beauty of the mountains above and the river below is breathtaking. My pictures don't do it justice but I will try. 
Our next stop going towards Denali is Nenana Canyon and the Nenana River. This river is used extensively for rafting and kayaking. The black bridge is the railroad which hugs the canyon. The winds in the Nenana Canyon can get extremely strong especially in the winter.

As we ride through Nenana Canyon its a series oh my gosh or amazing. There are several pullouts that you can stop for picture opportunities or just to take in the breathtaking views.

We arrive at the entrance of Denali National Park which starts at Mile 237 of the Parks Highway. The main visitor center is accessed 1.4 miles into the park. That is our destination today. But first I can't pass up another picture opportunity.

My favorite to do when I get to a new place is to start at the visitors center. They are the most knowledgeable when it comes to the surrounding area. They can also suggest how to get the most out of your time in the park. And that is exactly what they did. We watched a couple of really great films on the park. Then did a little exploring.

Visitor's Center

Gift Shop and Cafe

Denali National Park is not like most parks, everything is regulated to keep the wilderness wild. They have an elaborate bus system, more on that tomorrow. For today it's all about enjoying the beautiful weather and the park.