Denali National Park and Preserve is visited by over 500,000 people per year. It is home to a variety of wildlife such as moose, bear, wolf, eagles, and caribou. The 92 mile Denali Park Road parallels the Alaska Range. During the summer months private vehicles may drive the first 15 miles of the road, to Savage River. This road is paved and has a number of pull-outs that I definitely took advantage of.
I'm not sure what mile marker we were at but we got to see Denali. Usually it's wrapped in cloud cover and not visible. Denali is the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet.
The Native Athabaskans have referred to the peak as Denali meaning "the high one". In 1896, a gold prospector named it Mt McKinley in political support for presidential candidate William McKinley. The name was formally recognized when President Wilson signed the Mount McKinley National Park Act in 1917. August 30, 2015 the Secretary of the Interior under federal law officially changed the name to Denali.
As we resumed our trek along the park road we continued to stop to take in all the sights. Unfortunately, we came to the end of the road where private vehicles have to turn around. The scenery is still breathtaking. Note the different coloured buses, I will talk more about those later in this blog. From this point the road switches to gravel.
The original bridge that crossed the Savage River was built in 1925 using timber hauled by horse drawn sleigh. Evidence of the original wooden bridge is still evident.
This Arctic Ground Squirrel was the only wildlife we saw during the 15 mile drive. These social creatures live in complex burrows with numerous entrances.
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| Elegant Orange Wall Lichen |
If you want to get anywhere beyond Savage River you have to start at the Wilderness Assess Center and Bus Depot located at the entrance to the park. These people are amazing and extremely helpful. Inside they have a large board that indicates the time buses leave, when they get back, where they stop, how long the trip takes...well you get the point. This is the place if you want to explore Denali.
There are three kinds of buses that operate in Denali National Park. The first is a free entrance area shuttle bus which take you around the entrance area and as far as Savage River. Beyond Savage River you have to buy a ticket at the Wilderness Assess Center and Bus Depot for a tan tour bus or a green transit bus. The green bus stops for wildlife and you can get off and change buses at any time. The tan bus costs more but it offers a narrated trip with food and water.
Our next stop was the Denali Kennels. In 1929 Superintendent Harry Karsten built the present day kennels. Each fall rangers would be given a team of dogs and an area to patrol during the winter. By 1949 no working sled dogs remained in the kennels, they were replaced by machines. In the early 1970's park management hired the first kennel manager to revitalize the dog sled program. Today, sled dog teams preserve the integrity of the wilderness and provide quiet, non-mechanized transportation.
The kennels building is the oldest building in the park and is still used for its original purpose. It was built in 1929.
The kennel area was absolutely spotless. With all those dogs you would think there would be a little bit of a smell. None! I was impressed. The dogs are so well socialized you can walk right up to them to pat and they love it. This dog stood on his house so proud. He is only 10 months old.
The summer ride and the winter ride, how fun is that.
After an amazing time in Denali we went home to our own dogs for some puppy lovin'. I took them for a long walk then it was time to go out for supper. We decided a place right next door to our campground called 49th State Brewing Company. They brew their own beer but also have a great menu. It's kind of a quirky place but fun. They have a replica of the bus from the movie "Into The Wild".
Bev, Susan and I had the halibut tacos, Ted had halibut fish and chips, Kathy had the halibut burger, and Bob had wings. Everyone said their food was excellent.
This was the view from the parking lot. Know wonder everyone wanted to eat outside at the picnic tables.
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