The purpose of this weekly feature is to share some of the places we’ve been. They are places that stay with us for one reason or another. I’ve been thinking about Alaska and remembering that fantastic summer we spent there. I could spend every Sunday for a year just featuring the many beautiful places here. But this one is definitely a Favorite Place: Denali National Park.The park is so vast that it staggers the imagination. You can see for miles and miles. It’s as if it will never end. Since the park contains six million acres, it’s no wonder it feels so huge.
There is only one road in the park and it is limited. Private vehicles are allowed only on the first 15 miles. The picture above is what you see at the 15 mile area. It was great for animal watching so we drove out here every day.
If you want to go past that point, you have to ride one of the limited buses. It’s best to have reservations. The goal is to protect the animals and the vegetation from human encroachment.
Twice we were able to ride one of the buses. One day we went out about 45 miles. Another day we rode to the end of the road – 91 miles to a small village, Kantishna. If you look carefully in the above picture you can see that one lonesome gravel road.
Denali National Park is home to Mount Denali (formerly Mount McKinley). Only once were we able to see the mountain and that was a very brief look. The guide told us we were lucky as in the summer it is only visible about 20% of the time. There are plenty of other mountains around however, to satisfy those who have to have their mountain fix – me. For mountains and vast open places, Denali is definitely one of our Favorite Places.
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Alaska is gorgeous. I’m sure you had a great time. I would love to get up there some day.
Alaska is one of only two states I haven’t been in (the other is Louisiana). I will get there one of these days. In the meantime, I’m visiting through your posts.
Beautiful pictures! It looks like you had great weather for that trip. I love the picture with the clouds!
Six million acres! Wow! It’s nice to know that they’re preserving the landscape and wildlife.
The picture of you and Jay is one of my favorite pictures of the two of you. You can tell you really enjoyed Alaska. I am glad to hear of all the wonderful things you were able to do when you were there.