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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Denali, AK (June 18th & 19th)


From Fairbanks we headed to Denali via train. The train had glass all around so that you could see pretty much everything from wherever you were walking/sitting. We had breakfast on the train, which was neat. The ride was long, but scenic.


Once we got to our Princess Denali Lodge we quickly settled in and headed out to explore. That evening mom, Cheri & Jesse, Chris & I went whitewater rafting down the Nenana River. IThe preparation was quite an adventure since we all had to get dressed in dry suits that nearly sealed us off from getting wet since the river is fed from glacial melting hence the water is super cold. We had a great guide & a great time. We did class III & IV rapids! There was a bit of squealing going on!


After we got back from rafting, Chris & I set out to walk on some trails near the lodge since it's stays light nearly 24 hours! We took a bike trail that took us from the lodge to the entrance of Denali National Park. It was quiet for the most part, and all of a sudden we heard a little scrambling in the trees to our left. If really sounded like something small though. We sped up a little regardless & walked down the path a little further. I turned around & crouched down to see a she moose feeding on the bushes there. The picture below is a picture of her as she crossed the path behind us.












The next day, Chris I got up at 6:30 a.m. to start our hike up Mt. Healy. Chris had picked this particular trail even though we only had tennis shoes and no hiking boots. It was hot even that early in the morning, there was mud all along the trail, and it was very steep the last half-mile. I was a bit miserable on the way up, but the view from the top was so worth it. We enjoyed that alone-time we had together. Here are pictures from the hike up Mt. Healy.


That afternoon, we took a guided tour of Denali via school bus. It is probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen! Although the park covers over 6 million acres, there is only one road cut through it that is merely 93 miles long. Only the first 13 miles of that road are paved. The park service only allows school buses to travel on that road unless you have a special resident pass. Our tour guide, Mary Jane, was great as we took our 8 hour trip in the park. We saw bald eagles, golden eagles, & other birds; Dall sheep, brown bear & bears cubs(from a long distance), caribou, hares, artic ground squirrels, a fox and lots of wildflowers along the way. Here's one of my favorite landscape shots...

That evening, Chris and I took the same path for our evening walk where we encountered yet another moose &....her CALF! Too cute! We nearly walked by them because they were hidden in the brush eating willow leaves. We slooowwwwlyyy backed away & let them have their peace. They walked out right in front of us & crossed the road. Here's a picture of the two of them.

Then we hit the long, dusty Denali Highway...

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