Heading to Denali

We finally left the Fairbanks area and headed southwest.  Our next destination is Denali National Park and Reserve.  As we left Fairbanks, the weather was cloudy with rain showers.  We certainly hoped it would not rain while in Denali.  Driving along this route is quite different as the trees and vegetation are quite mature and even at the overlooks the view is most often obscured from view.  What we thought was mist turns out to be smoke from one of the fifteen wild fires that are burning in Alaska already this summer.  There are a couple in the direction of Anchorage but we are hopeful it will not have any impact on our trip.

Denali is the crown jewel in the parks system and gets more visitors than any other.  Home to Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet.  If we are very lucky and the weather cooperates, we might get to see it in all its glory.  We have several things planned.  Since Denali is one of the parks that does not allow the public to drive all over it, we will be taking a bus tour that will take us deep into the park.  We also have a flight planned to take us around Mt. McKinley and it will land on one of the glaciers where we will get to walk around and explore.  Finally, we will be taking an ATV tour, yep Jim will be driving a two person ATV and we will be exploring the boreal forest, fording rivers and climbing one of the smaller peaks for a birds eye view of the park.  We cannot wait!