ATV Tour Near Denali Park

After flying in the morning, we struck out for an afternoon adventure.  Years ago, we took an ATV tour in Canada at Banff.  It was great fun as I remembered, so we decided we would take one in the Denali area.  Don’t get me wrong, it was fun but for me, a bit disappointing.  We traveled through the forest and of course, the trees blocked all hopes of seeing anything.  Besides, I was holding on with a death grip!  Jim however was like a kid again.  He loved gunning the engine and plowing through the mud puddles and mud rivers and we bumped and rocked along the trails.  We took a side by side and Jim drove.  We stopped three times to look at the views but they were just ho, hum -- oh dear, have I become jaded?  The weather was threatening rain as we drove along and finally at the last stop, the sky opened and the rain came.  It was cold and windy with lightening and thunder.  Suddenly, the rain turned to hail.  There we stood in the open as the hail pelleted us.  From inside the helmet, it sounded like balls thumping us on the head but on our bodies, well some of it hurt.  We all laughed and hurried back to our vehicles.  Since we were in a side by side, we had a roof and windshield so that protected us to some degree.  While we did not see any wildlife or great views, it was still a fun ride.  I have not seen Jim’s “child” in a long time -- so it was well worth the trip.

We returned to the RV after a full day of flying and driving tired but very glad we had come to this beautiful place.  Vast, powerful and beautiful, the Denali area is not to be missed.

Jim, my driver for the adventure.  He was so much fun to watch as he roared through the mud hole and over the rocks and gullies.  It was worth the trip just to see him laugh with such abandon.

Off we go, single file into the forest.

We are going through that!?!  Indeed we did and much, much more.

 Our chariot for the afternoon.  It was really quite a machine.  Fortunately, it had no problem with the terrain.

Our final stop on the tour was at this formation.  I could not tell you where we were at this point.  I was too busy hanging on for dear life to ask!

Then the rains and the hail started.  Now I love a good time, but standing in hail is not what I consider a good time.  Besides, the lightning bolts were enough to make me wish for a roof over my head.

Okay, it is pretty well maybe not pretty but pretty amazing.

It had been a long day.  Is it Miller Time yet?