Denali

Arriving at the park, I went to the Riley Creek Campground mercantile to check in, receive my passes and papers, and get my briefing for my stay at the Teklanika River (Tek) campground. Denali is a wilderness preserve and vehicle traffic is limited to a single road. Tek is about as far in as you can get in an RV, and all other travel inside the park is via shuttle busses. This policy limits the amount of travel on the roads, and reduces the impact on the wildlife. Riley Creek is right at the park entrance, Tek is about 29 miles in. I took advantage of the free dump and fill station at Riley, and then went up to the park visitor center to look around. Inside are some really excellent displays of wildlife and park history, including a cool 3D map of the park. A very nice theater shows various films throughout the day. You can spend several hours there easily. There is also a café and a book store/gift shop.

  

  

Heading into the park, the road turns to gravel at the Savage River checkpoint. Only campers with reservations can proceed past this point in private vehicles. The road was muddy, but really in good shape, given how much rain this area has had over the last week.

  

I encounter one of Denali’s road hazards: Caribou cruising along the highway! They seem quite unconcerned by vehicles!

  

  

I meet up with the group at Tek, and we throw a little birthday party for Wendy. It’s good to see everyone again, catch up on what they have been doing and seeing. I show off my mountain pix, and we all hope to see the mountain tomorrow. A little rain chases us into a cluster under Dennis and Carol’s awning. That’s OK: We’re in Alaska!

  

  

The next morning is sunny, and we all grab a bus to the interior of the park. Along the way, we see Caribou, Dall Sheep, Grizzlies, and spectacular scenery. Our bus driver, Craig, keeps us amused with his encyclopedic knowledge of the park and it’s animals while negotiating some of the most narrow and difficult roadway that I’ve ever been on! The trip is a lot of fun, and ends (for us) at the Eielson Visitor’s center, about 65 miles into the park.

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Eielson is where you get a perfect view of Mt. McKinley… on a clear day, that is. Unfortunately, the mountain is hiding behind the clouds, as it does about 70% of the time, but the center has many great displays to show you what you are missing.

  

Outside the visitor center at Eielson

  

I came across a curious tourist phenomenon here… they have antlers on display and there seems to be a curious compulsion to hold them to your head and have folks take pictures. LOL!

  

Anyhow, we load up the bus and head back. I mentioned the road and its extremeness earlier… here’s an example of what I’m talking about. Sure hope we don’t meet an oncoming bus along here!

  

Carol and I hop off the bus at a nearby stop and hike back along the river and through the woods to the campground. That evening, we all gather and compare notes (and pictures) for the day. Some of the gang who caught an earlier bus did see the mountain from the same places we were at… we were just a little too late in the day. Oh, well, maybe tomorrow!