NORTH TO ALASKA

Denali is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Travelers along it see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America's tallest peak, 20,320' Mount McKinley. Wild animals large and small roam unfenced lands, living as they have for ages. Solitude, tranquility and wilderness await. Denali's singular 92-mile (148-kilometer) road leads visitors through its majestic valleys toward the towering Mount McKinley, the crown jewel of the park. On clear days, McKinley can be seen 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the southwest.

We disembarked from the Oosterdam in the town of Seward - a coastal port that is one of the main ports in Alaska. There, we boarded a luxury coach for the 8-hour ride from Seward to Denali. We stayed in the McKinley Chalet Resort - a gorgeous hotel about a mile from the Park's entrance. NOTE - I included a link to their website if you want to check it out!

We saw some beautiful scenery on our coach voyage. We stopped at a great restaurant for lunch. We passed through the town where Sarah Palin currently lives! (that was cool). We looked, but no one saw her! We continued our trek into the interior of Alaska and finally arrived in Alaska around 6 PM.

We spent two nights in Denali. On the day after our first night, we took an 8-hour bus tour through the tundra into the depths of the park. There, we saw Moose, caribou, Dall sheep and even some bears! It was a cool adventure. The company provided snacks for us during this all-day trip. It rained on-and-off, but that did not stop us from having a great time! I have a lot of pictures to share about this excursion!

On July 28th, we boarded a gorgeous train - the McKinley Explorer - with its domed cars - for the trip to Anchorage. That was an exciting experience that I will share more about in the next page!

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We docked at Seward	View of the dock and ramp for disembarkation	Welcome to Seward!
This is a main port in Alaska	We say farewell to the Oosterdam!	Leaving dock - heading to Denali
In our coach heading to Denali	Distance to Whittier (NOT IN CA!!)	Nice to know accommodations were here!
Odd name for a road or place...	Glacier road coming up	Burr! Glacier must be up there...
Well known rescue place in Alaska	We took Seward Hwy most of the way to Denali	It was a rainy drive (not heavy)
Cool name for a boulevard!	Gas in CA was about $3.90 at this time	Wasilla is where Sarah Palin lives today!!
OK - be alert! Moose Crash Area ahead!	We could go to Fairbanks this way!	Denali Park - about 200 miles ahead!!!
Where we stopped for lunch	View of the restaurant/lodge	Well, look who is (or has been) here!!
Getting in line for lunch!! Great food!	Wow - this guy must have everything!!	Weather is clearing up - no more rain!!!
First view of Denail	Cool plaque with great info!	Alaska Memorial - a stop-off for our coach
In memory of Alaska's military!!!	Denali Visitor Information	We crossed over this (gulp!)
Getting closer	Just outside the park	We have arrived!!!!!
Viewing a mountain in Denali	This river travels throughout the park	Entering the town
McKinley Chalet Resort (where we stayed)	One of the places to eat overlooking river	Our rooms were on ground floor in this bldg
Inside our room	Comfortable bed! We slept well!	Pretty McKinley Chalet property
Information about the resort	Nice information about Alaska	Pam and Mary checking out cool husky!
Info on our tundra excursion	Starting our Tundra adventure!	Our first moose in the wild!
Inside TV monitor shows close up of animals!	Heading deeper into the tundra	We stopped at a Ranger booth who got on board to talk about the park
Neat sign at the rest stop	Our first of many caribou sighting!!!	Bill, Pam and Mary at rest stop
Pam and Mary found what a moose lost!	Dick and Bill at the rest stop	Dick, Pam and Bill
A cool gift shop at this stop	Another pic of the gift shop	Our first bear sighting!!!
This guy was not afraid of us.....	Our second bear sighting!!!	Some more caribou
More caribou	Another picture of these two!	Dall sheep on the hillside
Another bear!	Back at McKinley Chalet near river

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