It was a short drive from Fairbanks to Denali. Denali, The Great One, is a special place to not only the Alaskan Natives, but also to any visitor to Alaska. We spent 6 days in Denali before heading down to Anchorage for refills. The first two days we spent at Riley Creek CG at the entrance to Denali. The next 4 nights were at Teklanika CG.
At Riley Creek, you can only drive the first 15 miles of the parks road, which limits what you can see and do, considering the vastness of Denali NP. We always like to get to the Visitor Center to see the movies they have. They are always educational and inspirational.
Denali Visitor Center
There were three things we did at Riley Creek. The first was to visit the Sled Dog Demo. Denali NP is the only national park with sled dog kennels. Because of the wilderness designation, all back country work is done via dogsled in the winter and on foot during the summer.
The Dogs Being Hooked
Dogs Being Unhitched
Sled dogs actually outlive most dogs. They love to run and this is what they are bred to do. You can tell that they enjoy their work.
The second thing we did was drive out to Savage River, the turn around for the Parks Road unless you are going to Tek(lanika) CG. Animals were not plentiful this trip, but we did see some. Our third thing at Riley Creek was the Horseshoe Lake Hike. Here, we managed to bag a moose.
This moose fed for about a half hour while we watched.
We did not do Tek on our first RV trip to Alaska and it was a mistake. If you make reservations at Tek, you need to stay a minimum of three days (we stayed four), you cannot move your vehicle once parked until you leave and the only transportation is bike, foot or Tek bus. We did not pay for the Tek bus because we gambled on our e-bikes being our transportation mode. I would not advise this for everyone. Our first trip to the end at East Fork was 29 miles with about 2500 ft of elevation gain. We got back with zero battery left. We made the trip to East Fork once, but Sable Pass three times. It worked out great for Terrie and I.
The big deal at Denali is two questions. Did you see the mountain and did you see any wildlife? The answer to both of these questions was yes. Let's start with the mountain. Only 10-30% of people glimpse the mountain, and only 1% see blue sky around the whole mountain. We got to be in the 1%.
The Great One
As for wildlife, we got to see a grizzly bear with three cubs, one caribou, lots of dall sheep, two moose on the way out and a golden eagle in flight.
In this photo you can see Mom and all three cubs.
Our sole caribou sighting in the park.
One of the things I did not recall is that Denali NP was originally formed to protect Dall Sheep from overhunting. It has been successful. Between Igloo Creek and Sable Pass we saw lots of sheep.
A group with little ones.
E-Biker enjoying the scenery at Sable Pass.
A Golden Eagle doing eagle things, like soaring.
Our last night at Denali, chicken over an open fire.
We bid adieu to Denali and continue our trip down toward Anchorage and then on to the Kenai Penninsula for sightseeing, wildlife and fishing. On the Kenai we will hit Seward, Whittier, Homer, and Cooper Landing. The weather on the Kenai has started really cloudy and foggy, but today we head to the Exit Glacier. Tomorrow is a Glacier/Wildlife cruise and Friday is Salmon/Rock Fish fishing.
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