TD2 2022 Adventure - Alaska or Bust! - Part 5 - Denali National Park

Hello again friends,

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I'm sorry it's been so long between posts.  This happens sometimes -- limited cell service, too much driving, etc.  I'll try my best to get caught up without any more large gaps

So, if you remember back to our "cliffhanger" in Part 4, we had not seen Denali from the State Park lookouts, so we continued past Denali State Park, and even when we got to Denali National Park later that night, Denali mountain was still was not visible — hidden by clouds.  We were surprised that there was no where to show our America the Beautiful National Park pass, so we just drove as far as we could, which was until a Ranger stopped us about 15 miles into the park.  She said we could go no further in our vehicle, unless we had campground reservations (I had tried but they were all booked up), or had made bus reservations (we’re just not into that level of pre-planning).  

Denali wasn't visible the first day; still had some stunning views

On our drive back out we did find a nice place to take a short walk.  And then after leaving the park, we headed north hoping to find a pullout nearby where we could stay.  We had scoped one out on our drive up, but there was significant road contruction right before the park, and we didn’t want to have to go through it again.  BTW, a visitor center worker told me this joke about Alaska:  Do you know the four seasons of Alaska?  Early-Winter, Mid-Winter, Late-Winter, and Road Construction!  Seems true.

Anyhew, we did find a nice pullout to camp in (with a really cool hidden path that overlooks the Nenana river just north of Denali - not for anyone who has a fear of heights, believe me).  You’ll see some pictures and a movie from this amazing and frightening trail right along the cliffs looking toward Moody Bridge.  It really made the parking spot — I visited it before bed, and after waking again in the morning.  

Dramatic bridge and cliffs down to the river below

And the next day ... cliffhanger resolved ... the weather was clear and crisp, so we left early and went back into the park.  We checked in the visitor center how far we could drive before we would be stopped by a ranger and where we could park (only 2 RV spots).  And yes, it was the same spot we were stopped yesterday.  So we pulled in and were the first ones there, and grabbed one of the two RV spots.  Interestingly, as we were walking past the ranger, she told us they had “just decided” no more RV parking in that lot.  But I explained we were told we could park there at the Visitor Center.  She relented (and they probably got their act together the day after we left ;-)  I see online now, they state no RV parking in that lot!

So we walked about 5 1/2 miles (round trip) to get to the best view spot of Denali (within reasonable distance).  After that we brunched in the RV, and then I went out for another hike (Savage River Alpine Hike) that left from that parking lot.  The weather was just perfect (and the smoke was gone) - woohoo!

Yeah!  We got to see Denali in all her glory

So without further ado, here is the full set of photos and three movies for Part 5 - Denali National Park of our TD2 2022 Alaska or Bust! adventure.  As you move your cursor over each photo, you will see a descriptive title.  If you can't read it all, hover your cursor over it and the entire title will appear in a box.

Next up we'll be turning around, as the weather changed again, with rain forecast in Denali, and better weather outlook for down south.  So like the fair(er)-weather travelers that we are, we'll head down that way and see what the Kenai Peninsula has to offer in Part 6 of our adventure!

And no matter where we roam, we always like keep Thistle Dew Too's motto in mind: