Dotty over Denali

Near Park entrance
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Our early breakfast (10am) meant a good sleep and we took off for Denali National Park.

Not too many slides on the road and no dramas really except for driving for 6 hours and we arrived in a spectacular place. The sky was grey, the mist was low, the snow was covering everything in sight and we were driving to a place with minimal maps and it was getting dark. A road looked right. It read “Denali Park Highway”. So we turned left and drove up a snow-covered road and felt uncomfortable. So, a quick trip into a bottle shop led us to have a close look at the address of the accommodation suites. It mentioned a town about 40 miles up the road. So, off we went. Darkness comes slowly up here so we had enough time to make it over snow covered roads to Denali Suites.

Dotty over Denali

Where is the colour?
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12 of us in groups of 4 in self-contained units with snow all around. Loverly!

Was it the Northern Lights? Was it the lights from the community sports centre? Was it reflection of the street lights? We think the latter was more likely. The trouble is that we want to see the Aurora Borealis and will clutch at any lights and stake a claim.

Overcast! Cold! No wind. Let’s go to the park entrance and talk with the ranger about walking trails! A short drive led us to a village with street lights, parking bays, shops, hundreds of accommodation rooms in magnificent hotels and not a soul in sight. The season is over! So we drove in comfort over the white roads (with yellow lines and markings) to the park entrance. As we arrived, the clouds started to break up and the sun appeared in a brilliant blue sky. We chose our walks and set off in a magnificent park with mountains so close and snow on the trees and ground. Moose and voles but no sign of the prints of a bear. Thanks!

Mountains and mist
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We have some spectacular photos taken as we climbed above the snow line.

That is a funny thing. At home we climb up to the snow. Here we had snow at ground level and climbed above it on the particular mountain we were on. Other mountains had snow right to their peaks. The one we climbed must have been in a special situation or something.

Down to the sled dog kennels for some one-on-one with huskies. More photos and a short bush walk. Unfortunately at this time of the year, there are no demonstrations. Why not have demonstrations when there is snow on the ground? Dunno!

Our walkers and snow
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On the way back to our units we “ran into” a wall of mist and the beautiful colours became black and white again. The road iced up and it was cold again. Stopping for petrol we were told that the weather had not changed all day. We had been in beautiful sunshine and they had been in cold, damp, overcast foggy stuff.

Tuesday 16^th.

Similar to yesterday. No fresh snow. The group is splitting into different parties for various walks today. Bacon and sardine sandwiches, dip and celery, orange juice and fruit – that should keep us going.