And, no, we did not see The Mountain
Apparently, only ~30% of visitors to Denali National Park actually see The Mountain. We were not among them. On top of that, Mark got a bad, bad cold (flu?) and went to bed Sunday before dinner and spent Monday mostly sleeping. Anyway…
Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park
Sunday morning, we traveled from Fairbanks to Denali Village aboard a glassdomed GoldStar car of the Alaska Railroad and enjoyed a sit-down breakfast service and great views on the way.
We were on the first seating for breakfast 
Looking ahead on the train from the viewing platform 
Looking behind on the train from the viewing platform 
Views from our seats were great! 
Some of the burn area we saw from the train 
More views from the train as we got closer to Denali 
More views from the train as we got closer to Denali 
More views from the train as we got closer to Denali 
More views from the train as we got closer to Denali
Upon our arrival in Denali National Park, we had lunch went to the Denali Visitor Center and took a hike. Then we checked into the Denali Cabins for 2 nights, Mark (who was starting feeling ill) went to bed, while Gail went to dinner, sat at the bar, and got joined by 2 other solo tour diners (our tour guide and someone whose spouse was too full from all the other food that day!)
Visit to 2 new National Park Sites:
Denali National Park and Preserve (#302 & 303), is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one 92-mile ribbon of road, winding west from the park entrance to Kantishna, and paved only to MP 15. 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, 20,310′ Mount McKinley / Denali (in Koyukon Athabaskan, which means “the high one”) / Bulshaia Gora (Russian name for the mountain). Wild animals large and small roam un-fenced lands, living as they have for ages. It is the 3rd largest National Park.
On Sunday, we did the 4-mile hike to/around Horseshoe Lake and spent some time at the Visitor Center.
On Monday (while Mark mostly slept), Gail joined the rest of the tour for the 5-hour, 42-miles-one-way sightseeing bus tour into the park, with the Alaska Range on the left and the Outer Range on the right. Along the tour, aside from seeing the transition from taiga forest through the transition ecotone to high alpine tundra, we saw several animals: grizzlies & Dall sheep from a distance and caribou, willow ptarmigan & artic ground squirrel (which looks like a prairie dog) up pretty close. Note, the tour used to go to mile 56, but, due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide, the Park Road is now closed at Mile 43. They are building a bridge over the landslide, due to open the summer of 2027.
Denali just showing a teeny bit behind the clouds 
Supposedly, Denali just showing a teeny bit behind the clouds…the bright white in the circle 
the Drunken Forest, where the dead/dying trees lean, due to partial anchoring in the permafrost 
Gail’s first Caribou! 
Turn-around near Polychrome Pass 
Our Denali Tour Bus…Tour Guide to the right 
Braided River
Dinner at the Grande Denali Lodge was the best so far, for the food, the view, and the drive up to it. Unfortunately, Mark slept through it.
Denali Village to Talkeetna
Yesterday we had a leisurely morning, just hanging out. With Mark sick (but feeling better) and Gail hoping to stay not-sick, we opted out of our planned “optional adventure” of white water rafting. After lunch at the Denali version of the 49th State Brewery, we headed on south to Talkeetna, where we checked into Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, overlooking the south side of Mount Denali, for just one night. (Still cloudy, mountain not “out”.) We took the shuttle to town with a few fellow travellers for a little walk-around and pizza for dinner.
Today we traveled to Seward via Anchorage
For more pictures (later), see Adventure Album: Alaska!
1 Comment
Gretta · July 17, 2025 at 4:01 am
It’s no wonder Mark got a cold, going in that icy water, get well soon, Mark.