June 4 -- On To Denali


On To Denali
This morning we left promptly at 8 am for our long drive to Denali going north on the Richardson Highway to Paxson and then left onto the Denali Highway.  The weather was great with mixed clouds and sun and superb views of the Alaskan Mountain Range and the glaciers in that range.   

At one stop, the clouds were burning off from the nearby range and we could watch the gradual “revealing” of the mountains and the huge glacier.   

The glacial lakes still had ice on them.  For the first 25 miles of the Denali Highway, we had pavement.  Then we reached the gravel road, which we had for the next 120 miles to Cantwell.  The road took us to Maclaren Summit, which is the second highest highway summit on the Alaska road system.   














 Around 11:30 am we stopped at the Maclaren Road House on the Maclaren River, which flows from the Maclaren Glacier.  The road house served a “soup bar”, which consisted of 3 crockpots – tomato-basil, minestrone, and chili.  They also had sandwiches.  We spent about an hour there as a break and had good views of the glacier. 




 After the break, we continued on, passing a few cyclists, and climbed in altitude for more magnificent views.

At the half way point, we stopped at the Susitna River to stretch our legs and walk across the bridge.




   From the bridge, we could see four caribou swimming across the river in the distance.  When they reached the shore, they turned and swam upriver with two more trying to joint them from the opposite bank. 
All along the drive we had a constant unfolding of magnificent views of the Alaskan Range and the snow-covered mountains.  We had a great stop with a panoramic view of the Range.  


Then we proceeded on to Cantwell, reaching the pavement again about 3 miles before reaching the Park Highway at Cantwell.  From there we had about 15 miles to the Denali Wildness Lodge where we will be staying for 2 nights.  A group picture was taken on the lodge patio and we then went to our rooms.  Our room is on the 3rd floor with a super view of the mountains.

Our dinner reservation was at 5:15 pm and we had dinner with two other couples – Greg and Myra from Redding, CA and John and Susan from Missouri.  We had Coconut Halibut with Apricot Chutney, Mixed Greens, Birch-Citrus Infused Grilled King Salmon (Larry) and Grilled King Salmon (Bev) with smashed Yukon potatoes, kale, and green beans.  Tomorrow morning, we leave at 7:40 am for our day-long tundra wilderness tour in the Park.

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