Denali National Park

Denali National Park was the top destination of the whole trip. After picking up my son Oliver and his family at the Anchorage airport and joining us in their rental RV for the next 14 days,  we drove straight to Denali.
The park is larger than Switzerland and is basically a vast wilderness area, comprising tundra, boreal forests and a part of the Alaska Range with North America's highest mountain, Mt. McKinley. There is only one road leading into the park, 95 miles long and mainly with a gravel surface. Only the first 15 miles are paved and open for the public; the next 14 miles are limited for vehicles using the last RV campground on this road (Teklanika River Campground), and the remainder of the road is accessible only by using buses operated by the National Park Service or by concessionaires.
At first we considered that a major disadvantage for exploring the national park, but we quickly learned that otherwise there would hardly be any wildlife to view because of the nuisance caused by extensive traffic. We also learned (by experiencing it!) that there is only one chance to have a close-up encounter with grizzlies: through the windows of a bus. See yourself:

We encountered this grizzly sow with her two about 18 months old cubs walking at the side of the road while passing by in the bus. I don't think we would have seen them from that distance outside a vehicle - and survived it!

We stayed in Teklanika River campground for 4 nights (and an additional two nights at the Riley Creek CG, close to the park entrance).

Dam building in a side arm of Tek River

 

One of the things to do in this national park is joining a ranger guided hiking trip. That's what we did on the second day.

Mt. McKinley is free of clouds only 30 days a year - almost never in summer. We never got an unobstructed view on the mountain; this one was as good as it gets in summer

 

Mt. McKinley as seen from the north. The previous photo shows the west side of the mountain



Caribou

There are 5 "large" animals every visitor wants to see in the park: bear, moose, wolf, caribou, and dall sheep. We were lucky to be able to see all of them, albeit the dall sheep from too a large distance for picture taking.


At one of the bus stops along the 95-mile park road

Part of the park road

Only bears and caribous are relatively easy to spot. Moose are much shyer and a rare view, therefore.

A grizzly walking near the road in search of a cooling bath..

... and found it!

 



 

Golden Eagle



An extremely rare view - a wolf; seen from a distance of about 500 ft. The collar is for wildlife monitoring purposes



Sunset over our last evening in Teklanika River. Photo taken at about 11:30 p.m.

 

 

In Alaska

Finally, after 4 weeks of driving from Hilton Head, we arrived in Alaska. Crossing the border on the Alaska Highway, we were greeted by the mighty Wrangell mountain ranges, with peaks soaring over 16,000 ft (4.800 m). From Tok, the first noteworthy Alaskan town on the Highway, we took the so-called Tok-Cutoff and Glenn Highways towards Anchorage, thereby crossing through a part of the Alaska Range. It is a wild and untamed landscape, mesmerizing us again with its vast emptiness.

Mt. Drum in the Wrangell mountain range

The Glenn Highway traverses through a Boreal forest, also called Taiga, a pristine landscape that is typical for northern climate zones.

Highest point in the Glenn Highway

Doesn't this look like an erupting volcano?



A Grizzly bear, seen right from the highway





The Nelchina glacier, seen from the Glenn Highway

 

Coming from Anchorage on the Parks Highway, we drove to Denali National Park. Mt. McKinley, with 20,320 ft (6.193 m) North America's highest mountain, is located within the park.



The Alaska Range from the south. Mt. McKinley is hidden in the clouds.

 



 



A rare exception to the usually nice weather, but isn't this beautiful too?

 

 

 



 

 

 



In Yukon Territory

We spent 5 days crossing the Yukon Territory, Canada's northwestern province, on 570 miles of  the Alaska Highway between Watson Lake and the Canada/ Alaska border. It is named after the mighty Yukon river, where, close to Dawson City, the big gold rush began at the end of the 19. century. The population is just 34,000, which equates to merely 1 person per 5 square miles - and over 80% of the people live in the capital Whitehorse. Driving through this vast and empty land is a quite unique and impressive experience. We had the finest weather there  - sunny, dry, and daily highs between 75 and 83 degrees (24 and 28 Celsius).

Crossing into Yukon from the south, from British Columbia, the first major stop is Watson City, famous for its signpost forest that boasts over 80,000 signposts, brought  by visitors from all over the world.

 

 

Sunset over Lake Teslin, between Lake Watson and Whitehorse

 

 

At the Yukon River in Whitehorse

Historic steamer Klondike sailed the Yukon from 1929 to 1938

Downtown Whitehorse

 

 In Whitehorse begins the Skagway highway that leads to the Alaskan port of Skagway, which is a frequent stopping point of Alaskan cruises. We drove this highway some 40 miles south through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the Yukon.

Emerald Lake, some 20 miles south of Whitehorse

 

A Grizzly bear right next to the highway



 

A whim of nature is the Carcross desert, a sand desert about 1 mile across

Lake Tagish

 

 

Located a few miles east of Whitehorse is the Muktuk dogsled farm, where Alaskan Huskies are bred and raised for all kinds of dogsled adventures, offered to tourists in the winter season. Silke and Benjamin took a 2-hour tour and were totally fascinated afterwards.

I guess I am lucky that Alaskan Huskies are...

pretty incompatible with our Hilton Head climate! 

 

Winding its way northwest from Whitehorse toward the Alaskan border, the Alaska Highway approaches the Kluane mountain range, where Mt. Logan is located, with 19,550 ft (5.960 m) Canada's highest peak.

 

Kluane Lake



Kluane Mountain Range

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Alaska Highway IV - The Oil Highway

As unique and breathtaking as the Alaska Highway is - there are also a few annoying things. First - there are parts with really bad surface conditions, and with long and nerve-wrecking construction sites. Today, for example, we drove through a major reconstruction area between the beautiful Kluane Lake and the Canada-Alaska border, over 100 km of gravel, pot holes, and 1-lane traffic behind follow-me cars. I posted a couple pictures about driving in construction sites like that in a previous post.

Another pretty annoying thing is the ever increasing truck traffic around the oil field developments along the highway in British Columbia. While the development of oil fields around Ft. Nelson, Ft. St. John and the Peace Valley goes back quite some time, the appearance of the fracking technology a few years ago gave the oil business a new boost, and now the 283 miles from Dawson Creek to Ft. Nelson bear witness of this by way of trucks, dozens of mobile home villages for oil field workers, and countless auxiliary businesses along the highway. Here are a few pictures for illustration purposes, all taken directly from the highway.