Denali National Park

This past weekend we decided to take a trip to Denali National Park. The trip was somewhat impromptu. We had been planning on going for a while, but the weather wasn’t wanting to cooperate. When we woke up Sunday morning I checked the weather and it wasn’t raining, nor was it super cloudy, so we jumped in the car and headed that way.

The drive from Fairbanks to Denali took us about 2 hours. It was a pretty easy drive, especially considering there is only one highway. After about 30 minutes the view during the drive was gorgeous. Even the drive down was worth the trip! Once we arrived we headed into the Visitor’s Center to get our park pass. Active Duty military get a free park pass to any National Park. We chose to drive my car into the park rather than take a tour bus. The downside to this of course is that, that option only allows us to drive 15 miles into the park to Savage River. The reason we chose this option is because we wanted to be able to stop/pull over if we wanted to take a picture or if we saw wildlife.

We ended up seeing a good amount of wildlife on our 15-mile drive to Savage River and back to the Visitor’s Center. The two animals that we saw a lot of was hares and caribou! We got some pictures of the caribou but the gosh darn hares were fast! I was hoping to see a bear or goat, but we didn’t get lucky enough.

When we arrived back at the Visitor’s Center we ate the lunch that I had packed for us. It wasn’t too special. 😊 Just a sandwich and some Pringles. I also thought to pack a cooler with water for us. After lunch we went over to the bus stop and waited patiently to board the bus to the Kennels. Denali National Park has a bunch of sled dogs that work and live at the park. During the summer they are basically on vacation. They put on a free demonstration twice a day for park visitors. During the winter the dogs job is to haul debris and such out of the park. They can go places in the park that machines can’t get to.

The demonstration was great! We got to hang out and pet the dogs for a good twenty minutes when we arrived. Then we went to the seating area and watched as the workers picked 5 dogs for a demonstration. They hooked the dogs up to a special sled with wheels (you know, since it’s winter and we don’t have snow). They explained the dog’s jobs, their physical appearance, what makes them so unique, and the history of the park’s sled dogs.

These dogs are the strongest draft animal pound for pound, so they can haul a lot and they are hooked up to the sled in a specific pattern according to their size and job. They have a SUPER thick coat that allows them to stay warm and dry in the winter. When we arrived, these pups were laying down napping like they had been running all day. This was because the dogs are used to negative temps, so this was 70 degrees hotter than their “ideal” temperature. During the summer they eat once a day but during the winter they eat twice a day because of the energy they burn when they’re running and working.

After the demonstration we got about 10 more minutes with the dogs and then it was time to get on the bus and head back to the Visitor’s Center. At this point it was already almost 4:00 in the afternoon so we hopped in the car and started making our way back to Fairbanks. It was on our way out of the park that we saw a moose (which let’s be honest we’re used to; they’re in our yard all the time). We managed to snap a couple pictures, but he was headed in the opposite direction than we were. We also made a quick pit stop in Healy, Alaska. We were back on the road to Fairbanks within 15 minutes and made it back home by 6:30pm.

We had a great time and it has sparked our interest in seeing other National Parks in the U.S. This summer is most likely our last summer in Alaska, so we have a lot of stuff planned! Plus, of course, there is most likely some big changes coming our way. These past few years have been interesting. Make sure to keep an eye out for future blog posts. You won’t wanna miss what’s in store!