We caught a glimpse of her during our flight back to Anchorage. There on the horizon in all her glory, stood the crown jewel of Denali National Park along with all her snow-capped companions that make up the Alaska Range. Glaciers cascaded from her sides, their ancient ice melting to form the rivers to sustain the vibrant landscape of the wilderness that make up ...
Denali National Park.
And just as we found on our first visit here three years ago,
Denali's Majesty
... from sky-high summits
... to shaded woods
continues to be awe-inspiring.
After no success with the mechanics in Anchorage to diagnose Baby Beest's issues, Doug took to the Internet and YouTube in order to find some answers.
He talked with a mechanic shop in Fairbanks that seemed much more willing to help diagnose and resolve the issue. Unfortunately, their first opening wasn't until after Labor Day, which left us wondering ...
Exactly how long does "summer" last in these parts??
It's starting to look a little "autumn-y" to me ...
Hoping that the recommended "head gasket sealant" would buy us some time, we started traveling north towards Fairbanks. With a number of days on our hands, a repeat visit to Denali National Park became the welcome diversion that we both needed.
We were able to easily secure a three day camping reservation at Riley Creek Campground near the park entrance, and three days at Teklanika Campground, located thirty miles down the park road. That meant six beautiful days of wilderness, solitude, and ... alas ... slow to no internet. But our newest van upgrade proved to be the "star".
Introducing ... Starlink Mini, a game changer for avoiding "computer withdrawal syndrome" when camping in the middle of nowhere.
Once campers drive into Teklanika Campground, there is no driving your own vehicle until you drive out on your check-out day. This helps minimize traffic along this important wildlife corridor. We purchased Denali's three day bus pass, The Tek Pass, which allowed us to hop on and off the park service buses in order to hike or bike anywhere along the park road up to the current "end of the road" at Mile 43.
The last half of the road (from Mile 44 to Mile 92) is still closed due to a landslide that occurred in 2021. Thankfully, progress with repairing it is being made. The new suspension bridge to reconnect the whole park road is scheduled for completion in 2027 ... Sounds like there may need to be another Denali visit in our future so that we can discover the treasures that lie beyond the "road closed" sign.
But, for now, I'm going to cherish the beauty of the section of Denali that we were able to visit. During our time inside the park, the sun broke through the clouds, and "the great one" made an appearance.
Wildlife came out to feed,
and we made massive mushroom discoveries,
all while enjoying scenery that only the "Greatest Artist" could create.
Even as rain moved in during our last three days at Riley Creek Campground, we kept the fun going with our latest hiking and mushroom discovery game entitled ...
It's Pretty, But is it Edible??
Is this a Russula mushroom which is edible
or its look-alike cousin that is nicknamed "the sickener"??
Is this an Oyster mushroom which can be quite tasty or its look-alike cousin that is nicknamed "Angel Wings"??
Thanks to the Denali National Park Service site, I found out that this is a Royal Fly Agaric ... pretty but poisonous.
Google suggested that chasing these cute little Shaggy Pholiotas with a beer might leave you sick enough to rethink bringing this wild mushroom appetizer to your next happy hour.
During our time here, we realized there are countless reasons to pause and take another look at
Denali's Majesty.
It's the chance to photograph cute critters
or funny fungus.
It's the beauty of traveling down gravel roads
while giving your beloved vehicle a new "paint" job in the process.
It's wearing your winter gear during a "chilly" walk in the rain
while Denali's sled dogs yearn for the time when they will be able to run in the snow again.
From its sky-high summits
... to its shaded woods,
there are treasures, great and small, waiting to be discovered each time we visit
Denali National Park.
Oh, and we can't forget to make a stop at 49th State Brewing in Healy, Alaska for the "King Crabby Grilled Cheese".
It's a small price to pay for having an excellent driver and mechanic!
Well, with our van stuck in the repair shop, “home” wasn’t exactly an option. After a few nights in an Airbnb, the timing worked out perfectly for us to trade wheels for wings and catch a flight from Anchorage. We headed north to check two of Alaska’s most remote national parks off our travel bucket list.
Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic National Parks both lie north of the Arctic Circle, and neither one has any established roads or trails leading into them. While there are a few creative ways to officially "visit" these two national parks, I quickly decided that being dropped off by a bush plane for a few days of back-country camping or doing a multiple-day river rafting tour, while beautiful, would not be my preferred methods.
We decided to take the "easy" ... but not necessarily the "inexpensive" route.
Step #1 ... Book a commercial flight from Anchorage to the remote village of Kotzebue, Alaska which is located 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Cost: $400-500/person round trip
Step #2 ... Make a one to two night stay in the village's only hotel. Cost: $300/night
Step #3 ... Schedule a four hour bush plane tour that shows you a snippet of both parks by air and will land for a 15 minute "visit" in each national park. Cost: $1750/person.
And, you guessed it ... this all involves a bit of advance planning because their summer tour season is busy and short.
You will all be proud of us ... we actually (kind of) planned ahead!
But as we found out, a visit to Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic also involves Mother Nature agreeing to provide adequate flying conditions.
Yes, there is always that "weather" variable ... and that came into play when we arrived at the Anchorage Airport last Wednesday morning. A few minutes after reaching our gate, they announced that the flight to Kotzebue was cancelled. Seems that a huge volcanic ash cloud from an eruption in Russia had found its way across the Chukchi Sea and was hanging out over northern Alaska. Always trying to make "lemonade out of lemons",
... I was able to work on a blog in the airport's quiet and scenic observation deck,
... and Doug found another craft brewery to add to his list.
After re-booking our flight, hotel, and flight-seeing tour for Friday, we scurried to find lodging in Anchorage. With the Trump-Putin summit quickly approaching, our Airbnb pickings were slim and expensive ... but thankfully, not as expensive as the $700+/night that they were charging for hotel rooms,
... and our Airbnb came with some adorable pugs who were very willing to help "cheer" us up!
The weather forecast on Friday was favorable, and we were more than grateful to get out of Anchorage before the two world leaders arrived. One and a half hours later, we arrived ...
North of the Arctic Circle
... in the land of permafrost and muskox.
Kobuk Valley National Park
The sun was shining and the winds were calm when we arrived, so we checked in with the tour company when we arrived in Kotzebue. After a bit of "hurry up and wait", we got into their ten passenger flight-seeing plane.
Most of our fellow passengers were national park "geeks" like us, on a quest to "at least" step foot in all 63 of the United States's national parks. There were a few who were a bit more "hard core" and were being flown in and dropped off for a multi-day backpacking adventure ... a little too adventurous for me!
As we left Kotzebue, tundra, winding rivers, and an occasional small village could be seen from the air.
Then the landscape changed. Ahead of us lie an immense stretch of sand that make up the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes. Left behind by retreating glaciers many years ago,
this stretch of sand would become our makeshift landing strip.
And thus, we had our 15 minute visit to Kobuk Valley National Park complete with a picture with the "mobile" national park sign
along with photos of some of the hardy plants
that call Kobuk Valley "home".
Gates of the Arctic National Park
Taking off from our sandy air strip, we found ourselves in the air enjoying the twisty array of the rivers that weave through the valley. Gradually the landscape began to change as mountains appeared on the horizon. As quickly as I began to wonder where we were going to be able to land among these mountains, we touched down on the gravel bar alongside the Ambler River.
We stepped out of the plane and marveled at the sheer beauty of the mountains in the distance. We were at the entrance of Gates of the Arctic National Park. The 8.4 million acres of this national park provide a protected habitat for grizzly and black bears, musk oxen, caribou, Dall sheep, and more.
Another photo op with the "unofficial" park sign,
... and numerous pictures of the untouched beauty that surrounded us
... completed our short visit to this beautiful and remote piece of paradise.
Four hours later, we were back in the village of Kotzebue. A stop at the national parks visitor center to get the Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic park brochures and check out the park displays made our visit "official" ... at least in my mind.
It was now time to find our way to our home for the next two days ... the Nullagvik Hotel. And although we were still pretty much in the middle of nowhere, we enjoyed some seriously luxurious accommodations. The hotel is an Alaskan Native owned company, and their pride in ownership was evident from the clean surroundings, top-notch restaurant, and friendly and hard-working staff.
Kotzebue, Alaska
Kotzebue is the largest village and the central hub for commerce, education and health in northwest Alaska. The Iñupiat people have called this place home for many centuries, and still maintain many of their subsistence traditions that include fishing, whaling, seal and caribou hunting and berry picking. We were grateful to be able to talk with a few locals and hear their stories about how they embrace the often difficult life north of the arctic circle.
Summers are spent hunting and gathering nature's food. In a land where roads are rough or non-existent, their mode of transport is the ATV. In order to reach the surrounding villages, they have to depend on a boat or bush plane.
During the winter months of October through April the cold temps freeze the waterways that separate the villages making the "snow machine" the popular transportation choice. One young lady that I talked to said that winter was her favorite season, because it was so much easier to hop on her snow machine and visit her grandmother in a nearby village as ... "I can't afford to fly there to see her in the summer".
Walking around town, we saw many structures in disrepair, and heaps of garbage because it is so difficult and expensive to get supplies in and garbage out of this remote village.
Yet, despite these extreme hardships, the people maintain a great love of family, community, and the nature that surrounds them.
Some highlights of our visit to Kotzebue included ...
Easy access to the seaside boardwalk where we were never quite able to see a sunset unless we stayed up until almost midnight,
An absolutely fabulous honey-garlic glazed salmon dinner
accompanied by beautiful views of the Chukchi Sea from the hotel dining room,
And the chance to slow down for a few days and experience the beauty and culture of this remote community north of the Arctic Circle.
When we started thinking about visiting these two very remote national parks, I wondered why an area this large and this isolated would be designated as a national park. And after spending time north of the Arctic Circle, the answer is clear ...
Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic National Parks preserve not only the region’s remarkable Arctic landscapes and wildlife, but also the cultural heritage and traditions of the Indigenous people who, for centuries, have called this land home.
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