Denali Nat'l Park

Americans, it’s one of those places you hear about, but seldom have the hopes of ever seeing. It’s like Yellowstone up on the moon – we’ve heard it’s spectacular and not to be missed, yet we know it’s unlikely we ever will see it. So, I had made the reservations for our 8-hour coach tour months in advance, as I’d heard if you don’t, you won’t get in. Private cars are only allowed in the first 7 miles, and then you can’t go beyond that point unless you’re on an official tour bus or going/coming from one of the campgrounds. I hadn't One of the things I was most looking forward to seeing was Denali National Park. To made reservations at a campground yet (it had to be at a commercial campground, as those in Delani are only for dry camping), so once we left Fairbanks Sheilagh and I looked at the RV campground advertisements in the various campground guidebooks we keep stocked in the truck. The only one that really attracted our attention showed a row of gift shops of varying colors. The info about the RV park was below the picture, but we didn’t pay much attention to that – after all, it had gift shops! That’s all that mattered to two of the best gift shop shoppers in the world. I called – they had space – I made reservations – Sheilagh and I said, shops here we come. Oh, yeah, we forgot, Denali, we’re coming to you, too!

The lady I spoke to at the campground said that since it was a good, sunny day, we should be able to see Mt. McKinley on our way in, just keep an eye on the left side of the road. Sure enough, in no time, there it was in all its glory. Over 20,000 feet of snow-covered caps peeking out behind smaller, treed mountains of the Alaska Range. I must admit that until we got to Fairbanks and were discussing Denali, I couldn’t remember if it was Mt. Everest or Mt. McKinley that was situated at Denali. But that’s OK, I didn’t feel so bad when Sheilagh and Mike said they’d never heard of Denali! I guess it’s an American thing (is it PC to say that?). Ian, of course, being the brainiac in the bunch, knew both and which mountain went where, so by the time we actually saw McKinley, we knew it’s the highest mountain in the North American continent. Its vertical relief of 18,000 feet is greater than that of Mt. Everest. All summer long at the ranch, I talked to people who had been to Denali but were unable to see Mt. McKinley due to the fog surrounding it. We were so fortunate to have a good day and we weren’t even at Denali yet!

Well, we got to the RV campground in mid-afternoon. It was a mile from the entrance to Denali, and the first thing we had to do was go pick up our tickets for the next day’s tour. Sheilagh, Mike and I did that while Ian set up the Montana. We squeezed in a peek at the gift shop and even managed to find a few buyable items. Tickets in hand, we returned to the campground which was actually set up just behind the stores. What bliss!

Sheilagh and I had but 50 (was it even that many?) steps to the back door of the first gift shop. In and out we went, one store after another. Some sold pretty much the same items, but at different prices. A couple stores had 50% end of season sales, another store advertised that they don’t play those games, their items are really on sale, and others that sold nicer jade and ivory jewelry were still way out of our price ranges. By the time we ran out of steam, there were only a few unapprised stores left standing, but we knew we could knock them out the next day after our tour.

The next morning we lined up at the bus departure spot at 8:00 and were soon finding 4 seats together, not noticing they were the only ones that didn’t have boxed lunches sitting in them. We had brought snacks and drinks, but figured the lunches would be passed out when the time was right. Jim Gavin, our bus driver and tour guide introduced himself after checking his name tag, welcomed us to Denali and promised us all a good time. He impressed upon us how lucky we were to have another sunny day in which we could see Mt McKinley (this was only his 5th tour all summer to see it!) and told us we’d stop every 90 minutes or so for restroom breaks. He said he’d keep his eyes peeled for wildlife, and if any of us saw any, we should shout “STOP!” at which point he would. So, all aboard, and off we went. The tour bus was a renovated school bus. The old school bus seats had been replaced with more padded chairs, but even those proved to be uncomfortable after a while. From the ceiling hung screens than flipped down, so when any wildlife was seen, Jim could focus his long range scope on it, and it would appear on the screens. They were great for people who didn’t bring binoculars, or people like me who have a hard time focusing them in.

We saw lots of mountains and lots of streams, rivers and lakes, which has been the common thread of this whole trip. For Ian and me, it was another “must see” to check off our “been there, done that” list. We got lots of good shots of Mt. McKinley, which was a real treat, even though before being in Alaska I only had a slight interest in mountains – unless it’s mountains of sand on the beach. We stopped to watch brown bears a few times, thank goodness, as that was Sheilagh’s priority on her “must see” list. The were laying listlessly in the tundra or walking slowly along the dry river bed. We saw several herds of caribou, a lynx slink away from the side of the road as we approached, bald eagles which were by now passé after living among them in Kenai, and a fox run away as he glanced back at us. He probably was trying to decide if those box lunches on board were worth his effort, but decided not. There were Dall sheep and mountain goats, but the were so far up the mountains, that they were no more than white dots against the color of the mountain. On the way back, someone shouted “STOP!” when he saw a moose, but by the time Jim got the bus stopped there was another bus behind us, so he couldn’t back up. Those on the bus who had not yet seen a moose were not too happy with Jim at that point. Lucky for us, we all saw plenty of mooses (meese?), not only on the Peninsula, but on the way to Fairbanks. The only thing S&M didn’t get to see were black bears. They remained illusive during their entire time in Alaska.

Really, I think the most interesting part of the tour was the people on the bus. There was a family with three kids, two of which (girls) slept the entire time and a teen-aged boy who glowered out the window when his nose wasn’t in a book. The husband also kept his eyes glued to a book rather than watching Denali pass them by. At one of the restroom stops I happened to be in front of the boy in the line, so I asked him if he was enjoying the tour. No, he replied emphatically. He continued to tell me how this whole trip was his mother’s idea, he, his sisters and their dad had no choice in the matter, they didn’t want to come on the tour, it was only because his mom wanted to do it for her parents, who happened to be the older couple sitting in the front seat (Mike had found out they were from Manchester, England, and were celebrating an anniversary on this trip). I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at his attitude, knowing some day he’d be kicking himself for not allowing himself to enjoy this time with his family in such a setting. I did tell him he should try to enjoy it, as not too many people get the opportunity. He probably wanted to tell me just where I could go, but he said nothing and returned to the bus.

Another couple, probably in their mid-30s, was interesting in that they chose to sit not only across the aisle from each other, but diagonally, also. So, we could all hear them the few times they chose to talk to each other. The funny part came, though, at lunch time. We’d stopped for another potty break, and Mike and I happened to get back on the bus ahead of Sheilagh and Ian. We noticed that the few people on board were eating their boxed lunches, so we asked where they got them. They said the boxes were on their seats when they got on the bus that morning. Well, ours weren’t! So, Mike and I checked around and didn’t see any on other seats. I told Mike to check up on the baggage hold over the seats, and sure enough there were two, of which he handed me one and kept one for himself. We started in on the sandwich and cheese inside the boxes, then when Sheilagh and Ian returned and mentioned there were no more lunch boxes, someone in the back came up with a couple extra for them. In comes the 30-something couple, chatting about how it must be lunch time since everyone on the bus was eating. The man sat in his seat while the wife proceeded to search the luggage hold. She visibly got agitated, telling her husband their lunches weren’t there, someone must have stolen them. The realization hit Mike and me at the same instant – we glanced at each other, I’m sure with the same thought (should we tell her?) going through our minds. I wanted to burst out laughing, so turned my head to the window, hoping to conceal any embarrassed laughter that might escape. I could hear Mike chuckle, which only made me want to laugh more. I knew he had no where to hide his face since he was on an aisle seat, next to Sheilagh. Oh gosh, I thought. We both glanced at each other, knowing we were only a heart beat away from bursting out laughing and facing the wrath of the lunchless woman. Still holding back the laughter, I turned my head even more into the window, skewing my nose and mouth as far back as I could. I’m sure the silly man sitting behind me wondered what in the world I was trying to do. There’s no sense in saying something to her now, I decided, as her lunches were nearly devoured already. Apparently, Mike felt the same way, as he was kept mum, also. As her voice continued to rise in octaves, announcing to the whole world that her lunch was missing, someone in the back of the bus said there were two extra lunches back there. She took them without so much as a thank you to her lunch box savior, which only made me glad Mike and I hadn’t fessed up. Then, to make matters worse, she handed both lunches to her husband, saying she didn’t want them, he could have them, she wanted the sandwich they’d bought that morning before boarding the bus!

The man sitting directly behind me was a real wimp. Every time we went around curves which didn’t allow us to see much of the road ahead, he voiced his nervousness. He complained about not hearing Jim’s voice. Actually, that was a problem. Jim had a way of talking into his chest which made his words come through the PA system all jumbled, especially the last few words of each sentence. After the first 15 minutes or so, I asked Ian if it was me, or was he having a hard time understanding Jim. Ian said he couldn’t, either. Soon, everyone in the back of the bus was yelling at Jim to speak up. He said the PA system was turned up as loud as it goes, so there was nothing he could do about it. Yes, they shouted. Speak into the mic, and speak up! He’d do well for a few sentences, and then his chin must have gotten heavy, droop onto his chest, and we’d loose the last of every sentence once again. Throughout the tour, this was a problem, but we all gave up after a while. Anyway, the man behind me kept on and on about it, knowing full well his complaining wasn’t going to change the way Jim talked. Then, at one point Jim had to back up the bus. Yes, we were on the rim of a cliff. Yes, it was a good distance to the bottom. Yes, another bus was coming from the other direction. Yes, if we all went over the cliff, we’d be dead. But for Pete’s sake, give it a break. The man went on and on about how high we were, how dangerous a situation we were in, etc., etc., etc. (Actually, I found it quite fascinating to look out the window and right down into a gorge. Never been that close to such a big one…in a bus….carrying over 50 people…going backwards…no more than 5 feet from the cliff…being driven by a stressed out verbally challenged driver). Anyway, I finally couldn’t take this man-child any more, turned in my seat and asked him if it really bothered him that much. Maybe that wasn’t the time or place to ask such an obvious question. Not only did I get the look of the Devil thrown at me, but a quivering “Yes, it really does!” in no uncertain terms. I guess it was a bit unempathetic of me. Come to think of it, I wonder why he didn’t change seats with his wife. Why would he be sitting by the window when it scared him to death? During the whole time, his wife quietly kept reassuring him that Jim must have done this before, he’s sure to know what he’s doing, etc. I giver her credit for her patience!

Another event that took place on the bus was not funny. An elderly lady sitting near the rear of the bus suddenly found it hard to breathe. Her adult daughter who was traveling with her yelled to Jim that we had a medical problem on board. He pulled over to the side of the road as soon as he could and calmly assessed the situation, asking if there were any medical personnel aboard, which there weren’t. He got on his radio and called his headquarters, told them of the situation, had the lady change seats with the unhappy young man I talked about earlier, and headed for the next rest area where they would have medical personnel waiting. We were really impressed with the fact that by the time we got there, an ambulance was waiting for her! It had only taken about 15 minutes, during which time Jim went through the Spanish Inquisition with his headquarters as to what her symptoms were, meds she was on, where she was staying in town, who she was traveling with, etc., etc. We all watched as the EMTs walked her to the ambulance, then stood around while she got on oxygen after they decided she was probably having an asthma attack, and the decision was made for her tour to continue inside the ambulance, on a return trip to town.

Jim, when there was a lull in wildlife viewing, told about how he just recently found his grown daughter who had disappeared when she was only a few months old. No details were given, so we were left wondering if she had been kidnapped, if her mom had run away with her, if the wolves had carried her into the woods and raised her as one of their own, or if she had been left on the step of a gift shop and was now selling trinkets to escapees to Alaska, one of them being her real dad. Her mother, or Jim’s wife, were never mentioned, so he left us with an unending story. Maybe that’s Jim’s way of getting people back on his bus the next time!

Because of the medical emergency, the tour lasted more than 9 hours, so I was really concerned about poor ol’ Mac being cooped up in the Montana all that time. Because some of the Princess tour people had a rafting trip to get to, Jim made the command decision to take them to their Princess hotel before returning the rest of us chopped liver to the parking lot at the Visitor’s Center. The hotel was across the street from our RV park, so Sheilagh and I pretended to be one of them, stuck our noses in the air, and got off at their stop. We ran home to let Mac run (well, he doesn’t run any more, so walk gingerly would be more like it) to the nearest patch of grass, and let loose. Ian and Mike stayed on the bus ‘til it returned them to the truck. By that time it was too late to cook, so we went to the pizza place next to the Princess hotel. Wow, they actually let the low life in. Granted, it wasn’t as fancy as the restaurant in their hotel, but the pizza was great and Ian got his Guinness. Before retiring for the evening, there was just enough time for Sheilagh and me to finish off the gift shops we missed the night before. It didn’t take long, though, to realize they were selling the same stuff we’d seen before, so didn’t come up with anything to buy. Oh, I take that back. I did find a few things that were under a sign that said 50% off end of season sale. Naively, I thought that was 50% off their price. How could I be so dumb? No, it wasn’t 50% off their price. It was 50% off the retail suggested price, which wasn’t their price at all, and was much higher than their price, so the 50% off was more like 10% off their price! I still got a couple things for the grandkids’ Christmas – after all, we’ll never find socks with “Alaska” written all over them again, at any price!

Well, my impression of Denali was good, but I don’t think it meets the standards of Yellowstone National Park. The wildlife were fewer and so far away it was hard to see them. There were no geysers or hot, rumbling lava pools. If I had my druthers, I’d go to Yellowstone. But, it’s nice being able to make the comparison first hand, and it still was a great day. I do like the way Denali runs their tours rather than having everyone crowd the roads with private cars. There were no long waits for cars ahead to pick up speed. The buses left on regular intervals, so only once or twice did we even catch up with another one. So, Denali does have it’s positive points, too. Mt. McKinley was a sight to behold, and the park itself is beautiful in its own right.