Alaska 2001 Part 2

Concluding a selection of my favorite pictures from our Alaska trip slideshow, recently reconstructed on my laptop. Denali and central Alaska this time. From the final stop on the cruise in Juneau, we flew to Fairbanks, where we took a train to the entrance to Denali National Park. From there, we rode on this bus to the foot of the mountain.

While we stayed here near the base of Denali (Mount McKinley, America’s tallest mountain) for several days, only the lowest slopes of Denali were visible. The rest was above the cloud layer that persisted the entire time.

Yes, the mosquitos were bad. Head veils were a must. But hey, we’re from New Jersey. We’re used to mosquitos. We did several hikes in this area, which is beautiful.

This was so much fun, and the puppies were adorable. Ellen was in heaven.

This setup had a team of dogs running in a circle hauling their own houses for training.

As we drove south, Denali finally emerged from cloud cover, but looking ghostly in the heavy humidity.

This was the most exciting part of our second week, flying in a small plane up onto a glacier high on Denali. Amazing views!

Ellen does not like to fly, she gets airsick easily, so this was a brave decision for her. We loved it, though, an experience we’ll never forget.

After that, the rest of the trip was anticlimactic. We ended in Anchorage, then flew to Seattle where we had an overnight with time for a little sightseeing, then home. The trip of a lifetime!