Welcome back to my travel blog.
Another few days have passed and I got another 500+ miles under my belt. Yes I did promise to update more often but the days pass. After I left Delta Junction (A) I drove two Fairbanks (B) and to be honest, I don't know why I stayed there for two days. It was boring as! The town is a sh*thole and there are no big attractions near by. Sure I drove to Chena Hot springs (C). I planned to go for a Hike there buuuuuuuuuuut the weather was bad and to be honest the scenery was rather underwhelming so I did not hike and just drove back to Fairbanks.
The next morning I was eager to leave Fairbanks behind me and headed to the Parks Hwy to start my way down to Anchorage again. I am in no rush so I planned two stops on this 300+ miles journey. On the first day I drove to Healy (D) just north of the Denali National park.. well actually I drove past and then back again.. I wanted to stay in a Hostel just south of the National park but sadly that was still closed for the winter season. I drove at a leisurely pace and I think the locals must hate me by now but hey.. for me it's all about the journey and not the destination. The drive was nice but not fantastic. Since the weather was „meh“ once again, I decided to call it an early night and head to the National park today morning. After all they did say the weather was going to get a lot better.
Oh boy were they wrong, I got up to a cloudy and snowy morning. I was a bit furstrated but decided to go for a walk in the park anyway. Sadly you can only access a few trails right at the entry to the park (cause they are still closed for winter). I got out of the car, turned around and a moose just started crossing the street.. a great moment I tell you my friends!!! I felt very in touch with nature ;). I started along the first trail and then turned around after 30min because the snow was getting to high.. It hadn't stopped snowing yet. I walked back to the car and went for another trail. I walked along that one but soon noticed that it was really icy. So I turned around again. I walked past a group of new rangers being instructed by another ranger lady.. when I walked back she was lying on the path with a broken wrist.. I guess my decision to turn around was wise!
So yeah, my visit to Denali was short but a lot happened in a short time.
The further away I got the better the weather got.. First I was a bit disappointed but just until I got my first glimpse of Mt. Mckinley. Oh this was a sight to behold! I was really lucky to have such a clear view of it. Usually it is shrouded in clouds. By the way, this is the highest mountain in north America!
I drove all the way to Talkeetna (E) where I will stop for a night or two. I am not exactly sure yet. It all depends about that thing tomorrow. That thing is a Scenic flight over Mt. McKinley and Denali. A Scenic flight is something I have wanted to do on my trip for a long time now and I am finally booked for one tomorrow. I had to do some math to see if I can afford it but then again, I am here only once in my life eh? Please pray for good weather tomorrow!!!! I am really really excited about this!
To show you all how big Alaska is, I have compiled a few panorama pictures I took over the last two days... and spiked it with some wildlife and other stuff... please enjoy!
spot the caribou
spot the moose
spot the donkey
SIMON!!! The photos are FANTASTIC! WOW! When I was a kid, Alaska was the only place I wanted to travel to. That has obviously changed in the last 20 years, but you have turned my eye back to that stunning state.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that you are enjoying your time there, and hope that I will still get to see you in late June (Vermont is small, but homey, and very beautiful) Until then- enjoy, sunshine! You are wonderful :-D