Denali or Mt. McKinley?

After our short but wonderful stay at Chena Hot Springs we were off on another adventure. No trip to Alaska is complete without a school bus tour of the Denali National Park and Reserve with a trained guide. We arrived in time to board our school bus for the 4.5 hour Denali Natural History Tour, which focused on the natural and cultural history of the park.

Alaska Fact: The park and contiguous preserve encompass 6,045,153 acres, which is larger than the state of New Hampshire.

Pro Tip: The National Park Service itself does not operate any tours of Denali National Park (although there are Park Rangers stationed in the park). Make sure to book your tours with an established company in advance!

Given the opportunity to explore outside of the bus, our guide encouraged us to first scan the surroundings for wildlife, and if we saw something, say something, and holler STOP. The more eyes the better. The narration was informative, interesting and often amusing.

Moose

Caribou

Our first stop was a replica of an original ranger’s cabin, the Savage cabin, where a guide explained how the first park explorers lived and how the cabin is used today. A couple hours later we would see a female moose (cow) and calf walk along the very same path going to the cabin!

Bathrooms in Denali

At our second stop an Alaskan Native cultural interpreter, Shawn, shared stories and information about his culture and how the land was used for 10,000 years. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

A very enthusiastic park ranger boarded the bus, Ranger Anna, to describe the mission of the park service and ask us to support it. The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve its resources and values for the enjoyment and education of this and future generations. There was no question throughout the trip that the guides, interpreters and rangers feel the National Park Service is under threat and support is needed to preserve it. Message heard loud and clear! While we did not see bald eagles or bears, we did see caribou, moose, ptarmigan (Alaska state bird), a bear print, birds and lots of plants. We applaud and support the National Park Service mission!

Alaska Fact: The name Denali is based on the Koyukon name of the mountain, “the high one.” It was named Denali for centuries. In 1896 a gold prospector renamed the mountain after presidential candidate William McKinley, who had never step foot in Alaska. In 2015 the US Dept. of Interior changed the official name of the mountain to Denali.

All too quickly it was time to say goodbye and head for the Denali RV Park and Motel. We all agreed it was an enjoyable day. Tomorrow we head south for 4 hours to Eagle River and our home away from home.

Door Sign at the Motel