Drive to and through Denali

Denali National Park and Denali (Mount McKinley) is six hours north of Anchorage. We decided to brave the journey and see North America's tallest peak.

There is less than a 30% chance to see Denali on any given day. At 20,320 feet, she has her own weather system. We felt fortunate to sneak a peak as we drove to the park, though never saw her in her glory once we entered the park.

Here are a few photos from the drive to, and some within the first 15 miles, of the park.

Our cabin hotel, dinner at "The Bake" in "Glitter Gulch."

A lone wolf in Savage River and a replica at the visitor's center.

Savage Rock.

We were so excited to spot a real life ptarmigan (one of Ella's favorite parts of the "Mama, Do You Love Me?" book).

You can only imagine the glee we experienced when we realized there was a whole flock!

Next siting on our Denali tour - two moose crossing the road.

Then a moose in the bushes:

and we checked out the moose replica at the visitor's center for a size comparison.

Before leaving the park, we paid a visit to the renowned sled dog kennel.

They have 32 working dogs in the park. Too cute that each dog has it's own "log-cabin" style dog house.

We picked up lunch on our way out and headed back to Willow.

And the rumor is true - on a clear day you really can see Mount McKinley (or Denali, whichever you prefer) from Anchorage on a clear day. I didn't believe it myself, until Friday (the day we left) when it really was a clear day, and sure thing ... there was Denali.