Day 16 - 9/6/2018 - Last Visit to Denali National Park
Today's Weather: High 45, low 43, Cloudy, drizzle or light mist.
Today we took our last drive 14 miles into Denali National Park to Savage River, the furthest point that private vehicles are allowed to drive. Even on a cloudy day with light rain occasionally, the fall foliage was vibrant and beautiful.
A Kettle Pond left behind by a piece of a glacier as it retreated
We stopped at the park’s working sled dog kennels to see the dogs. Each day we visited the park we saw volunteers running along the road with the dogs for exercise. The dogs were all resting either on top of their little houses or inside them while we were there.
Since all of the park roads are closed during the winter due to heavy snow (average 240 inches per season), the (30+) dogs from this kennel are used to move rangers, food and heavy equipment over special trails in the park. This has proven to be a more reliable form of transportation than motor vehicles.
Inside the sled house
Our last stop before leaving the park was at the Visitor’s Center to check out a variety of exhibits about the natural and cultural history of the Denali area.
Our lodging for the last 3 nights has been at Denali Park Place, an apartment one mile from the eastern boundary of Denali National Park overlooking a forest of black spruce pierced by sky high mountains. It is situated at the back of a 5 acre parcel of land that is owned by and home of Lisa Frederic, a sled dog musher in the Iditarod—the most famous dogsledding race in Alaska. After I found her rental on VRBO, I read her book “Running with Champions: A Midlife Journey on the Iditarod Trail” and was impressed with her story. We got to meet her sled dogs (Bronte and Vincent) who spend their days right outside our apartment while Lisa is giving bus tours at Denali NP. Of course her dogs live in her house with her when she is at home.
The view from our apartment window
Lisa's Iditarod Run