Denali

OK, in reality, we are back at the Riley Creek Campground at Denali — the national park — and not on Denali — the mountain that is the “jewel” of the park. But the “Great One” was definitely the highlight of our day and there will be no other posts tonight anyway.

When we left the campground around 12:30p, it was our intent to drive the 15-mile section of the Park Road that is open to private vehicles. That plan changed even before we left the park. The blue skies and sunshine begged us to do something different.

Surely Denali was uncloaked on such a beautiful, clear day. So, off we went to find a “winged chariot” instead. We found it in the form of a Piper Navajo Chieftain at Denali Air, which has the closest private air strip to the national park. So lucky to have found seats on the 2:00p “Peak Experience” ... a 200-mile, 1-hour tour.

I could write reams and reams of words about our flight seeing...including words that describe the turbulence as we winged our way around the peaks of the Alaska Range in our quest to see Denali from every direction. The bumps were to be expected ... after all, this giant of a mountain is big enough to create its own weather. Bob, our pilot, said it was a “smooth” flight. I’d hate to be on one that he considers bumpy!

I’m going to simply let the photos speak for themselves. Suffice to say that this last-minute decision to fly today will be one of the most memorable experiences of this RV adventure. Worth every penny and the slight “turbulence discomfort.” Absolutely!

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Sorry about the lack of ID of the peaks and glaciers. The flight seeing tour was narrated, with our pilot adding landmark-specific information as necessary. But my hands for busy taking photos, so I have to do some research to ID at least some of the amazing sights our eyes beheld.Read more