Day 34 -- Finally done with most of the trailer cleanup; we're heading to Denali!

Travel   From: Fairbanks, AK   To: Denali NP, AK   Distance: 139 mi (224 km)   Travel time w/brks: 4 hr 15   Distance since start: 7,764 mi (12,485 km)

Monday 7/24/2006

We thought we were pretty much done with the cleanup of our trailer yesterday so we decided we were ready to head down to Denali. I had originally reserved three nights at the National Park, but due to the cleanup issues we had with the trailer, we were forced to prune the first two nights off. Fortunately for us, someone cancelled one night at our intended campground in Denali so we were at least able to get two nights. The drive down to Denali is not that far from Fairbanks. It barely took us four hours. The road is pretty good. Some light road construction held us up for a while closer to Fairbanks. Before you get into the National Park you drive through an area outside with lots of hotels, souvenir shows, travel companies, etc. Some of these things look like they were put up in a hurry.

Once we arrived in Denali, we went to the visitors center near the entrance. This is where one must register in order to use any of their campgrounds. You can also purchase tickets to the various bus tours offered into the park. You cannot actually drive very far into the park (without having a campsite). The general public can drive about 12 miles or so into the park, but the windy road is about 90 miles in. There is a checkpoint at Savage River. We inquired about bus tours. Since we only had one full day in the park (tomorrow), our only option for any bus tours would be tomorrow Tuesday. We checked out what they had for options and decided to take their tour out to Wonder Lake, which is at mile marker 85. The trips are somewhat expensive, but we think it is one of those things you've got to take advantage of while you are there. We also learned about their hours for the sled dog show. We decided we wanted to go to one of them. First we headed up to the campground: Savage River

Just before getting to the turnoff to the campground we saw a Lynx cross the road in a hurry. We missed the turn off for Savage River's campground. Right after is a turn off area for cars on the right hand side. I decided to try and turn the trailer around on the road. It almost worked, but I had to reverse the turn after it was 140 degrees complete. It turns out they have a real turn around area down at Savage River, just before the checkpoint. It was easy to turn around there. When we got back into the campground we looked for a site to park. It was a first come first serve arrangement. Not all sites were able to accommodate us (they were too small). After cycling around one lap we found a site for us. The campground here has no hookup.

Our campsite in Denali NP. We had a small loop for ourselves.

After parking and eating a small snack, we headed down to see the dog show. Ironically, we had to drive past the dog show area down to the visitors center, only take a bus back up again. They did not let any cars down that part of the park. The sled dog show was very interesting. They have experimented with all sorts of vehicles in the park over the years but none of the mechanical vehicles that have been devised are able to handle the weather in the park over the winter. So they are still using sled dogs for ranger patrols in the park. We first got a chance to pet the dogs. We then listened to a presentation by a ranger after which we got a chance to see the dogs harnessed to a sled with skids and wheels run over gravel.

A sled dog rests comfortably in the sun

Karl looks at the names of many sled dogs from their camp. Looking for ideas for your dog's name? Here are some!!

Another sled dog "looks down"

One of the interesting realizations with this event, as as pointed out by a Park Ranger talking about this subject, is that Hollywood has tried to define the look of sled dogs from Alaska and it does not really match reality in the field. These dogs are specifically bread by the Park Rangers for their traits as sled dogs. The Park Rangers follow rigid procedures. The breed, as such, is not recognized by the AKC (American Kennel Club). One thing is for sure, the dogs we saw seemed happy, energetic, well fed and really enjoyed being handled by all the visitors. Some of them even leaned against you when came up to give them a rub.

A Park Ranger gives a presentation about the sled dogs

The sled they used for today's "power demo"

The dogs were incredibly eager to be harnessed up. It was explained to us that the summer is rest time for the dogs. The dogs were so excited to be harnessed up that each ranger have to bring one dog out at time, lifting their front legs off the ground; if they had all four paws down the Park Ranger would go down in smoke. The moment the Park Ranger doing the demo release the brake on the sled, the dogs bolted. It was an incredible sight. The dogs barked and yelped. This was definitely a worthwhile visit.

When we returned to the campground we had dinner. The kids really wanted to have a fire. We had bought wood down in town and it was cheesy wood to say the least. Looked more like scraps from a construction site. The kids wanted to sit indoors and eat while me and Lilli sat outside. As I sat down to eat some chips, birds appeared and took them from my hands. They must surely have been taught by other campers.

Karl is getting a fire started

We went to bed early since our trip tomorrow morning leaves at 5:15AM from the visitor's center (and we have to be ready much before that).

Campground   Name: Savage River, Denali NP, AK   Our hookups: None   WiFi: No   GSM service: No   TV Channels: No   Cost: $18/night   Reservation mode: Phone and Reserve America

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All Pictures (c) 2006 Hamnqvist, Background features one of the 'top' dogs in the Kennel.