Searching for Denali

I was determined to be part of the 30% of visitors who see Denali. Denali means The Great One and is the highest peak in North America. The mountain creates its own weather and is usually cloud-covered. The odds were against us in rainy August. If it’s visible, some of the best views are south of the National Park so I planned a weeklong stay in Talkeetna and another in Denali State Park.

Talkeetna is a historic railroad town turned hippie artist town turned tourist town. We dry camped next to the Talkeetna River at the rustic Boat Launch Campground, a 5-minute walk from town.

Its mayor is a cat. And I’m being completely serious. The mayor, who resembles our Cody kitty, is the 2nd cat to serve. A local I met at the laundromat said she voted for the dog.

The first thing we did was visit the Riverfront Park to look for Denali. Our Peak Visor App told us we were in the right place but no luck.

It was Michael’s birthday week and we had fun eating all the good snacks.

We made multiple visits to the Roadhouse Bakery. And, we tried birch syrup and birch syrup ice cream, which I thought resembled molasses more than maple syrup.

We had spinach bread and a beer while listening to live music at the Fairview Inn.

We occasionally saw signs of the locals, especially at the Friday night music in the park.

And, we saw Denali! It was only out one day of our week in Talkeetna. From left to right are Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter, and Denali. The photo below shows the confluence of the Susitna and Talkeetna Rivers (2 different colors).

It was a short 1-hour move to K’esugi Ken Campground in Denali State Park for our 2nd week. K’esugi Ken is very nice for Alaska State Park standards and has electric hookups. We were happy to have that because it was almost 80 degrees 1 day and then it rained for 5.

Denali was out 2 days that we were at the state park. We hiked the Curry Ridge Trail which has fantastic views.

The Denali South viewpoint on the main highway also has a fantastic view.

Next up is Denali National Park!