Denali Day One

On Tuesday morning we made the drive from Talkeetna to Denali.  We stopped to visit the Alaska Veterans Memorial and desperately looked for views of Mt McKinley to now avail.  We made the reservation for the Denali Riverside RV Park in April and they still managed to place us right next to the generator which runs 24-7.  After some negotiation with the RV park we were able to site that had only 20 amp service but it is quiet and has a great view of the Nenana River.

Alaska Veterans Memorial

After dinner we drove the Denali Road to the self-drive limit of Savage Creek.  On Wednesday morning we awoke to clear blue skies and decided to drive back south to Cantwell on the Parks Highway to where we could get a good view of Mt McKinley and were rewarded with some great views.

Mt McKinley from Parks Highway

Cantwell is where the Denali Highway intersects with the Parks Highway so we decided to drive east and explore that area.  The Denali Highway three miles east of Cantwell becomes a rather rough gravel road but the drive offers some fantastic views of the Alaska range and a couple of good views of Mt McKinley.

Mt McKinley from Denali Highway

West Glacier

Alaska Range from Denali Highway

Our exploration took us to mile 38 of the Denali Highway where we captured some images and started our return to Cantwell.  Once in Cantwell we began looking for a place to have lunch and were rewarded with a flat tire.   I got the jack out and started working to change the tire when I realized that the lug wrench did not fit the locking lug nuts on the wheel.  About that time a fellow rode up on a four wheeler and asked if we had everything in control.  I explained our dilemma and replied that he lived just down the road and had plenty of tools.  So he went home and returned with a socket of the proper size and proceeded to help us change the tire.

Once done I asked him if he knew where we could get the tire repaired and he directed us to Ken Gore's Tire Service.  Ken's place is a portrait of rural Alaska with his 1950 Reo Tow Truck as the center piece.  After some effort he got the tire repaired and then I borrowed his jack and socket to remount the tire on the Jeep.  The entire episode took about 1 1/2 hours.  The Lord was watching over us once again.  Imagine having the flat on the desolate Denali Highway 38 miles east of Cantwell.