50th Anniversary in the Backcountry

I teach English in New Hampshire.  That’s almost as far away from Denali as you can get, and I am a city person.  I don’t enjoy trips with bugs, and loud people.  I’m a fan of calm, collected, organized trips.  Needless to say, coming to Alaska may not have been the best trip for my 50th Anniversary.  Never the less the trip was spectacular, buggy or not I would not have changed one thing.  My husband loved it, we got to briefly see Denali and the park’s animals were spectacular.  It was similar to my home, but the people were so different!  They even used weird words such as “Relax, slow-down, just go with it.”  It was refreshing!  Getting away from the city lights, and even just other personal vehicles was great.  It re-connected my husband, and me and let us enjoy the slow-going days of our youth.

Once I got over the stillness of the cabins, I finally relaxed.  At first the slightest noise made me uneasy without the once comforting sounds of human beings, but I quickly learned the sounds of nature were better than sirens and headlights.  We spent 4 days in the Denali Backcountry Lodge.  We took trips to Wonder Lake, and took hikes across the tundra.  I loved it!  I took lots of pictures, and now my classes back home want to come visit too!

Weather in Alaska

The saying goes that if you don’t like the weather in Alaska, wait 5 minutes and check again.  Nothing could be truer.  With all the massive mountains, deep valleys and rugged coast (bordering two oceans), Alaska’s weather can be predictably unpredictable.

Sometimes we get cold weather from Canada; sometimes we get a warm front off Mexico.  Other times Russia throws us a ball. Continue reading

Enjoy your Summer

We’re almost halfway through June.  I can’t believe how fast summer is going by!  So far this summer I have gone Frolfing on two different courses, hiking twice, and camping once.  It may seem like a lot to someone that wasn’t raised in Alaska, but to me that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  With only 3 more months of summer, I plan to do things that I didn’t think I could. Continue reading

1st Annual Photo Contest winner announced!!

Well, with a bit of a delay, a very difficult decision has been made! The 1st Annual Alaska Denali Tours Photo Contest winner has been announced.  The winner was chosen by local Anchorage photographers Cathy Hart & Alissa Crandall.

And with no further ado, Mr. Randy Bonham is the winner with his wonderful photo on the right!

As the winner he will recieve  framed and matted prints of Kirsty Knittel’s photographs ‘Bobbly Skies‘ and ‘Denali & Fireweed‘.

Honorable mentions are as follows:

2nd Place – Frances Schuler #6260  Red Beauty – the fox
3rd Place – Doug Wilson # 18 – seals on ice
4th Place – Doug Wilson #106 ice ponds

Last chance to enter the Photo Contest!

Alaskan photographers! The 1st annual Alaska Denali Tours photo contest ends in just a week! You are coming upon your last chance to win two beautiful portraits of the Alaskan Landscape.  Check out the info below if you have any questions.  Post your pictures here Alaska Photo Contest! Continue reading