Best Western Lake Lucille

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Rabin

We decided to stop of an overnight in Wasilla, so we stayed at the local Best Western, which ended up being the Best Western Lake Lucille. This is significant because the 2008 Republican nominee Sarah Palin lives on Lake Lucille in Wasilla AK. We asked the front desk if they could point out which house was hers and they did (even though they must have been asked that question a hundred times!). Well I couldn’t see Russia from my room, but we still had a great time! The hotel was warm and comfortable, and we were close enough to the local attractions that we had no problem finding our way around Wasilla and the surrounding area.

Fall Munches

We did some driving around and were absolutely delighted that we could see spawning Salmon in some of the nearby creeks and rivers. What a wonderful vibrant color they are in the water, it makes them nice and easy to see.
We were driving home when we had to stop to let the Moose cross the Park Highway right in front of our rental car. We used the opportunity to take all the pictures we could possibly take, and ended up with some wonderful shots to share with the family back home.
Wasilla was well worth the stop!

Denali National Park, The Road & Hotels and Lodging Options

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Holly

Located in the interior Alaska encompassing the tallest mountain in North America, Mt McKinley, Denali National Park and Preserve is one of the most visited destinations in Alaska. Covering over six million acres of untouched wilderness, the park has only one accessible unpaved road about 92 miles in length. Up to 15 miles of this road can be travelled by private vehicle, and after that only park-authorized vehicles can take adventurers out into the real wild, to the very end of the road. Subarctic interior Alaska is battered by extreme conditions in winter. Hence this road can only be travelled on summer months between June and middle of September. The road condition, hence, governs the activities both inside and outside of the park.

The seasonal nature and the popularity of this destination make it important to properly plan before embarking on your Denali vacation. There are two options for lodging in Denali National Park, inside and outside the park. Of many hotels and lodging both inside and outside Denali National Park, we would like to recommend Denali Backcountry Lodge inside the park and Denali Cabins outside the park.

Denali Backcountry Lodge

Denali Backcountry Lodge is an exclusive propertylocated deep inside Denali National Park at the end of the 92 mile Park Road in Kantishna. It offers you a complete Denali Park vacation experience. The spirit of adventure within you will beckon you to take one of the grandest drives on earth. Winding through the Alaska Range, deep into the heart of the Denali park, the “Park Road” offers opportunities to see Denali’s famed wildlife: Grizzlies, Caribou, Moose, Dall Sheep, Wolves, and Eagles. And, should the weather smile upon you, above all of it towers Mt. McKinley (Denali) itself, the highest point in North America. While at the lodge, you can indulge in Naturalist-led programs, Guided hikes & walks, Gold panning, Evening presentations, Mountain biking, Photo opportunities, Optional Flightseeing, Natural history library, and video collection

Denali Cabins combine the charm of Alaskan cabins with the comfort of a hotel room with all the amenities-private bath, TV, phone and comfortable beds. Guests enjoy their own fragrant cedar cabin nestled conveniently by the highway in the boreal forest next to Denali National Park. For those who do not want to venture deep into the park for an adventurous overnight stay, you can still be enthralled by the beauty and grandeur of the park by taking one-day adventure deep into the park. Denali Backcountry Adventure is a complete Exploration of Denali National Park in One Day. It is a full day narrated trip along the Denali Park Road to Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna, returning to the Denali Park entrance in the evening.

Robert Longbow

Hike Alaska; Wonder Lake to Blueberry Hill

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Rabin

Alaska hot summer day

The sun beat down like a furnace; sweat pored off my forehead as we boarded the van heading up to Wonder Lake for our hike. I never thought Alaska could be this hot. We traversed the bumpy 5 miles out of the wooded valley of Kantishna to the Wonder Lake area. Before I came to this Eden, I had only known Wonder Lake from the Ansel Adams photographs. The stark black and white images contrasted sharply with the rolling reds and yellows of the blueberry-laden hills, the deep green of the lake, and the shining pearl Mount McKinley in the distance.

Blueberry Hill was a trail winding up out of a small swamp on the southern side of Wonder Lake. As I looked at my other hikers, we wondered if this would all be worth it on such a hot day. Our guide led us to the trail.

I stopped and picked a blueberry and enjoyed the sharp, cool tartness. We wound up through switchbacks slowly ascending up.

At the top, I first noticed the cool breeze off the lake. I relished in nature’s air conditioning and closed my eyes. It was the gasp of the hiker following me that awakened me from my inner meditation. I opened my eyes and turned to the north. There she rose, impossibly white and large, her mighty flanks gleaming from the reflection of the lake as well, a tiny cloud of blown snow accentuating the upper peaks. I dreamt myself a might mountain, no, rather I saw it and imprinted the image on my mind for the dreams to weave around. No amount of pictures could capture that sight. My Mountain, my Hill, my stay at Denali, captured for the rest of my eternity, on that hike on that hot, hot day.

Gene Merewether

Flightseeing out of Kantishna, Alaska

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Holly

We started with a late morning check out from the Denali Backcountry Lodge, a courtesy that is only extended to fly-out guests. After a late breakfast buffet, we were driven down to the airstrip in Kantishna. Small groups were assembled and luggage divided, and then we met our pilot, a strong capable man that loaded our luggage and reminded us to keep our cameras handy.

We flew up to Denali and around the features of the mountain, like Ruth Glacier and the

Never Forget

Mendenhall Amphitheater, a beautiful slightly concave point on Denali where weather tends to get stuck. It was truly a great way to view the National Park as it gave us such a distinct idea of the vast beauty of this land. From the air we were able to see sheep, goats and bears that would have been impossible to spot form the road as they were on top of the mountain foraging.

I am grateful for this experience, and for the tour consultant that suggested that the flight would be a refreshing change, as it was indeed.

Your Own Alaska Travel Tour

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Rabin

I have found that Alaska’s long roads are a wonderful way to get in touch with the Alaska we all read and see in pictures. The freedom to stop and go as I please, is for me, worth every penny of the rental car. Driving the George Parks Highway up to Denali National Park and then on to Fairbanks was one of the many highlights of my summer. I learned to appreciate the path, and not just the destination.

Driving into one of the state constructed pullouts allowed me the opportunity to stretch, get my camera and to see Salmon

Don't get out of your car

spawning in a nearby stream; and that wasn’t the only wild life sight sighting I was able to do from the road. I stopped at a State Park and was rewarded with a mountaintop of two little lambs and their parents, a Moose too, albeit in the distance. The State Park had nice information placards that detailed the local features, and helped me pick out specific mountains in the range I was studying.

The lush greenery, and the expansive vistas beckoned me to the side of the road again after leaving Denali National Park (an experience in and of it’s self) where I was able to get pictures of what is rightly called “The Last Frontier”. Whenever the little blue signs appeared for a scenic viewpoint, it is a smart decision to heed the warning, you may be passing something you’ll only see in Alaska.

Brenda White