Today we made our way from Fairbanks to Denali. It was a lovely ride through mountains and along ridges that overlooked equally breathtaking valleys, arriving at McKinley Chalet Resort about midday. Holland America and Princess Cruises have quite a monopoly  on the hotels and restaurants that make up their packages, but this really is a fun little spot. We have a nice little suite room with a separate sitting area, complete with a comfy rocking chair and an outside balcony over looking the mountains. 

 
After a quick lunch we headed to the National Park. Dog sleds are a vital part of the culture here. Roads are limited and often the most reliable way to transport something is via bush plane or dog sled. Due to the wilderness designation of much of the Denali area, the only way to maintain the area is by dog sled in the winter. The Park’s sled dog kennel is made up of all Alaskan huskies, strong dogs not for racing but for working and hauling 50 – 100 pounds per dog of supplies loaded on the sled. We had a fascinating tour of the kennels along with a demonstration about the work they do here in the park pulling the sleds. Of course part of that involved choosing 5 of the dogs to be hitched to the sled to do a short demo run.  When the dogs suddenly realized that we were at the part of the talk where the dogs would be chosen they became unbelievably excited, jumping up and down and barking like mad to say “pick me! Pick me!!” They LOVE to run and pull the sled!

   
 Heading back after the demo, we decided to hike the Rocky Creek trail instead of returning on the shuttle. It was a lovely 3 mile hike through spruce and white birch trees, peppered with many varieties of wildflowers and always the majestic mountains in the background. 

 
This is a magnificent land. I don’t know how I would handle the long days of little sun in the winter. I think that would be much harder for me than the cold temperatures. But I do believe that those who live here feel they are privileged to be a part of this magnificent land. I agree.