Alaska, June 25, 2025, North to Denali

  Ward and I recently took a trip to Alaska. We flew into Anchorage (via a stop in Seattle) and used our friends' house as our home base. I am chronicling our trip here.

After breakfast, we started our 4-hour drive to Denali National Park. Along our drive, we drove out of the Chugach Range, through the Talkeetna Mountains, and into the Alaska Range. Needless to say, the scenery did not disappoint. 

I only took a couple of photos during the drive because pictures from a moving car are not always of the best quality. At least, mine aren't.

We appreciated the wildflowers we saw along the way.
These were wild geraniums at a roadside stop.

There wasn't much development along the Parks Highway (Rt. 3), but we finally found McKinnley View Cafe for lunch, just 15 miles south of Denali National Park. We had a nice view while we waited a very long time for our order, which was wrong when it came. But, we made do, especially since we were trying to make it to the park to see the 4 pm sled dog demonstration at the park.
 

   We made it to the park in time to catch the bus to the dog kennels

         for the last show of the day.

We were surprised, but you were encouraged to pet the dogs before the show. Many of them presented themselves for scratching and petting.

They started the show by having dogs pull the summer sled around the area. The dogs are used mainly in the winter to haul supplies and patrol the outer parts of the park when it is covered in snow.

These dogs are Alaskan Huskies, which have been cross-bred over the years to develop the breed. They have a variety of looks because they are bred for performance rather than appearance, unlike AKC (American Kennel Club) breeds. The dogs in the park are bigger than the Iditarod dogs because one is selected for hauling and the other is selected for racing. 

There was a cuteness overload at the end of the presentation
when volunteers came out carrying the five puppies they have now. 

By the time the shuttle took us back to the visitor's center where we were parked, it was dinner time, so we headed to Healy, where we were staying for the night. Healy is a town of approximately 1,000 people, located 20 minutes north of the park. 

We stayed in the Dome Home B&B. Our room was the one with the window you see in the front.

After dinner at the local restaurant, we bought ingredients for lunch tomorrow, and then we retired for the night. Tomorrow was going to be another early morning.

Until next time...