July 17 The Parks Highway

 A view of the Tanana River.

Another few miles of construction.  

The stretch of highway south of  Fairbanks is often called the Skyline Drive.

We drove to Nenana Canyon and the Denali Park Commercial Area.  We stayed 2 nights at the Denali RV park.  

 Denali National Park is open year round.  From May to September, visitors are only allowed to take their vehicles up to mile 15 of the Park Road.  Beyond that, shuttle buses and tour buses provide transportation. 

There is a parking lot at Savage River, which is the furthest point that we could drive to. We took a short hike up the mountain there. 

 I took this picture from the parking lot, while George continued to climb.  He climbed far enough that he could see Mt. McKinley from up there. 

Mount McKinley/Denali, North America's highest mountain at 20,320 feet.  Summer's often overcast or rainy weather frequently obscures the mountain, allowing summertime visitors only about a 30-40% chance of seeing "the mountain".  

This moose is in the visitor center.  I thought it was a real, stuffed moose, but George says it's made of steel, so it's a fake.  Looks good though.

In real life, they don't look quite as beautiful!