July 25 – 26, 2004
From Talkeetna we headed to Denali National Park. We stayed at The Denali Princess. We were forewarned of the crowds in “Glitter Gulch” but it was perfect for us. Close to the entrance and the views from the deck were magnificent!
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The photos below were taken from the deck of The Denali Princess around 10:00 pm and are some of my all time favorite.
Denali National Park
Mt. McKinley is often covered in clouds and only about 30% of visitors get to see the entire mountain. We were part of the 30% fortunate to see Mt. McKinley, not once, but 3 times. From the deck of our hotel in Talkeetna, from one of the visitor centers in the park and from the air.
There is only one way into the park – by school bus.
The local Athabaskan Indians reverently called the perpetually snow-covered mountain Denali, “The High One.” But in 1896, when the region was still marked as “unexplored” on official maps, a prospector dubbed it Mt. McKinley, after the presidential candidate he happened to be supporting.
The park was established as Mt. McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917. The original park was designated a wilderness area, the first national park created specifically to protect wildlife, and incorporated into Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980. The park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976.
NOTE: In 2015, Mt. McKinley was renamed to Mt. Denali to pay homage to the Athabaskan people who called the area home.
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