Denali National Park and Fairbanks, AK.

We camped in Denali National Park from 8/4-8/8, however on the way to Denali from the Kenai Penninsula, we traveled back through Anchorage, Wasilla (no sign of Sarah Palin), camped at South Rolly Lake where we again met up with Jim and Oak Non, and travelled together to Cantwell, Ak, and then Denali State Park before arriving at Denali National Park.  Here are the highlights:

View of Denali about 60 miles away-no clouds blocking the view! A rarity! The wonders of telephoto lenses.

Denali behind us. We took a bus to Eilesen Visitor Center, since the Park allows no cars past mile 15. This was at mile 66.

Saw this caribou, and several others. Also saw 4 Grizzly bears.

At camp @ 10:00 pm.

Fairbanks and the Arctic Circle

We drove for about 3-4 hours from Denali on 8/8 to Fairbanks, which is in the Alaska “Interior”.  Very different climate from the southern part of the state.  It was sunny and warm, we could take off our jackets and wear our summer clothes! We met several folks who lived in Fairbanks who said the cold in winter is a dry cold, with no wind chill, so it doesn’t seem so bad! One man told us that he stops participating in winter activities when it hits  minus 45 degrees!  One of the highlights was a tour to the Arctic Circle, 200 miles north of Fairbanks.  We traveled with a tour company to the Arctic Circle via the Dalton Highway, which is unpaved  most of the way.  It was a beautiful trip.

Some highlights from Fairbanks and the Arctic Circle.

This unpaved highway goes up to Prudhoe Bay, for 400 miles. We only traveled 200 miles.

It was raining when we took this picture. Look at all the trees and shrubs!

A view along the Dalton Highway.

They call this the roller coaster.

 

Cantwell, AK, Dog Gone It Kennels

We went on a tour of 2 time Iditarod competitor Mike Santos husky kennels he owns with his wife Caitlyn.  They have 65 Alaskan huskies.  They conduct an excellant tour of their amazing facility, all logs in the numerous buildings were cut by Mike and they hand built every building on the property.  It was a beautiful place,  They greeted the guests by giving each person a 6 week old puppy to hold and cuddle, which is part of the dog’s socialization process.  We watched Mike put his dog team to a summer sled and take off for a run for just a few miles (as it is summer and too hot for the dogs).  They prefer snow and winter.