July 22, 2017
48 degrees this AM, but beautiful, nearly cloudless, sunshine - a perfect day for seeing Denali . Since we arrived in Tok the sun comes up about 4:30 AM and sets close to 10 PM and it does not really get dark. We’re losing daylight after June 22 at the rate of 7 minutes/day. Today we leave Denali and drive to Talkeetna and what a drive it was. Our first stop was a AK state park where we had a great view of the mountain.
Our second stop was the Southern Viewpoint where we had more wonderful views of the mountain.
Arriving at our campground we got set up and then drove into Talkeetna to visit the cemetery where we viewed the monument to those who lost their lives attempting to climb Denali. Many nationalities.
Then a walk to the local museum housed in the 1920 one-room schoolhouse that was replaced in 1974 by a modern grammar school. Following that a visit to the National Park Service Center where climbers must register, buy a permit and undergo vetting before being allowed to go to the base camp at Denali to start their climb. We watched the video about the preparations necessary and the actual climb. We returned to our car and drove back to the IGA grocery, but on the way we made one more stop for another shot of the mountain from 121 miles away. It looks dreamy in the late afternoon light.
When we returned to the campground, we had a great taco salad. Now at 7 PM we’re sleepy. To bed at 8.
We failed to get a photo a couple of days ago of a male caribou but Diane got one and shared it with us.
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