ALASKA- Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali National Park and Preserve is a national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America. The park encompasses more than 6 million acres, of which 4,724,735.16 acres  are federally owned. The national preserve is 1,334,200 acres, of which 1,304,132 acres are federally owned. On December 2, 1980, a 2,146,580 acre  Denali Wilderness was established within the park. Denali's landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga. The preserve is also home to tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, rock, and snow at the highest elevations. The longest glacier is the Kahiltna Glacier. Today, 400,000 people visit the park annually. They view wildlife, climb mountains, and backpack. Wintertime activities includes dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, and snow-machining.

The name of Mount McKinley National Park was subject to local criticism from the beginning of the park. The word "Denali" means "the high one" in the native Athabaskan language and refers to the mountain itself. The mountain was named after newly elected US president William McKinley in 1897 by local prospector William A. Dickey. The United States government formally adopted the name Mount McKinley after President Wilson signed the bill creating Mount McKinley National Park into effect in 1917 [5] In 1980, Mount McKinley National Park was combined with Denali National Monument, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act named the combined unit the Denali National Park and Preserve. At that time the Alaska state Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain to "Denali." However, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the change. Alaskans tend to use "Denali" and rely on context to distinguish between the park and the mountain.

We took an 8 hour bus tour through to park! Gorgeous scenery but too cloudy to see Mt McKinley aka Denali. We also saw animals but from very far and too far for my camera to take decent photos. Bears looked like dots on the landscape. So enjoy these photos of the beautiful scenery we saw in the 6 million plus acres!!

ALASKA- The Alaskan Railroad

The Alaska Railroad extends from Seward to Fairbanks (passing through Anchorage) and beyond to Eleison Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of the state. Uniquely, it carries both freight and passengers throughout its system, including Denali National Park. The railroad has a mainline over 470 miles (760 km) long and is well over 500 miles (800 km) including secondary branch lines and siding tracks. It is currently owned by the state of Alaska. The railroad is connected to the lower 48 via three rail barges that sail between the Port of Whittier and Harbor Island in Seattle.

We took a four hour ride north through beautiful wilderness to Denali National Park. An amazing ride!!

 

All aboard!

En route to Denali by train

Awesome scenery on the way to Denali via Alaskan Railroad

Every turn provides another beautiful scene on the Alaskan Railroad!

ALASKA- Native Heritage Center

Today's highlight was a tour of the Native Heritage Center, surrounding a lake. The guide showed us traditional houses of the various original people from all over the state. Lots of valuable and interesting information about different cultures!

The Alaska Native Heritage Center, a renowned cultural center and museum in Anchorage, is an exciting place where all people come to expand their understanding of Alaska's indigenous people.

Guests stroll through six authentic life-sized Native dwellings situated in a wooded area around beautiful Lake Tiulana and are introduced to the traditional life ways of the Athabascan, Inupiaq/St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Yup’ik/Cup’ik, Aleut, Alutiiq, and the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples.

Each village site has a traditional structure along with artifacts that each group used in their daily lives. We saw the whale bones at the Inupiaq site; a favorite spot for picture-taking.  We visited with a culture representative in each village site.

Lake at Native Cultural Center

Traditional house of the Eyak People

Totem poles carved to tell a story

Skeleton of a gray whale washed up to shore

ALASKA- Potter Marsh

A highlight of the day is a visit to Potter Marsh, filled with birds of many kinds!

Love the colors!

Potter Marsh, at the southern end of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, is an ideal break from Anchorage for birders and other wildlife viewers. From the Seward Highway just before the left turn into the Potter Marsh parking lot, you are treated to a stunning view of Turnagain Arm. A wooden boardwalk winds 1,550 feet from the parking area through the marsh and across watery openings and sedges, perfect habitat for a rich variety of birds.

From late April through September, Canada geese, northern pintails, canvasback ducks, red-necked phalaropes, horned and red-necked grebes, and northern harriers use this wetland. Look for eagle nests in the cottonwoods near the base of the bluff using binoculars or a spotting scope. Eagles have a sharp sense of sight and can see at least four times better than people, enabling them to detect movements of small animals like hares from a mile away. When eagles soar overhead, they are scanning open areas for prey.

From May to August, gulls, Arctic terns, shorebirds such as yellowlegs, and occasionally trumpeter swans are present during spring and fall migration.

In addition to birds, look for slow movement and a v-shaped wake in the waters of the marsh, signs of muskrats swimming past. Their small brownish heads peek just above the water as they meander in and out of the wetland's open areas.

Moose also frequent the marsh year round. May and June are good times to see these large ungulates standing in the marsh foraging for new growth.

About halfway along the boardwalk, Rabbit Creek flows underneath and provides a good spot to see spawning chinook, coho, or humpback salmon from May to August, depending on the species. Spot their bright red bodies swimming in the creek.

With its nearly panoramic view of Turnagain arm, Potter Marsh, buffered by spruce, cottonwoods and alders, is one of the most accessible and scenic wildlife viewing areas in Anchorage.

Potters Marsh

Potters Marsh

Potters Marsh

Potters Marsh

ALASKA- Day 3

On a cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park which includes 580,000 acres of spectacular coastal wilderness, we see puffins, whales, birds, sea lions and magnificent Holgate Glacier among others. Alaska has so many glaciers many are not named.

Puffins on the ledges

Glacier lit by sunlight

Holgate Glacier

ALASKA- Kenai Fjords National Park

Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States National Park established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park covers an area of 669,984 acres  on the Kenai Peninsula in south central Alaska, near the town of Seward. The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States. The park is named for the numerous fjords carved by glaciers moving down the mountains from the ice field. The field is the source of at least 38 glaciers, the largest of which is Bear Glacier. The park lies just to the west of Seward, a popular port for cruise ships. Exit Glacier is reachable by road and is a popular tour destination. The remainder of the park is primarily accessible by boat. The fjords are glacial valleys that have been submerged below sea level by a combination of rising sea levels and land subsidence.

Kenai Fjords National Monument was initially designated by President Jimmy Carter on December 1, 1978, using the Antiquities Act, pending final legislation to resolve the allotment of public lands in Alaska. Establishment as a national park followed the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. The park protects the icefield, a narrow fringe of forested land between the mountains and the sea, and the deeply indented coastline. The park is home to a variety of terrestrial and marine mammals, including bears, whales, seals and moose.

Today we travel to the Kenai Peninsula along the scenic Seward Highway. Every turn is spectacular! We stop at the Anchorage Wildlife Refuge and see bears, moose, elk and others. We visit Exit Glacier which is part of Kenai Fjords National Park. We see how far the glacier has receded and how much the recession has accelerating in current years.

Along the Seward Highway

Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjord National Park

700 foot waterfall near the Exit Glacier

ALASKA- Prince William Sound

Alaska!

Alaska is a U.S. state situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent. Bordering the state to the east is Yukon, a Canadian territory, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia (specifically, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and Kamchatka Krai) further west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska's 731,443 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the oil, natural gas, and fishing industries, resources which it has in abundance. Tourism is also a significant part of the economy.

Although it had been occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, from the 18th century onward, European powers considered the territory of Alaska ripe for exploitation. The United States purchased Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million ($121 million adjusted for inflation) at approximately two cents per acre. The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11, 1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.

The name "Alaska" had been introduced in the Russian colonial period, when it was used to refer to the peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut idiom, which figuratively refers to the mainland of Alaska. Literally, it means object to which the action of the sea is directed. It is also known as Alyeska, the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root.

What a beautiful state! Day one in Anchorage, through Portage and a relatively new tunnel en route to Whittier. Then a cruise to see 26 glaciers in Prince Williams Sound. We saw whales, sea otters and lots of birds.

Marina at Portage

Glacier on Prince William Sound

Prince Edward Sound

Glacier in Prince William Sound