Since I’ve had plenty of time to sit and think, it occurred to me that in some ways I was lucky that there weren’t that many people or vehicles here. During the peak of summer I imagine that this first 15 miles is probably gridlock – between vehicles having to make way for the Denali buses to get through, and wanting to stop and admire the views, I image it gets pretty hectic. There aren’t that many places to stop fully off the road, and I think the parking lots probably fill up quickly and stay full, as people on the buses are probably gone for long stretches of time.
Here are more of the things I saw as I drove up and down the road within the Park:
Yes, there were some times blue sky would actually appear, but they were fleeting. Wave after wave of low clouds would pass through very quickly.
Another short period of some clearing but then another set of dark clouds appeared to be on their way and I decided I had had enough fun for one day. I was cold and damp and decided to head back to my Airbnb and try again tomorrow.
This time around I am staying in the small town of Healy, about 20 miles north of the entrance to the Park. When I woke up in the morning I could tell by looking out the window that it had snowed overnight. After my first visit to the Park, about two weeks ago, I decided to start checking the weather forecast for the Park itself, rather than checking nearby towns. After checking it several times over the next two weeks, I could tell temperatures were colder in the Park, and the chance of precipitation was often higher. I had thought about doing the second “lap” to Fairbanks counterclockwise – the opposite of my route the first lap, but in the interim I decided I’d better get up here sooner rather than later, so I came up directly from Wasilla.
That was what greeted me in the morning. The temperature was right around freezing, and I knew there were some bridges on my way to the Park, and that the road within the Park was at around 3,000 feet elevation, so I didn’t rush to get there.
My first stop every day while I stayed in Healy was at what had become my favorite gas station/convenience store in the state – Three Bears Alaska. Their gas price was generally competitive and many of their locations had a good sized food department. I bought three cups of coffee (I had some thermos-type containers with me) and something to eat throughout the day so I could just stay in the Park. Then I headed to the Park for the day.
The road was wet, but clear, and the bridges were not an issue.
Once I got to the Park, this was the road past the parking lot which would take me up to where the road was mostly level:
Once I got up to where the road straightened out I found that the road was wet and slushy, and there had clearly been some traffic. The photo below is from a pullout area looking back at the way I had come in.
There was a small accumulation of snow right next to the road, and the pine trees and scrub brush had a light coasting of snow and/or ice. The temperature was hovering right around freezing and there was a breeze, but not enough to knock the snow off the tree branches.
As I approached the point where the road would drop down to the Savage River, the low clouds were starting to move in, limiting visibility. That would set the tone for the day.
The photo above is from the entrance to the parking area at the 15-mile mark, and you can see the gate over the bridge was closed and locked. There would be work trucks which would arrive periodically and they could open the gate, pass through, and lock it behind them. I learned from the Park website that there was a portion of the road about 50 miles into the Park which was under repair. I would see muddy trucks, often with trailers, leaving late in the day.
So I was now limited to the first 15 miles only, with limited visibility, so I spent most of the day watching for wildlife. I would drive up and down the road, sometimes just barely crawling, so I could watch both sides of the road. Because there was hardly any traffic, and I could usually see vehicles coming, I could crawl along at 7 mph, or even stop in the road, without creating a problem for other vehicles.
That is from the high point near the 15-mile bridge. There was a small pullout area there, and when I could see things in the distance I would park there and use my binoculars to scan the horizon, the river, the fields below me or beyond the bridge, and the hill on the mountain on the other side of the bridge. I had an orange tuque on my head and two sweatshirts on, and would pull the hood of the outer one up if the wind was blowing. I also had my bright orange mittens on, with had ends over my fingers which I could remove to be able to manipulate the camera or binoculars. It remained a very cold day.
Some of the pullout areas had more snow on them than others. Traffic on the road kept it wet and slushy.
Several times I would park my car in a pullout area, fully off the road, and walk up and down the road looking to the sides for animals. I always had a can of bear spray in my kangaroo pouch of my sweatshirt, and another one in my back pocket.
Occasionally a small patch of sunshine would appear on a mountain, but it never lasted long, as the clouds were moving fairly quickly over the Park.
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