NORTH TO ALASKA 2025 - DAYS 40-42 - DENALI AND TRAPPER CREEK

After our windshield was fixed at Safelite in Wasilla, we headed north on the Parks Highway. We decided we were going to try to get up and see Denali.  

Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, reaching a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 meters). It is located in the Alaska Range.

We were aiming for the smaller state park across from the big National Park. We decided that the national park is quite complicated to stay at, and you cannot see Denali from the actual campsites. You have to take a shuttle bus or a tour bus to get anywhere close to seeing the mountain. 

Also, dogs are forbidden in any of the areas of the park other than directly at your own campsite. 

You need to take shuttle buses to view things within the park, you cannot drive around and look at things yourself. Of course, dogs are not allowed on the shuttle buses either. 

So we decided it wasn't dog friendly at the National Park.  We didn't want to leave Nick for hours on end alone in the motorhome either. Looking at some of the scheduled bus routes, we could be gone for a long time to make a complete loop. 

So the state park called K'seugi Ken seemed more to our liking. 

We headed north on the Parks Highway and it was absolutely beautiful! 

As we got closer, we could see the mountain range in the distance where Denali should be. But it wasn't.

It was clouding over and raining right where Denali should be.

The closer we got, the darker it got. You can very faintly see the outline of mountains among the black clouds up ahead.

We drove through the K'seugi Ken State Campground. There were many empty sites but they all had signs on them saying they were reserved. We looped through twice just to make sure we didn't miss any. It's sad, because a lot of these sites never get filled up anyhow. We actually talked to a person (a few days later) that said he had reservations for two nights but they were driving on to Fairbanks because the weather was bad. He just shrugged it off as a loss. Many do that. If we had known, we would have taken his two nights! 

So we did the next best thing, right across from the state campground is Denali South View Point parking lot. When the conditions are right, you can see Denali the best from here instead of being in the national park itself.

What is wonderful, is that you can pay a fee at the kiosk and stay overnight right there in the viewing point area. Each site is also furnished with a picnic table and a fire ring. They have outhouses and a water source. But of course no dump station or electric services. We didn't care, we just wanted to see Denali and didn't mind parking there overnight for a $20 fee.

The sun was shining when we got there, but the clouds were all over blocking out Denali and you couldn't see very far at all.

You can see the lower mountains in the front. But behind all those clouds should be Denali....

There! I fixed it. Lol

The storyboards on site at the viewing platform explained how the weather is affected by the height of Denali. It essentially creates its own weather around it in a dome. 

It really explained a lot of why only 30% of the visitors ever see Denali.

I cannot imagine being brave enough to climb up there, people who have done it, are exhilarated by the experience. Or disappointed by their failure of not making it the whole way?

It is interesting that something as natural as a mountain down on the ground can affect the weather above in the sky.

They also have a large diorama display which shows all of the mountain peaks and their heights. It displays why Denali is so much larger than all the rest of them, and easily seen if the sky is cooperating.

We just didn't get any cooperation....

We hung out in the viewing area for 2 days and nights. It was cloudy and rainy all the while. So we really didn't get to see Denali at all. We finally gave up and having south back down the Parks Highway towards Trapper Creek. We could use a freshwater refill, dump our tanks, and spend a night with electrical hookups. Right behind the Three Bears Store at Trapper Creek there is a small RV park attached to the Trapper Creek Inn.  

Here is their website, and they do take reservations for the RV park:

https://www.trappercreek.biz/

We caught up our laundry and did a little shopping within the store.  We opted to park along the fence near the front so we would have an open clear sky for Starlink. They do have Wi-Fi, but it's kind of slow.

They are a clean well kept part, definitely big rig friendly. There's about seven or eight pull through sites on one side and other wooded back in sites on the other. They also have some tenting sites.

In the center they have a big pavilion, perfect for large gatherings or if you are traveling with a tour group or convoy.

Someone took a lot of time to build this heavy duty pavilion. They found big logs with burls on them which are odd growths during the lifetime of the tree. They took the time to scrape off all the bark and implement the chunks of log into the supports for the pavilion. It's a real "Alaska Thing" to do this on your log cabin too.

These are the wooded sites down the other side that I think are rustic camping for tents. I don't think there's electric over here except for the very end one. But they are nice shaded sites.

Their little store had a little bit of everything.  There were grocery items and a small array of hardware items and sporting items. There was a bit of giftware here and there and tourist knick knacks. I found something I didn't know I really wanted. Lol. But I bought it and I really really like it!!

It's called an "ulu knife"... And the wooden chopping block that goes with it with a concaved area called the bowl.

"An ulu (Inuktitut: ᐅᓗ; plural: uluit) is a traditional multi-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit, Iñupiat, Yupik, and Aleut women. It features a semi-circular blade and a handle, and is known for its versatility in various tasks such as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting food, and even trimming snow and ice. Ulu knives are often sold as souvenirs in Alaska."

Here's the YouTube video that goes along with today's blog: 

104 miles traveled today

4,307 miles traveled so far