Raven Travels: DENALI PARK AND NORTHERN LIGHTS

MONDAY, MARCH 11:

DENALI PARK AND NORTHERN LIGHTS

HI ALL,

This morning dawned with snow falling. It was beautiful as always, especially when you do not need to do the shoveling. Sunrise had not yet occurred as we gathered to go to breakfast. Well our plans changed due to no sunrise photo ops, so we were off to visit the Denali N.P. Dog Sled dogs. These are the only dogsled dogs used within the National Park System. The Park uses the dogs to patrol the various trails within the National Park. Afterwards we turned in the snow shoes we had used yesterday. '

Then it was off to Rosie's Cafe in Healy. It was right next door to our motel, The Nord Haven Inn. I had had breakfast here two years ago on a LightChase

Photo Tour. We had a very good breakfast here, and one of our members, Rafiq, has now joined the gluttony club, which includes consuming the 1 pound burger, and potato salad. It was fun making contact with Rosie once again. I am not sure that she truly remembered us, but the food was still very good.

After breakfast we went back to the Nord Haven Motel to check out. This was a 4* establishment, with very nice rooms, clean, and a very helpful clerk on duty in the evening. Basically it was an honor system for checking in as there was no one there. Our keys were on the front desk with instructions to call a certain number to complete the process. They had coffee, tea, and hot chocolate for you to enjoy while there.

After checking out we were off to explore the Park area South to almost Cantrell. We stopped many times for photo ops as the weather started to clear. We were photographing the northern edge of the Alaskan Range, but Denali was interior to the Highway. There are five of us who are really here for photography and nature, and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Back in Fairbanks the weather had cleared and the skies were clear. We had dinner at a very good Italian Restaurant downtown, before suiting up for the evening shoot and viewing of the Northern Lights. This time we went along the Old Murphy Dome Road to an area we had scoped out a couple of days ago. Of course things looked different in the dark but we lived up to the challenge. Of course, there were several times that I went down to my knees in a soft area, which has become pretty s.o.p. We had an elevated view and it was quite clear, but there were lights below which are in the photos from various homes, and probably one business. We could occasionally see lights from the Elliot Parkway and hear some of the BIG trucks using their air brakes or struggling up the hill.

We got home about 0200. I had intentions of writing this then but a doctored hot chocolate, and getting warm relaxed me. So I did not fight it; I went off to bed.

Denali N. P. >>>