Denali National Park & Preserve, Day 1

I’m back!

I survived the Alaskan Frontier and saw 6 bears!!! (Thankfully all from the inside of a bus!)

On Tuesday morning, my aunt, Sue, and I left for Denali National Park and Preserve.


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It was about a 4.5-hour drive from Anchorage. When we got there, we checked in and set up camp at Riley Creek Campground.

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I got a fire started for us to cook dinner because I was hungry!

I used my awesome fire-starting skills I gained from working at a summer camp for 5 years.

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Thanks to my dad for providing a great fanner for the fire.

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Dinner: grilled pizzas!

I was so excited when I thought of grilling our pizzas over the fire. . .it was gourmet cooking while camping!

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Super simple and only 3 ingredients:

pita bread + pizza sauce + shredded cheese

My aunt added smoked salmon to her pizza! Absolutely delicious!

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After filling our bellies with food, we ventured to the visitor’s center.

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We refilled our water bottles with water from Horseshoe Creek inside the visitor’s center.

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Then in the gift shop, I came across this little gem.

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I was cracking up when I read the last paragraph.

The difference between enjoying the cold winters or just enduring them has a lot to do with your ability to stay warm. If you are going to stay here and be happy, you have to learn to live with the elements.

Is that not great or what?!?!

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Next we heard this park ranger talk about sled dog mushing during the winter.

It was very informative, and I learned that I would not enjoy dog mushing! (See above quote.)

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Then before retreating to bed, we took a walk down to Riley Creek and checked out the sights.

Oh, by the way, this picture was taken at about 9 p.m.

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Stay tuned for day #2 and views of. . . . Mt. McKinley! 🙂

Hi, I'm Michelle

I love running around the lakes of Minnesota, running after my two boys, and racing anything from the 5K to the marathon. I have been blogging here since 2010 when I ran my first marathon. I finally secured my sub-3 hour marathon after trying for 8 years.

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6 Comments

  1. 7.22.11
    Yolanda said:

    I would have loved being there with you and your Aunt. What an amazing time together!!!

  2. 7.22.11
    Liz said:

    ooo did you get any pics of bears?

    • 7.22.11
      Michelle said:

      I didn’t. . . they were *really* far away and they would have only appeared as a tiny speck on a picture.

  3. 7.22.11
    Krissie J said:

    I never thought to make pizza while camping! You’re a genius! 🙂 Looking forward to Mt. McKinley. It’s on my list of places to snowboard some day!

  4. 7.22.11
    Mom said:

    Glad to hear that you and Sue had an enjoyable time camping. I will make sure Dad sees your blog. Although, I don’t think he meant the road atlas to be used to help start a fire!! You should copy that quote from the book and whenever you think about living in Alaska read the quote again.

    By the way, your blog on “Randomness”, you got the habit of eating fast from your dad. Another thing you forgot to tell your readers is that you like to stand up while you eat. Maybe if you sat down while you ate you wouldn’t eat as fast!!

    The weather is still in the 90’s here, but the humidity is down so it is much more “bearable” outside.

    • 7.22.11
      Michelle said:

      I know Dad didn’t intend for me to use the atlas for fanning the fire, but I didn’t have anything else!!

      I should put the quote on my fridge or something!!

      I eat just as fast when I sit down.

      I’m glad the humidity is down.