Denali Highway

After several days of backpacking we were all excited to hit the park headquarters for a warm shower and afterwards, a warm meal at a local restaurant. From Denali NP we headed south, back the way we had come until we reached the Alaskan/Denali Highway Junction. We then headed east along the infamous Denali Hwy.


The Denali Hwy was originally built to access the newly formed McKinley National Park. It was never paved and has remains a dirt road to this day. In this photo you can see the Nenana River to the right.


Sara poses with a smile with the Nenana River and Pyramid Peak in the background.

Sara was more open to a photoshoot after having recently had a hot shower and a chance to do her hair! What a babe!

Another shot of the Denali Highway looking west.

Overlooking Monahan Flat with the Alaskan Range beyond.

We made several stops along this stretch of highway to enjoy the scenery.

The girls smile for the camera.

Quent at the wheel. How could we go astray? Oh wait..... Look OUT!! :)

We stopped again near the Susitna Lodge, along the Susitna River of course. The Clearwater Mountains dominate the background.

This float plane was moored in the lake below.

Tangle Lakes

After spending the night at the Tangle Lake campground we took a short hike down a nearby trail near the Amphitheater Mountains.

Looking towards Landmark Gap. Recent rains apparently flooded some parts of the trail leaving several large pools that we had to navigate around.

We stopped near this small lake for lunch on our way back to the truck. you can see the Alaskan range in the background.

The Alaskan Range in the distance.


This shot was taken near the Denali Highway/Richardson Highway junction. What I believe to be the the Gakona Glacier can bee seen in the distance.

Richardson Highway

After leaving the Tangle Lakes area of the Denali Highway, we headed north towards Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway.


Although not snow capped, the mountains were still beautiful.


The highway follows the Tanana River.


We stopped to stretch our legs & enjoy the scenery. We also had fun playing in the mud - aka saturated silt deposited by the river.

After being intrigued for several miles, we found a pullout by the Alyeska pipeline. This particular location is where the pipeline crosses the Denali Fault.

Of course being engineering nerds, we had to check out the rail system that allows the pipeline to shift laterally in the event of an earthquake.

Photo op. Think of all the oil flowing past us.....

A 48" diameter pipe....is not this big. The elevated 48" pipe is encased in 3.75 inches of insulation, making the total diameter of 55 1/2 inches.

Just north of the pipeline viewpoint, we were driving along and noticed a large brown figure in a pond. We turned around, and sure enough, it was a female moose.

From far away, the moose didn't look very big. I am sure if she was standing next to us, we would think otherwise.

Quentin & Christina lent us their telephoto lens, and we put it on the camera just in time for for the moose to show us her 'best' side.

Here's an example of the condition of a typical sign in Alaska. Rumor is they are favorites for target practice.

Here is a nice shot of a pipeline crossing under the highway. As a geotech, Sara was especially excited about the towers that follow along the pipeline, and in most areas support the pipeline. The towers act as heat exchangers by circulating ammonia to keep the permafrost frozen.

After a bite to eat in Fairbanks, the girls were very happy to get a chance to stay in a hotel for the night. Luckily the guys went for staying at the Chena Hot Springs Resort, about a half hour east of Fairbanks. This is supposed to be the 'hot' spot in the winter for watching the northern lights. The geothermal springs felt great considering the 'summer' temperatures in the 50s, and were a nice end to a fun day.

Dalton Highway

After enjoying the hot springs in Chena, we headed back west to Fairbanks and north on the Elliott Highway until we reached the Dalton Highway. The Dalton Highway was originally built as a haul road between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay for the Trans-Alaskan pipeline. The highway is named after artic engineer James Dalton. Passenger vehicle traffic was limited until 1994, and tractor trailers still have the right-of-way on the road.

Some areas are paved, but the highway is mostly unpaved. Suprisingly enough, the unpaved sections tended to be smoother since they seemed to be frequently maintained by graders, while the paved areas had several dips due to areas of melting permafrost.

Of course the three of us nerd engineers had to make a stop to gaze at the E.L. Patton bridge that crosses the Yukon River. Christina seemed to enjoy the view, as well. The bridge is named after the president of the Alyeska Pipeline during pipeline construction. The road surface is wood planked, and the pipeline is carried along the east side of the bridge. Although it doesn't like it from this angle, the bridge has a 6% grade.

The parking lot at the Yukon River viewpoint also offered a nice view of the pipeline north of the bridge.

As we continued north, we started seeing interesting rock formations mixed with beautiful fall colors of tundra plants.

Some of the granite formations are granite pinnacles that are apparently called 'tors.' We stopped to see this particular tor called Finger Rock. The signs at this site mentioned that early bush pilots used this rock to guide them to Fairbanks, where it points.

We of course had to take the opportunity to do a little climbing around on some other rocks at the Finger Rock lookout.

The crazier two of our party had to climb to the tip tops of these rocks.

To infinity and beyond! Or maybe just northward.

Where's the polar bears? I had previously always imagined a barren wasteland of frozen tundra at the Arctic Circle, but luckily, we found it to be pleasantly 'warm' for being at latitude 66 degrees. The ground surface was at least thawed and the deciduous trees still had leaves.


We took advantage of a photo op for the Christmas cards.


A few others may have stopped here before us based on the evidence on the back of the sign.

Camp Arctic Circle........at about 10:00 p.m.

The sun loomed, and loomed some more over the hills. We were playing frisbee at about 11:00 p.m. when this photo was taken. In mid-August, the sun is up for approximately 16 1/2 hours a day.

The sun finally sets at around 12:30 a.m.