Anchorage to Healy

We had an appointment with Talkeetna Air Taxi at 9:30 in the morning, so we had to get up early in Anchorage to make the two hour drive to Talkeetna. The drive itself was not too spectacular because it went through mostly flat terrain and the small Parks Highway was thickly lined with trees on both sides. At milepost 99, hang a right, and you will be in Talkeetna before you know it. Talkeetna is a beautiful little town of about 700 year-round residents, located at the confluence of three glacial rivers: the Susitna, Chulitna, and Talkeetna. It lies in the flat, glacier-ground plains that lead to the mighty Alaska range, which can be seen in the distance.

Denali beyond the Susitna River

Mount Denali, or Mount McKinley, as it is known outside of Alaska, is seen in the picture above, and he is the reason we came to Talkeetna in the first place. The naming of said mountain is rather interesting. Denali, which in the Athabascan language means "the great one" or "the high one," makes perfect sense. You could imagine some Athabascan's looking at the mountain and thinking to themselves: "That sure it the biggest mountain I've ever seen, let's call it Denali." McKinley is a less obvious choice, but that only makes it more interesting.

William Dickey, who was prospecting in the area in the very late 19th century, loved nothing more than to argue with his travel companions about one of the hottest political issues at the time: whether the monetary standard of the United States should be based on gold, as the Republicans wanted, or silver, which was supported by the Democrats. Dickey was a Republican, his companions Democrats. So when he got back home, he reported his "discovery" of the large mountain and named it "Mount McKinley," in honor of William McKinley, a Republican leader and then president, who led the United States through the Spanish-American War and was assassinated in 1901, half a year into his second term. But mostly Dickey did it to spite his travel companions.

Now, that seems like a goofy reason for a mountain to have a name that nobody in Alaska likes, so why is it still called McKinley? Well, a mountain's name can only be changed by the U.S. Geographic Names Board IF it is not being considered by Congress. And since 1975, when a name change was first officially requested by the residents of Alaska, Ohio Congressman Ralph Regula, who occupies the same seat that William McKinley held (who later also became governor of Ohio), has prevented the Names Board to enact any changes by including a single sentence as a budget amendment stating that McKinley is the permanent name of the mountain. Hence it is Congress's business, and the Names Board cannot touch it. Sound strange? Sure does, but it's true. Call Ralph, if you don't believe me.

Approaching Denali between the Tokositna (left) and Ruth Glaciers

But in keeping with the wishes of the Alaskans, I will henceforth refer to the mountain as Mount Denali. And Mount Denali, we were told, is best seen from the air because there is now other way to comprehend its scale. This is probably true, although to really understand how big the mountain is, one would have to climb it, which thousands of people attempt every year. To do this, they fly from Talkeetna to Base Camp, which is nestled between the two peaks of Denali, still a several days' hike from the top. Mount Denali's north face is about 15,000 feet tall. This makes it the largest mountain wall in the world. Indeed, Denali stands higher from its surroundings than Mount Everest because the Himalayas are so tall to begin with. The Alaska Range, by contrast, rises from only a few thousand feet elevation, which makes the peaks all the more impressive.

Denali's twin peaks: North (left, 19,470 ft) and South (20,320 ft)

What we were told is true, a flight around Mount Denali is expensive, but worth every penny. This is one of the few truly magnificent experiences in life, and if you are ever in Alaska, do not miss it. Having said that, I am not sure that I can tell you much more about our flight than to show you a few pictures. Keep in mind that these were taken with my little point-and-click digital camera, but even with a big, fancy camera, I could have never done the scenery justice. This experience is exactly that: an experience. To really understand, you just had to be there. And even having been there, I still feel like it was all on a scale that was simply too large to grasp.

Turning into the 747 gorge - literally big enough for a Boeing 747

Following the Ruth Glacier back South

Terminal moraines insulate the ice below

Back to Talkeetna airport

Our ride: a DeHavilland Beaver

After this almost two hour-long flight, we strolled around Talkeetna for a while, which had by now filled up with cruise ship passengers who were on an inland expedition organized by one of the two (really one) cruise ship companies that own Alaska. But more on that later.

Talkeetna Central Station

We really liked Talkeetna, and it was to remain one of our favorite towns among all those we would see in Alaska. A train follows the tracks north into the lakes, and it is one of the last trains in the world that you can actually flag down to get a ride. I suppose there are not too many passengers, and it is not exactly a bullet train.

From Talkeetna, we went back to the Park Highway and continued on our trip towards Denali, which we actually passed to get to Healy and our very nice Motel Nord Haven for the night. Healy has about 1,000 residents, and it serves mainly as a starting point for trips into Denali National Park, our destination for tomorrow. We had Spaghetti and Meatballs at Rose's Diner, a converted trailer, right next door, along with all the locals, who discussed things like what to do with the moose they had just killed with their car when their freezers were already full with two bears. You know, the kind of stuff that occupies the mind in Alaska. Waste not, want not.