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We will spend today on the shuttle bus traveling 358 miles on the Parks Highway from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Contrary to a popular misconception, this highway's name does not relate to its route in and around the parks-Denali State Park and Denali National Park and Preserve. Traversing the scenic wilderness of Interior and Southcentral Alaska to connect the state's 2 largest population centers, the road, completed in 1971, was named for George A. Parks, territorial governor of Alaska from 1925-1933.

Blessed with clear weather, we will have many excellent views of Denali (Mount McKinley). Seeing "The Mountain" ranks at the top of the list of "must do's" of most Alaska visitors, and seasoned Alaskans thrill to the sight as well. The bus schedule allows time for stops at strategic viewing and photo sites along the route. Many other points of interest will be described to us by our knowledgeable driver.

We start off through Fairbanks, heading south and, a few miles later, pass through the former gold mining camp of Ester, where well-preserved gold dredges and mounds of mine tailings testify to the area's colorful history. Today, Ester is home to many artists and the town's mining days are relived in music, song and dance at the Malemute Saloon.

The 58-mile drive along the birch-crowned ridge between Fairbanks and Nenana afford fine views across both the broad Tanana Valley on the east and the wilderness of the Minto Flats on the west. At Nenana, a $6 million highway bridge expedited evacuation of the town during the devastating 1967 flood; this bridge was dedicated in August 2000 as the Alaska Native Veterans' Honor Bridge. Railroad and river meet in Nenana, home of the tugboats and barges that deliver freight throughout the Interior. The town's most notable event is the annual Ice Classic, based on the exact minute of the spring breakup of the Tanana River. Contest winners share bonanzas amounting to many thousands of dollars.

Thirty miles south of Nenana, a side road leads to Clear Air Force Station, one of three sites of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (other bases are in Thule, Greenland, and England). After crossing the Rex bridge and driving down into Healy, we are well within the foothills of the Alaska Range. South of Healy's aptly named "Windy Valley," the Moody bridge, one of the highway's most challenging engineering projects, crosses the Nenana River. If we're lucky and the season is right, we may spot Dall sheep on the hillside just north and east of the bridge.

Now we enter the river canyon leading to the busy mini-city of hotels, cabins and businesses crowding the highway just north of the entrance to Denali National Park. We stop for about half an hour at the park visitor center, where we may watch a film, shop for gifts, and talk with the tourists, campers and backpackers seeking information and reservations for park facilities.

Cantwell, 28 miles past the park entrance, offers a rest stop before the long haul through the mountain range. Nature has put her best foot forward. The weather is perfect. The passengers are congenial, comparing notes, sharing tips about gear and hostels and their experiences in the park and elsewhere in the state and the world. We talk with an Australian woman, a Japanese backpacker, a personable Irish priest, an Israeli couple.

Coming in to Broad Pass, we round a bend in the road and are face to face with Denali in all its splendor, its 20,320-foot summit sharp against the cloudless sky. A collective gasp goes up, the driver stops the bus, everyone pours out, cameras click repeatedly. Some people are silent, awed by the majesty of the scene and the moment. The mountain dominates the skyline from many vantage points for the next 70 miles.

South of the Alaska Range we see moose along the highway near the Talkeetna Spur Road. We wish time permitted a stop at that unique little town, but it is 12 miles off the main road, and there is a schedule to keep. Soon we see evidence of approaching civilization: traffic increases noticeably near Willow, and when we pass the fireworks stands near Big Lake, we know our wilderness trip is fast winding down. That fact is definitely driven home as we enter Wasilla, which was a sleepy little hamlet until the undreamed-of development of the 1970s and early 1980s transformed it into a boom town. A citizen of the area prior to those years, dropped down today along the main street, would never know he was in the same place.

From Wasilla, it's heavy traffic speeding along the Glenn Highway, in the shadow of the rugged Chugach mountains. We pass the National Guard armory near Eagle River, the towering flagpole at Fort Richardson, and enter downtown Anchorage at rush hour, a scene which, after our long day's drive through the heart of Alaska, seems strangely surreal. We look northward and see Denali's unmistakable profile on the horizon, welcome reassurance that the wilderness and more great photo opportunities await on our next trip north.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

The MILEPOST
619 E. Ship Creek Avenue, Suite 329
Anchorage, AK 99501

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