Denali was vast and beautiul. It epitomized (if something can) Alaska. From one of the trails I could see the river running throught the flat land, the highway like a ribbon, and the grand mountains with their coats of snow surrounding us. The park has scheduled transportation into the parks interior that allows you to take varied, extensive hikes; camp out; or just sightsee. The wildlife was incredible, spotting grizzly bear, moose with calves, mountain sheep, bald eagles and some I hadn't heard of before. The train that travels from Anchorage to Fairbanks stops at the park too.

When in Fairbanks, one cannot miss Denali National Park and Preserve, established in 1917 as Mount McKinley National Park, after a campaign led by Charles Sheldon, a naturalist. Curiously, Mt. McKinley was not included in the park boundary. The name changed in 1980, at the same time the park boundary was extended, more than tripling its area, now including the entire Mount McKinley massif. It also became a International Biosphere Reserve.

Cars are only allowed in a restrict area of the park and so buses must be used to travel along the park's main road. This is a way to reduce the impact of vehicles in such a delicate environment. We read that other parks, like Yosemite, may introduce this system in the future. Only part of the seats are sold in advance and we bought our on our way to Fairbanks.

We took the longest trip, to Wonder Lake, 11h total, and the bus stops at certain special places and whenever animals are seen. We saw Dall sheep, caribous, moose, and others, but the great excitement were the grizzly bears - they crossed the road right next to the bus.

Every night there are presentation at the park's auditorium and at camping sites. There are also ranger-led hikes and exhibition of the park's huskies.

Special lodges are available in remote areas of the park, reached only by plane - but these are very expensive