“Did you see it??” Yes, yes I did!

Saturday started very early. I was in the lobby, checked out and on the 5:30am shuttle to the downtown bus stop. Ours was no ordinary bus, but a large coach with seating for more than 40, and just 9 of us on board – very comfy. Right on time, our driver Jim, was taking us through the still-deserted streets of Anchorage and then onto the highway for the 6 hour drive north to Denali National Park.

We drove passed one of the largest light plane airports in the world, Merrill Field – there were hundreds of them lined up row after row after row, a bit like a car yard. These and float planes are critical for access to many parts of Alaska. Further on we drove through Wasilla, famous for things other than its shops & stores with names that include “Gun Loans here,” “Mug Shot Saloon” & “Happy Hooker Towing” – just a few that I spied.

Once we were further north and into the Alaska Range, I could see large snow-covered mountains way off in the distance. The terrain was changing and the clouds were breaking up.

We knew that there would be one scheduled stop at Talkeetna, a resort about 2 hours south of the National Park, but I assumed this would simply be an opportunity to stretch our legs, and get much-needed breakfast. As we pulled into the car park, Jim told us that if we walked through the lobby we might just get a view of the mountains. Wow, not just mountains, but Mt Denali standing very high above a row of “subordinate” mountains – breathtaking! This is the highest mountain in North America at 20,310ft, and because of its sub-Arctic location and size, it attracts clouds, frequently obscuring it totally.

At 12:15pm, Jim dropped me at the Denali National Park train station where I was to meet the Kantishna Roadhouse’s red and white bus at 12:45pm. Ah, the mozzies were out – not overly fierce, but it did warrant pulling out and smearing on the bug cream. And fortunately it does seem to work!

There were 10 guests spread out in the bus named Fred, very capably driven by Kirsty Knittel, a Kiwi who has been living in this area for 35 years or so. She is an excellent photographer (www.naturalalaska.net) and wonderful guide – her commentary over the next 7½ hours was fantastic. We stopped whenever there was something to see, and also when there wasn’t, for example a bear that turned out to be a rock.

During the 7 hour trip we saw a moose (sadly too far away for a decent photo), caribou by the dozens, Dall sheep, golden eagles soaring above us, squirrels, snowshoe hares, a glimpse of a bear, ptarmigan, ducks, Magpies (quite different to our Aussie warbler), ravens, beaver, as well as mountains, glacial rivers and streams, tundra, Taiga forest, flowers and the obligatory mosquitoes. The colours of the mountains varied – pinks, browns and orange due to minerals, sometimes black (coal), but mostly grey with blushes of green grasses. This area was part of the goldrush in the 1800s, but since access was very difficult and the climate very harsh, miners didn’t stay for long.

We finally pulled into Kantishna just before 8pm and were taken to our cabins. Mine is #26, “Otter” – very nice and comfy with views of the alders and birch trees. After a quick dinner and some updates re Sunday’s activities, it was time for bed, and a delicious sleep!

Why the question in the title? During the drive to Kantishna, and even once we were at the Roadhouse, people would ask “did you see it?” – the “it” referring to Mt Denali. It was almost as if they dared not say the name – strange, but amazingly consistent.