The Road to Deanali goes through Wasilla

`The Road to Denali

We are headed today to Denali, AKA Mt. McKinley.  It turns out that the Alaskans have always called it Denali, but the lower 48 refers to it as Mt. McKinley. Some overzealous congressman liked presidential nominee William McKinley and named it for him.  In 1980, the name of the park was officially changed to Denali, but each year a congressman from Ohio introduces legislation to make sure the name of the actual mountain stays McKinley.  Whatever!

 The Denali National Park is over 6 million acres, and as the highest mountain in the US, Mt. McKinley towers above everything at 20, 320 feet.  Captain Vancouver actually saw the mountain from Cook Inlet in 1794.  The mountain is visible on cold clear nights in winter, but summer brings wet, rainy conditions and it is often obscured. The local saying is that the mountain makes its own weather.  There is only a 20-30% chance of seeing it during the summer.   Here’s your trivia quiz.  What President extended the Park from 2 million to 6 million acres?  Answer:  Jimmy Carter.  And there were hopes to expand it even more during his second term (which never happened!)  

As we leave Anchorage, it is overcast and rainy.  Our first hot spot on the road is Wasilla!

The population of Wasilla is 7,028.  And it is the fourth largest city in Alaska.   It began as a railroad station in about 1917, and was an agricultural community in competition with nearby Palmer.  It also supplied the gold mining in Hatcher Pass.  Then the Pipeline started in the 1970’s and the Parks Highway was built, and Wasilla was on the map as a major supply point for the Pipeline.  Today it serves as a suburb of Anchorage.  Our guidebook ways that Wasilla has the biggest Wal-Mart in Alaska, and this Wal-Mart sells more duct tape than any other Wal-Mart in the world!

We got off on several exits, but had trouble finding a downtown area.  Most of the commerce is truly along the highway.   During Sarah Palin’s run for Vice President, the reporters all hung out at the Mug-Shot Saloon.  We didn’t get any pictures.

The country started to change outside Wasilla, to larger vistas and valleys off in the distance.  There’s not much to say about it except that it is once again different terrain than we have seen before.  The Tundra once again becomes apparent, and “braided” rivers appear.  These large alluvial plans become torrents during the spring runoff, but look very minimal after the snow is gone.   So, here are  pictures.