Denali and Aurora

To get to Denali NP from the Kenai was a bit of a trek. We ended up stopping in Anchorage for more provisions before heading up the George Parks Highway towards Denali. We stopped one more time at a highway pullout. And it was here that we saw our first aurora! In hindsight, they weren’t that spectacular but at the time, they were our first so it didn’t matter.

We and 13roads find nice spots at Riley Creek Campground and settle in for our stay. It rained for most of our stay but we managed a few small excursions. We booked our bus into the park on what turned out to be the most staggeringly beautiful day and which just happened to be the National Park Service birthday as well. There really wasn’t anything we didn’t see that day on the bus or while hiking. We even saw Mt Denali in his full glory!

Tired but very happy, were were having dinner out, pizza, when our Aurora apps pop alerts indicating an exceptionally high KP-index. We paid the bill and immediately departed to find a good spot to watch the aurora. Despite the full moon and ending up on a roadside pullout, the show was spectacular. The entire sky was on display and at times, we didn’t know where to look.

Exceptionally content for having seen a good aurora show, we overnight one time on the way to Palmer, to the Alaska State Fair.