Today we finally got to take our flight over Denali. The weather cleared overnight. We still had some clouds and fog, but we were able to get above the clouds to see the peaks of the mountains.
The plane ride was so smooth. I didn't even realize we left the ground! I never got sick and we never experienced turbulence. Here are pictures from the plane ride but they cannot begin to capture the beauty of this ride. They also cannot capture the size of North America's largest mountain, Denali.
Most people in the lower 48 know this as Mt. McKinley. The native Alaskans named this mountain Denali long ago for "the high one". One American climber decided to name the mountain after McKinley to get publicity for his favorite presidential candidate. The official Alaskan name is Denali, but the US Board for Geographic Names keeps Mt. McKinley as the name to avoid confusion between the mountain and the national park.
Another interesting fact about Denali is that it is certainly the highest peak in North America while Mt. Everest is the highest mountain in the world relative to sea level. However, the rise of Denali is more than that of Everest. Denali sits only 2000 feet above sea level giving it a rise of 18,000 feet. Everest sits at 17,000 feet above sea level with a rise of 12,000 feet.
This flight is expensive, but for anyone considering a trip to Alaska - it is well worth the money! I would skip everything we did in the park and do this instead without a second thought. It was fantastic!
At the end of the day we headed to Trapper Creek for Josh and Amy's wedding.
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