Happy 100th Birthday US National Park Service, Tour Denali National Park with J.Q. Rose

On August 25, 2016 the US National Park Service celebrates its 100th birthday. I've been celebrating this month on the J.Q. Rose blog with posts about the national parks we have visited. Today I am sharing one of the most awe-inspiring parks in the USA, Denali National Park in Alaska.  Please join me for a short tour of this gorgeous and historic place.

Happy birthday National Park Service!

Denali National Park and Preserve

We took our time driving the four hour trip north from Wasilla to the Denali National Park and Preserve. We traveled the highway surrounded by gorgeous scenery except for the occasional Mom and Pop businesses along the side of the road.  We arrived early in the evening. 

You may remember Alaska enjoys 22 hours of sunlight this time of year, so we could still site-see till 2 a.m. But we didn't. I was excited to actually be here in this magical place. I have heard so much about Denali Park all my life and Mt. McKinley . In August 2015 President Obama, using his executive power, renamed Mt. McKinley to the original Athabascan native name of Denali. 

We weren't fortunate enough to be part of the 30% who actually see Denali. Oh yes, it is there all the time...hard to move mountains...but because it is the highest mountain in North America, it's usually shrouded by clouds. Only on clear, sunny days will the cloud curtain disappear for a glimpse. The tourist area outside of Denali Park has beautiful blue T-shirts in all the souvenir shops which brag that the person wearing the shirt is one of the lucky 30%. I couldn't buy one of the cute shirts because the clouds covered the mountain when we there. My hubby was happy I couldn't purchase the shirt, but sorry we didn't see the mountain top.

Wilderness Access Center--Denali

This amazing stained glass mural is high on the wall of the Wilderness Access Center. We purchased our tickets here for the three hour ride on a green school bus into the park. Longer tours on the shuttle buses including a narrator are available. But we figured there is only one road that all the buses drive, so we took the less expensive shuttle. And, frankly, we didn't want the longer tours, especially bouncing around a mountain on a school bus for a day. No comfy tour buses allowed because they are too heavy for the one road that winds through the park. Private vehicles are not allowed on this section of the park.

TIP: There is no food in the park other than at the Visitors Center. So visitors must bring food and drinks on the bus..and consume them in the bus...no picnic tables for outdoor picnics due to trash and bears...!!! Before we left Wasilla, we shopped for lunch supplies at Walmart and carried them in a styrofoam cooler. We packed our lunches in the morning which saved us a LOT of money for meals.

We had a fantastic tour driver. He shared interesting tidbits and was alert for wildlife sightings, however, he depended on passengers to discover the animals too since the road through the park is not exactly a nice, paved two lane. It's more like a path in some areas, especially around Polychrome Dome. I had to hide my eyes at times and hold my breath while he negotiated the narrow road. Thank goodness they have some rules about who gets the right of way when the buses meet.There is no room for two buses on much of the tour. A thrill ride I'd say.

Here are photos of the sights we saw along the way. Hope you enjoy them.

This picture shows you how thick the clouds were, so no sightings of Mt. McKinley

What are these? Caribou. Do you know the difference between reindeer and caribou? Reindeer can fly!

So glad we found a camera with a 24x telephoto lens. Perfect for getting closer to the animals from the safety of the bus!!

Polychrome Dome--Notice the different colors of rock here. See that tiny road in the upper 1/3 of the picture? So glad our driver had 31 years of driving experience in Denali tours!!!

Yes, another mountain picture. I have a million of them!

Mama bear and two cubs. The bears were this tan color in the park. I was looking for black or brown. Surprised when I finally spotted these sweet things.

Dall sheep. They are only little white specks on the side of the mountain. Thank goodness for our powerful zoom.

Grand Denali Lodge--what a view from here.

 It poured rain the next morning, but we forged on in our plastic ponchos to see the demonstration of the sled dogs. Amazing animals. These are actual working dogs who patrol the park during the snowy winter conditions keeping the tradition of dog sledding alive.

Sled dog and puppy.

Look at this wildlife my DH captured in the lens. Oh, alright, it's really your trusty reporter. I just wanted to have proof that I actually was there in this fabulous park. 

TIP: If you are USA resident, pay $10. at the age of 62 and you have a lifetime pass to ALL the national parks. You better believe we plan to use this gift on future forays.

We spent the rainy day in the display areas in the park studying all the interesting information. We took in an informative movie and ranger talk, snacks in the park cafeteria, and shopping in the gift shop. Actually the rainy day turned into a welcome opportunity to learn so much about Alaska and Denali National Park.

Every time we visit a national park, I want to thank the people who had the vision to set aside these areas for future generations. In this crazy, fast-paced world of technology, I pray the mountains and lakes, the moose, bears, sheep, and eagles will still be there for my grandchildren and future generations to see and experience the awe I felt being in Denali. We must be the caretakers to preserve this blessed land.

You need not go all the way to Alaska to experience national parks. Make it a point to find a national park, lakeshore, forest, etc near you. You will be amazed.

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Have you visited a national park? Do you have a favorite park--city, township, county, state, national? Leave a comment below and let us know.

J.Q. Rose is the author of the romantic suspense novel, Deadly Undertaking.

A handsome detective, a shadow man, 

and a murder victim kill Lauren’s plan for a simple life.

Available at Amazon

Connect with J.Q. Rose online at:

J.Q.Rose blog 

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A drink, a dance, or something else?

The Red Onion Saloon

This month I'm going to take you on another journey - one of the most entertaining I've experienced during my travels.

This took place in Alaska which is wild and wonderful, and one of our stops was Skagway. In the 2010 census its population was 920 people. During the height of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898, however, it was the largest city in Alaska, with a population of around 8,000 and with an additional 1,000 miners passing through each week. 

Nowadays, of course, the numbers of visitors are much larger. 900,000 annually, mainly from cruise ships, and each and every one of them enjoying an existence far removed from the tough lives of the gold prospectors. The memories haven't gone away though. The cries of “gold in the Yukon” still echo from steep canyon walls, as do the sounds of bar room pianos and boomtown crowds. It's a place where the romance and excitement of yesteryear lingers around every street corner, every bend in the trail.

Like all historic towns, Skagway boasts buildings full of artefacts and tells stories of hardships endured. People had to be tough to survive the gold rush. The prospectors' journey included climbing the mountains over the White Pass above Skagway in often terrible weather. Then on across the Canadian border to build a barge on one of its lakes so that they could float down the Yukon River to the gold fields around Dawson City. Soon, overwhelmed by the number of prospectors, officials began to insist that everyone entering Canada had to bring their own supplies to ensure that they didn't starve during the winter. This placed a huge burden on the prospectors as well as the pack animals who had to climb the steep pass.

It wasn't all bad though because it also offered a lot of opportunity to the people who decided to stay behind. Pretty soon there were stores, saloons and offices lining the muddy streets of Skagway. The Red Onion Saloon, was one of these.

A portrait of one of the original girls

 In 1898 it was one of the classiest dance halls and saloons in town. Was that because it also provided something extra? Maybe. You see the upstairs was a bordello which comprised 10 small rooms, known as cribs. Each crib was very small but elaborately decorated by the women who used them. A weary miner could wander into the Red Onion Saloon for a bottle of liquid courage and a dance or two with a beautiful lady. Then, ready to order something a little more personal, he would choose his girl in a very unique way. Behind the bar were 10 dolls that represented the 10 girls upstairs. As soon as the customer chose a doll, the bartender would lay the doll on her back, indicating that that girl was 'busy'. Once the personal services were complete and the customer had returned to the bar, the doll sat upright again, waiting for her next customer.

So what, you say? Interesting, but that was life in the gold rush. Well yes it was, but this was different. The Red Onion Saloon, having gone through a long history of thriving success and then dwindling to nothing as bigger dance halls and casinos were built in Dawson, is now operating again. Not as a bordello I hasten to add, but as a saloon full of beautiful, laughing girls who all dress in the style of the madams of the gold rush era.

So nowadays, after years of being used variously as an army barracks, a laundry, a bakery, a union hall, a television station and even a gift shop, it is open for business again. This time, however, the girls are merely guides and historians when they lead a group of visitors up the stairs to look at the 10 small cribs. And in their revealing red and black dresses with a black top hat perched on their piled up hair, they add a touch of glamour to the simple business of buying a drink. So do the barmen and the musicians who also dress the part. Stepping inside The Red Onion Saloon and hearing the tinny sound of the piano and the strum of a banjo, both overlaid with the the buzz of voices and the clatter of glasses, it is possible to see a shadow of the history of the gold rush right in front of you.

Modern day 'Madams'

But why did I find it especially entertaining? Well that's because our particular 'Madam', a beautiful young lady with the pretty and unusual name of Tamar, was born and educated in England in a place not very far from where I grew up. So there I was, approximately 4,250 miles from home, being served beer and tortilla chips by an attractive girl dressed as a gold rush Madam even though her origins were very far removed from the history of Alaska.

 Why was she there? Well in the manner of a true Madam, she winked and told me it was because of a man! " Isn't it always," she said.

Of course, as a writer of romances I had to agree. However, in her case, I should also hasten to add that she married the man well before she started to work at the Red Onion saloon. She told us that she had been working there for 10 years and it was one of the best jobs in the world. Five months of hard work during the cruise ship season and then seven months of relaxation with friends and family, not just in Skagway, but in warmer places during the cold Alaskan winter.

She made our day as we watched her dispense jokes and witty repartee with every sign of enjoyment. She tucked dollar bills into her cleavage while she collected empty glasses, smiled, laughed, posed for photo after photo. Thanks to the history of the gold rush, I suspect than the Red Onion Saloon has given the beautiful Tamar far more than it ever gave to those poor souls who lived and worked there at the end of the nineteenth century.

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