Nina had read that during the off season it was possible to drive the first 30 miles of the 90 mile long Denali Park road. We thought that this would be a nice treat if possible as during the summer the only access to that road, and its views of Mt McKinley, is by bus. The previous time we were here the bus ride was 2.5 hours, each way, of sweaty people and a nice view of rain and cloud.

At the makeshift visitor information center in the Murie Science Center we confirmed Nina's information. The first 15 miles would be paved and the second 15 miles would be gravel.

Within 10 miles we had our first views of Mt McKinley, a huge snow covered mass in the distance with not a cloud anywhere to obstruct our view.