Most people who have ever traveled the Denali Park Road that leads to the old mining site of Kantishna have gone by bus (and what a great trip that is!). The road lies in the heart of  6-million-acre Denali National Park and Preserve.

It starts at the Parks  Highway at 237 Mile and travels 92 miles through some of the thickest wildlife  and greatest scenery Alaska has to offer. While the first 15 miles of the road  is open to private traffic, the only way to see what lies beyond is usually on  one of the park’s shuttle buses, which transport thousands of tourists into the  park each summer.

Unless you happen to be one of the lucky winners in the  annual Denali Park Road lottery. And now is your chance to enter!

The 2011 road lottery is scheduled for Sept. 16-19. The application period is  June 1-30. Online application forms will be available at

http://www.recreation.gov/permits/Denali_National_Park/r/wildernessAreaDetails.do?page=detail&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72314&topTabIndex=Permits

from 12:01 a.m. June 1 until midnight on June 30. There is a  non-refundable entry fee of $10 for each application.

As part of the all  online application process, lottery winners also will be billed the $25 road  lottery fee when they are drawn instead of paying it when they show up at the  park. Lottery winners will pay the $25 fee whether or not they  show up to drive the road. There are always lottery winners who don’t show up andthey have never had 400 people on the road.

The $25 fee will only be  refunded if the road does not open by 2 p.m. because of weather or road  conditions on the day of the permit. And if itis passable just part way you’ll only go that far.

In addition to the $25 road lottery  fee, all permit winners must pay a $20 park entrance fee.

Everyone who  submits an entry will be notified by email. Lottery winners also will receive a  letter confirming the day of their permit, with additional information on how to  obtain the road permit and how to prepare for the drive into the  park.

Names of lottery winners will be posted on the park’s website by  July 15.

Permits will still be transferable in that the person awarded the permit can give it to someone else if they are not able to go. The person transferring the permit must provide the original notification and a short note  explaining the transfer to the new permit holder, who must bring that  documentation to the park when they check in to get their permit.

I just received news that ground zero for Swine flu has been discovered. Confirmed by news sources and the evidence below I am sure you will agree that the government must do something to stop events such as these.

If you’ve never been in the middle of 1,000 or more howling huskies surrounded by at least twice as many pople, some of whom flagrantly disobey the rules about interfering you haven’t lived. That most of the teams get through this mad house relatively unscathed and untangled is a tribute to the mushers who trained them. – MotorHome Magazine, March 2009

How about spending March 7, in Willow, Alaska? Other than distance for most of us not too bad of an idea. The highways running north are all-weather so are kept open year round. You’d get a chance to use one of Alaska’s -40° outhouses and let’s face it  . . . not too many tourists this time of year.

The race starts in Anchorage for the city crowds and foo-foos then restarts in Willow where the snow is better and the crowds are fewer. Complete, up-to-date information can be found at the official web site, http://www.iditarod.com/.

The description of the northern-most tail gate party (is it?) sounds like the parties we used to have in the lower 48. Grills, lots of “snow-snake” medicine make for a crazy afternoon. That night, if clear, will bring the Northern Lights which by-themselves are reason enough to head north.

I think I will add this to our “bucket list” but will have to be content for awhile to follow this on TV and the Internet.

Need a good book about mushing and ”The Last Greatest Race on Earth?” Look for Sled Dog Trails by Mary Shields and Race Across Alaskaby Libby Riddles.

This is continued from our Alaska trip in August. With so much to see and do and the distance to cover, I fell behind on the blog and skipped day 9 – 13.

We had some regrets leaving the Denali Highway and the solitude, wonderful views . . . suddenly we are in traffic, paved roads, service stations, civilization.

We turned north on Highway 3 (Parks Highway) and wow, at 60 miles an hour you can cover some territory. Before we new it we were at Riley Creek Campground.

We had stopped before the park and tried to stock up on veggies and groceries but that is hard to do if you are not in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

The campground was pretty, lots of trees, showers you could buy (!), a visitor store and a much needed laundry. We had been boon-docking for 4 nights now and it was time for a rest.

Our campsite was across from bathrooms with running water and flush(!) toilets. Met some fellow travelers and a group of bicyclists that had ridden from Montana to Denali. You meet some crazy people!