On a clear day you can see Mount McKinley from Anchorage. But rainy, overcast skies met us that first day of our trip, and the forecast looked dismal for several days.
This is the risk in September as Pacific weather systems constantly move across the state.
I had visited Alaska two years earlier during Thanksgiving week, with conditions less than pleasant for sightseeing. I had the urge to return -- when the weather was a little better.
Crowds and prices drop the shoulder season in Alaska -- but that season lasts for only about two weeks, because of the short fall.
Alaska is big, about twice the size of Texas, and a 10-day trip is considered on the short side. Our plan: land in Anchorage, head north to scope out Denali National Park, then backtrack south to visit Kenai Peninsula.
Anchorage has all sorts of accommodations and restaurants, as you would expect of a city with a population of more than 250,000. Didn't matter; we were ready to hit the road.
As we drove toward Denali, the breathtaking scenery more than made up for a chilly drizzle.
Along with huge vistas, the ever-changing weather started to add to the experience. One minute rain, the next bright sun, a rainbow, quick burst of snow.
The two-lane Parks Highway, the only road to Denali National Park from Anchorage, has plenty of turnouts for breaks and many wide places to turn off for photos.
A game quickly ensued. As the mountains of the Alaska Range started to pop through the clouds, we started to try to pick out Mount McKinley, or Denali. Having no idea exactly where to look and no reference for scale, it got quite comical thinking we knew which of the peaks was McKinley, the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet.
Coming around a curve into a turnout we had decided would be a good picnic spot, we were surprised to see a small plane in the gravel parking area.
We thought it was a pilot with a problem, but we soon realized he was one of several bush pilots who at times use the highway as a runway. After dropping off a hiker with his backpack, the pilot started his plane, pulled up to the highway, looked both ways, headed south on the road and was airborne in seconds.
Welcome to Alaska.
We drove on, the weather improving and the scenery stunning. We arrived at a wonderful bed-and-breakfast on Otto Lake north of the park entrance and settled in for the night after a spectacular sunset.
We had secured seats on the Denali Park shuttle bus for the 11-hour round trip to Wonder Lake. This is where some luck comes into play; this late in the season, sometimes snow can force the park to be closed.
Because we came late in the season, out bus wasn't full; during high season, visitors without reservations may have to wait two or three days to get a seat.
The trip offers views that nearly cause whiplash. Red fox, moose, caribou, grizzlies, wolves and arctic squirrels keep travelers pressed against the windows with video recorders and cameras working away.
Riding on a bus increases the chances of spotting wildlife, because you have 30 or 40 "helpers."
The driver points out certain areas of interest and stops the bus when wildlife is sighted. Mainly, though, he keeps correcting those of us who keep thinking they see Mount McKinley.
That's when a little-known fact slips out: Only 30 percent of those who visit ever see the famed mountain. McKinley creates its own weather systems, which means it's often shrouded in clouds.
The driver said the mountains we thought were McKinley weren't. "Trust me, you'll know when you see it," he said.
Prophetic words.
The lunch stop at Eielson Ranger Station gave us an astonishing perspective of the Alaska Range: snow-capped parks with partly cloudy skies across a plain where streams of silvery glacial waters flowed but no McKinley.
Visitors will eventually run out of superlatives when trying to describe the ride through the park. But that shouldn't be surprising, considering Denali covers more than 6 million acres.
The next morning - a cloudless, beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-50s - we decided to drive into the park and cover the 16 miles open to private vehicles.
That was when we became members of the "30 percent" club.
Mount McKinley, Denali, The High One -- whatever you wish to call it -- clearly dominates the range. The north and south peaks dwarf the other mountains.
The trip back to Anchorage took an extra-long time because I had to continually stop to shoot photos of the mountain at almost every vantage point. The view just kept getting better and better. At one point, through a long telephoto lens, we watched as snow whipped off the summit as it was blown by strong winds.
We saw McKinley almost all the way back to Anchorage, where late-evening clouds finally shrouded it from view.
