Denali National Park, Alaska - “A Voice Cries in the Wilderness”

 

A voice cries:  “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Isaiah 40:3-5

Denali on a Clear Day - "The Earth is Full of his Glory"

     In the year that King Uzziah died, 

I saw the LORD sitting on a throne,

high and lifted up, and the train of His

robe filled the temple.

      Above it stood seraphim; each one

had six wings:  with two he covered

his face, with two he covered his feet,

and with two he flew.

  And one cried to another and said:

     

 "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory."

  Isaiah 6:1-3

Denali National Park - Hannah’s Prayer

1 Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. 

2 “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 

3 “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 

4 “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 

5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. 

6 “The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 

7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 

8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; on them he has set the world. 

9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; 

10 those who oppose the LORD will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

1 Samuel 2:1-10

 

Denali National Park, Alaska - “Why do you stand looking into the Sky”

 Acts 1:9-11

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Denali National Park, Alaska - "You Created my Inmost Being"

 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

Psalm 139:11-14

Denali National Park, Alaska - "If I go up to the Heavens"

Where can I go from your Spirit?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

 

The Valley of Dry Bones - Book of Ezekiel

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.  He asked me, "Son of man can these bones live?'

I said, "Sovereign Lord, you alone know."

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord?  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones:  I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.  then you will know that I am the Lord."

So I prophesied as I was commanded.  And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.  I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live."  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.

Then he said to me:  "Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel.  They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'  Therefore prophesy and say to them:  This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.  I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.  then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord."

Ezekiel 37:1-14 

 Nothing is impossible for God!

Denali, Alaska - "The Year of the Lord's Favor"

 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-3

Denali National Park - “I Lift My Eyes Up to the Mountains”

 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains--where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.  

Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

Do Not Be Afraid

 

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Psalm 91:5-6

Rain in the Springtime

 

Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime, it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms.  He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.

Zechariah 10:1

Alone in the Mountains

 

And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray.  And when evening had come, He was alone there.

Matthew 14:23

The Land of the MidNight Sun

Beautiful Alaska!  Endless sunlight living on the top of the world.  

"There are strange things done in the midnight sun
by the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold..."

The Cremation of Sam Mcgee by Robert Service, 1916

Lift My Eyes to the Mountains

I lift up my eyes to the mountains--

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--

he who watches over you will not slumber,

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you--

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by  night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm--

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

Denali National Park Scenic Tour

Savage River Loop

Highest Peak in North America

Denali is the highest peak in North America, 20,310'.  Below are excerpts from poet John Haines.  He is an Alaskan poet who is described as one of the best nature writers.

Ice Child

By John Haines (1924-2011)

Cold for so long, unable to speak,

yet your mouth seems framed

on a cry, or a stifled question.

Who placed you here, and left you

to this lonely eternity of ash and ice,

and himself returned to the dust.

fields, the church and the temple?

Was it God--the sun-god of the Incas,

the imperial god of the Spaniards?

Or only the priests of that god,

self-elected---voice of the volcano

that speaks once in a hundred years...

Under the weight of this mountain-

once a god, now only restless stone,

we find your interrupted life,

placed here among the trilobites

and shells, so late unearthed.

Denali

It was a clear day and Denali was in it's glory.  A complete view of the mountain with no clouds obstructing the view.  We were extremely lucky!  Denali has only one road, and one road entrance.  It is 92 miles long and runs from east to west.  It is a scenic road made mostly of dirt and gravel.  It starts in a low and rises and falls through mountain passes.  We saw bears in the distance as well as moose and other wild animals.