Denali Interview With A Bus Driver Who Shares What It’s Like to Work at Denali National Park - a podcast by Summer Slevin

What Keeps Elton Parks, a Denali Bus Driver, Coming Back to the Park for the Last 33 Years?

And how does he describe working in Denali?

You won’t want to miss this. 

 

When I was about to board the bus, a nice Park Ranger out front said to me, “Oh you’ve got Elton! He’s great. You’re going to love this.”

I wasn’t skeptical for a minute, as right away the bus driver introduced himself as Elton Parks, and gave the facts of the trip, adding his humorous touch to even the instructions for the ride. 

 

Through the whole bus trip, Elton kept up the commentary, telling us the history and geography of many of the 66 miles that we drove. 

On the 8 hour round trip, when I wasn’t interviewing the rest of the passengers, I was sitting in the very front, peppering Elton with questions. 

 

Not only does he have a fascinating story about how he only expecting to work in Denali for one summer, then coming back for the last 33 years, but Elton also has a fascinating life and is full of wonderful travel stories.

As he states in the interview, he's flown over 5 million miles with over 190 airlines, and done over 300,000 miles of rail travel. 

 

Although I found the whole conversation interesting, this interview really starts picking up pace around the 6 minute mark when I asked Elton what brings him back the Park year after year. 

 

And if you want those links that he mentions at the end, he did email them to me, so just let me know! 

 

Let’s get started!