Healy, Alaska is a gateway to Denali National Park. Restaurants, hotels, and gift shops. We stayed in Healy at the Aurora Denali Lodge. No hot breakfast but they do provide a breakfast bowl in the minifridge. We opted instead for nearby Rose’s Café for good food and big portions. (Princess Lodge is THE place to stay, but there was no vacancy. Must have been filled with cruisers.)
We had dinner one night at the 49th State Brewing Company. I was enamored of the signs. I needed to know direction and distance to Mt. McKinley (!) and Sarah Palin’s house. Only later did I realize the significance of the “Magic Bus” in the background. Found on a wilderness trek by an ill-prepared traveler, it was his shelter until he died of starvation. This is the replica used in the movie. Atlas Obscura has the full story.
We also had dinner one night at the Denali Doghouse for our Elk meat hot dogs.
Outside of Healy, we watched the Alaska Railway train headed to Denali.