7-29-09 Good morning! Sorry we have not blogged the last couple of days. We have been very busy. The trip in to Denali National Park (Mt. McKinley) was fabulous. The weather cooperated once again. After breakfast at 5:30, our bus departed at 6:15 am. Our driver, Martin Brewer, was a veteran and told many interesting stories about his family and how he and his wife ended up in Alaska. Within minutes of starting our journey, 2 moose walked behind the bus. Fortunately someone in the back shouted to stop and we backed up to take a better look. Windows dropped and cameras appeared. When we moved on, the bus driver laid out a few rules including no hanging out the windows, no noises, etc. Seems we had broken most of them including some strange moose calls that were coming from inside the bus! (Mr. Hovermale had his new moose call horn with him.)
As the day progressed, we had many animal sightings. The bears were always very far away. We saw Dall Sheep but as they climb near the peaks of the mountains, they were just distant specks seen best with binoculars or a very long camera lens. Golden eagles and ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska, were fairly easy to spot. The question of the day was, "Where is Denali? Which one is Denali? Our driver, Mr. Brewer, said that only 20% of people who come to the park ever see Denali due to the cloud cover that perpetually gathers at the mountain. Cathy Brown insisted that we would see the entire mountain. We had our best views, probably 80% of the peak, on our way in. We stopped at the Eilson Center, a small museum/rest stop of sorts which included a 3-dimensional model of the entire range along with panoramic views of Mt. McKinley(Denali) and its neighboring mountain. On display there was a pair of locked horns, from 2 moose who had battled and died joined at the horns. Our best animal sightings were definitely the moose and caribou. Ron was particularly good at locating animals at a distance. Looking down, down, down from the bus windows into the valleys below, we saw 2 people walking along a stream bed. Not too far behind, 2 caribou were following them. We said the caribou were stalking the humans...or maybe it was the other way around. After 6 hours, several rest stops later, we arrived at the Back Country Lodge at the end of the road...literally. By now we had travelled 95 miles into the park.
Here is a description from the Back Country Lodge's website describing the trip.
The more adventurous take one of the grandest drives on earth. Winding through the Alaska Range, deep into the heart of the Denali park, the "Park Road" offers opportunities to see Denali's famed wildlife: Grizzlies, Caribou, Moose, Dall Sheep, Wolves, and Eagles. And, should the weather smile upon you, above all of it towers Mt. McKinley (Denali) itself, the highest point in North America (20,320 feet). At the very end of the Denali Park road, past Wonder Lake, you'll find a unique enclave in the park known as Kantishna. This area is home to Denali Backcountry Lodge.
When we arrived, a buffet lunch was waiting for us. We had about 2 hours to eat and enjoy some activities at the lodge. While we relax, our bus windows will be washed to remove the dust from the gravel road. Most of us chose to hike or pan for gold in the Nenana River. Ron found some gold, a fleck perhaps, but still gold. Back on the bus after a beautiful 2 hours of sunshine and warmth. No need for our rain jackets on this trip! There are fewer stops on the return trip, however animal sighting still were possible. We were excited to see a caribou on the road ahead of us. Many of us were out of our seats and heading for the windows (or maybe the bus driver's lap) in a flash. We will attach some pictures of this caribou who stayed around and ate a few yards away, completely unconcerned about the busload of people gawking and snapping away with their cameras.
We wanted to see a wolf or a lynx but did not. We returned to our Denali cabin accommodations at around 7:15 pm. Together we drove to the town of Denali for dinner and shopping for souvenirs for our loved ones at home.
As the day progressed, we had many animal sightings. The bears were always very far away. We saw Dall Sheep but as they climb near the peaks of the mountains, they were just distant specks seen best with binoculars or a very long camera lens. Golden eagles and ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska, were fairly easy to spot. The question of the day was, "Where is Denali? Which one is Denali? Our driver, Mr. Brewer, said that only 20% of people who come to the park ever see Denali due to the cloud cover that perpetually gathers at the mountain. Cathy Brown insisted that we would see the entire mountain. We had our best views, probably 80% of the peak, on our way in. We stopped at the Eilson Center, a small museum/rest stop of sorts which included a 3-dimensional model of the entire range along with panoramic views of Mt. McKinley(Denali) and its neighboring mountain. On display there was a pair of locked horns, from 2 moose who had battled and died joined at the horns. Our best animal sightings were definitely the moose and caribou. Ron was particularly good at locating animals at a distance. Looking down, down, down from the bus windows into the valleys below, we saw 2 people walking along a stream bed. Not too far behind, 2 caribou were following them. We said the caribou were stalking the humans...or maybe it was the other way around. After 6 hours, several rest stops later, we arrived at the Back Country Lodge at the end of the road...literally. By now we had travelled 95 miles into the park.
Here is a description from the Back Country Lodge's website describing the trip.
The more adventurous take one of the grandest drives on earth. Winding through the Alaska Range, deep into the heart of the Denali park, the "Park Road" offers opportunities to see Denali's famed wildlife: Grizzlies, Caribou, Moose, Dall Sheep, Wolves, and Eagles. And, should the weather smile upon you, above all of it towers Mt. McKinley (Denali) itself, the highest point in North America (20,320 feet). At the very end of the Denali Park road, past Wonder Lake, you'll find a unique enclave in the park known as Kantishna. This area is home to Denali Backcountry Lodge.
When we arrived, a buffet lunch was waiting for us. We had about 2 hours to eat and enjoy some activities at the lodge. While we relax, our bus windows will be washed to remove the dust from the gravel road. Most of us chose to hike or pan for gold in the Nenana River. Ron found some gold, a fleck perhaps, but still gold. Back on the bus after a beautiful 2 hours of sunshine and warmth. No need for our rain jackets on this trip! There are fewer stops on the return trip, however animal sighting still were possible. We were excited to see a caribou on the road ahead of us. Many of us were out of our seats and heading for the windows (or maybe the bus driver's lap) in a flash. We will attach some pictures of this caribou who stayed around and ate a few yards away, completely unconcerned about the busload of people gawking and snapping away with their cameras.
We wanted to see a wolf or a lynx but did not. We returned to our Denali cabin accommodations at around 7:15 pm. Together we drove to the town of Denali for dinner and shopping for souvenirs for our loved ones at home.
