There is only one road in the park which goes for 93 miles. To take this road you have to use the public bus system. You pay for one trip and then the rest of your stay any bus will pick you up and drop you where you want free of charge. I took the bus ride to Wonder Lake which is about to mile 85 of the road. It was a 9 hour trip to go that 55 miles and back! You can really get the feeling of the vastness and emptiness of the huge park. And then there is Mt. McKinley!
We saw a grizzly bear, caribou, 2 adult wolves and 4 wolf pups and a gold eagle. The weather also partially was beneficial. We were able to see the top of the North Face of McKinley. The slightly higher South Face Peak was always under clouds. Many visitors do not get to see either peaks because of the weather at that altitude.
A National Park Ranger told us that we should go buy lottery tickets. There are only approximately 49 wolves in this huge park and we saw 6 at one time. The bus drivers, from experience, have an idea where you might spot something. They will slow down or stop just to see if anything shows up. The wolves were a rare occurrence. (Sorry Liz, no sharks.)
Earlier in our trip the top was in cloud cover.
Brooks Mountain
An immensely beautiful valley.
An immensely handsome guy! :)
As we started our 4.5 hour journey back, the North Peak cleared. The South Peak is to the left under that heavy cloud cover.
Blueberries are one of the prime foods of the animals of Denali. This grizzly was eating berries alongside the road. The other passengers in the bus voted that I go out and take the picture.
The Teklanika River ran alongside the campground.
Beautiful, brand new vault toilets at the CG.
Ok, trust me, there is a caribou in that vegetation right in the center of the picture. I did not get any pictures of the wolves. They were quite a ways off and I was on the wrong side of the bus and refused to crawl over people.
Tomorrow I am set for a white water rafting trip on the Nenana River right outside of Denali Park. I'm not sure if I'll get any pictures of that but stay tuned........
Wow, what an amazing experience!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, Mike! Hey, how are the temperatures? You look bundled up on your "handsome guy" photo! Trying to figure out what to pack -- or not pack!
ReplyDeleteLynda, it's definitely getting cooler. Fall is coming to Denali. Some of the shrubs are turning yellow and the Fireweed flowers (Alaska State Flower) are losing all their flowers. I was told that that is a sign of fall. I also noticed the temps seem to be cooler by the ocean, Skagway and Anchorage. I would pack for fall with a few things for warm weather if it returns. it's been in the low to mid 60s for highs the last few days. At night it cools done to the low 50s. The good news is that the mosquitoes are pretty much gone. The stores are advertising their polar fleece items right now.
ReplyDeleteYour Denali Hotel is right across the street from me. Looks very nice.
Wow!! This is what I was picturing when you said you were heading off to Alaska all by your lonesome. Can't wait to hear about the whitewater rafting!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos Mike...except for that guy that photo bombed your nature shot! Your tour sounded like it was a great idea and I hope the rafting is too (don't fall in the cold water!) hope to read all about it soon.
ReplyDeleteDad, these photos are awesome! So epic. That is one shaggy bear; is he growing in his winter coat?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fabulous pictures! and adventures, and blogging, and architectural information!! Am still waiting for Marne's blogs-you've set an incredible standard up to which she needs to live.
ReplyDeleteChris