Denali National Park

Actually let me finish with one more thought from Fairbanks . . . we saw this road sign all over town. Apparently unlike Vermont and lots of other states, they don't want you riding on the street with the cars.

We left Fairbanks Tuesday morning with grey skies and a threat of rain. It did rain a bit as we made our way South but the day was not a washout by any means and by the time we got to Denali it was just overcast.

After finding our camping spot for the next few days and getting all situated we decided to explore the Visitor Center and a few other places so we would know where to go to start our 13 hour bus trip into the interior of the park and back. We needed to board the bus at 7:20 am and they said we had to be there ready by 7:05 am. . . . an early day for us old retired folks.

The name of our tour

Ready to go . . . with coffee of course

We saw lots of wildlife over the course of the day. There were Dall Sheep but they were so high up in the cliffs I couldn't get a good picture. They say you have had a good trip of  wildlife viewing if you see "The Big Five": Dall Sheep,Caribou, Moose,Bear and Wolf. We had a very good day.
The weather was picture perfect and we would have even seen Denali (formerly Mt McKinley) if it had not been for the smoke in the air from forest fires in Northeast Alaska and the Yukon. There was a haze cloaking the summit and you could sort of see it but not really.

The Caribou

The Moose

Grizzly Bear: There were actually 4 of them a Mamma, two cubs and a big male. The Mother was fighting with the male as he tried to get near her cubs to harm them. It was a National Geographic moment.

The Wolf

We were also fortunate to spot these other Park citizens

Hoary Marmot

Arctic Ground Squirrel

Two different families of  Willow Ptarmigan
(like a grouse)











We took a few of the road and scenery but it really doesn't capture the depth or majestic beauty.

Me rocking my Mosquito Net, during a  Ranger Interpretive Stop along the way

A display of forever locked antlers at the Rest Stop and Visitor Center

A perfect day selfie

Today was some hiking for geocaches, an informative lecture on bears and a visit to the Park Dog Kennel for a Sled Dog Demonstration.

The Ranger had the dogs hooked up to their off season training sled. The dogs were amazing.

One final pic of the railroad trestle over Riley Creek. . . . it looks like an erector set from down under  it.

Tomorrow we head out of the park and to more adventures.