Exploring Denali National Park, Alaska
Yesterday was our earliest start, as the departure time for our Tundra Wilderness Tour (TWT) into Denali National Park was 06:50. Although I heard my group go much earlier, I dawdled and didn’t get to the Courtyard Cafe in our hotel, the McKinley Chalet, until almost 06:00.
I was surprised to see so few people there, as mornings can be rather crazy. We must have just hit a lull. The breakfast buffet was basic, but I expect that most people’s focus isn’t on food at this point.
Buses lined up ready to load – the tan ones are TWT, the red-and-white one is the Kantishna Experience, which goes right to the end of the park road.
We were barely past the park gates when we got our first wildlife viewing, a cow moose with her calf right beside the road (the calf can barely be seen in the bushes above her).
Climbing up into the wilderness.
The Savage River bridge at Mile 15 is as far as private vehicles can travel.
An NPS park ranger comes on the bus at the Savage River checkpoint and does a bit of a welcome.
At 08:25 we found another moose, this time a young bull. Moose aren’t seen all that often on these tours, so this was a real bonus.
Our bus.
The fancy bear-proof outhouse complex at the Teklanika River rest stop, Mile 30.
The Teklanika River.
One of the cool features on the TWT buses is this video camera system. With it, the driver get you closer to the animals you’re seeing, and often “lead” you to animals that are difficult to spot. The zoom on it is incredible (drivers call it 100x but that seems high).
A good load of fresh snow fell last night, down to a very surprisingly low altitude, perhaps 5,500 feet.
Polychrome Pass is one of the 2 the most dramatic sections of the park road.
Our driver/guide, Joe Seebacher, filling a cup with hot water from the bus for my hot chocolate at the Toklat River stop.
The green buses are National Park Service shuttles of various types. They’re much cheaper than the TWT tours but more basic.
Checking the weight of just one moose antler!
The information center and book store at the Toklat River stop.
This memorial on the bank of the Tolkat River honours Charles Sheldon (1867-1928), whose vision resulted in the ceation of what is now Denali National Park.
Our first grizzly bear! He was rather distant, but any bear sighting is a good bear sighting! This was shot at 10:40.
We went out as far as Stony Hill, where Denali (Mt. McKinley) can be seen on a clear day, but there were no breaks in the cloud layer. A stop is often made there, but we just turned around and headed back.
More bears, almost directly below us at 12:05 – the cubs were wrestling a bit but I didn’t get any good photos of that.
We stopped at Polychrome Pass for a few minutes on the way back to the hotel.
Jo getting a few minutes of solitary contemplation on top of a high rock outcrop at Polychrome.
This very large bull caribou was standing on the road at Polychrome but another bus came around the corner before I could get a good shot.
This sign at Sable Pass is ringed with nails to stop animals from destroying it (as they used to do to many signs).
A female willow ptarmigan – her mate and 3 chicks were off to the side of the road and we stopped to watch them for a few minutes.
We were back at the hotel just after 2:30, with everyone seeming to be pleased at what we’d seen over the past few hours. Although I usually walk, there are shuttle buses running constantly from the room blocks down by the river to the lobby and back.
Shasta daisies up by the lobby.
The George Parks Highway, which we’ll be heading south to Anchorage on shortly.
Rafters getting ready to launch for some white water action through the canyon of the Nenana River.
A final look at the Nenana River bridge. The cliffs in the background were formed as the river cut its way down through sediment that used to be at the bottom of huge lake that was formed here where the last glaciers melted away.
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