Alaska: Part Four

Denali National Park

Tuesday, we made the drive from Talkeetna up to our lodge near the Denali National Park entrance. So far in our trip, we have had rain and drizzle most of the time, but as we neared Denali, a rainbow appeared and then the rain stopped.  There is one road into Denali, mostly dirt, that goes for 90 miles. Most private cars are restricted to the first 15 miles. To go further, you need to take a free park bus, or not so free bus tour.  We had reserved the tour, figuring it would stop when animals were sighted, and we would be given much description in an enjoyable way.

Most of the animal pictures below were taken from inside the bus (school bus), so were affected by the window glass.

 Our first caribou sighting!

 Willow Ptarmigan, Alaska's state bird.

 Big wide open spaces as the spruce forest gives way to Tundra.  We never saw Denali, the mountain, on this day as it is somewhere up in the clouds.

 Its hard to grasp the immense scale of everything.

 Those are glacial rivers, which carry a lot of sand, rock, and silt.  They look very murky and gray.

 A zoom in shot.

 One of many rivers we passed.

 Grizz!  We watced this mother grizzly and her two cubs for awhile.

 Caribou

Bruce, our driver, is a sled musher, and for years competed in the Iditarod and Yukon Quest.  He was a wealth of information, but you could tell he was not happy, at least while driving tourists.

Taking a road break next to one of the glacial rivers.  We learned that these rivers don't rise or lower too much, but they do meander in a braided fashion, and that is why the riverbed looks so wide.

 Another caribou crossing the road in front of us.

 We watched this big grizzly for awhile until he went behind a hill.  The tundra doesn't support big numbers of large mammals.  For instance in all of Denali N.P., there are only about 65 wolves.  It is not like the Serengeti.

 Rivers flowing in braided manner.

 The drive got a little  hairy in some spots.  Gail and I were in the very front and had full view of the road ahead.  Gail couldn't look out at this part, however.

 Whoa!!!

 Another Willow Ptarmigan.

 At times the landscape suggested a desert.  That's red fireweed in the foreground.

 Several times we stopped to observe Dall Sheep high up on barren slopes.

Caribou with massive rack.

 Wednesday morning, we drove the public 15 miles into the park and did two loop hikes before the long drive back to Anchorage.  We had fun being on our own in this wild place!

 It was a little cool due to the strong wind.

 The second loop was 4.5 miles and climbed up the mountain about 1,500 feet, offering great views.

Poplar trees were turning colors.  Fall comes early to Alaska!

 Denali, where are you?

 That's the 90 mile park road down below.  90 miles in, 90 miles out.

The wind on the ridges was so strong, we couldn't walk straight.  I'm guessing 45-50 mph.

Well, it was time to hit the road back to Anchorage.  As soon as we left the park, it started to rain again.  The trip back wasn't without incident, however.

An accident on the highway happened right in front of us.  A van full of family and towing a trailer was passing cars like crazy and slammed into the back of a semi right before our eyes.  Gail called 911 and I helped comfort some of the passengers.  Since this was Alaska, and we were far from any towns, it took almost an hour for ambulances and state trooper to get there.  The passengers were bruised, but should be okay.

 On a cheerier note, awhile later we stopped to look at this Trumpeter Swan and her signets on a marsh next to the highway.

 Nearby was this beaver dam.

Back at Sarah's at last!   Her rabbit greeted us on the way to her door.  Tomorrow, Gail and I head off to Homer, a 4 and a half hour drive, to sight see and spend the night.  Should be a beautiful drive!