Denali Denali Denali

Hi all! We spent the last 10 days at this beautiful park

Our site was wooded and very shaded, very private. We had about an acre to ourselves! We were across the "street" from the bathrooms, which helped alleviate some of the pressure on our tanks, since we had no electricity or water for that amount of time. We also had a special creature, a resident moose!

She's an older lady with a baby. She liked to hunker down around site 106 (we were at site 100) and at a spot by the creek. But what campground boasts this kind of wonderment?! This happened for 5 days in a row! Great stuff!

When you come to Denali, be prepared to pay to see the wildlife (unless you stay in our loop--Caribou Loop at Riley Creek campground with the resident moose--tee hee hee!). The park road goes 30 miles to Savage Creek, and then you would have to take a bus to go further. They do this for 2 reasons:  1, to preserve the wildlife. 2, the roads are really narrow and do not allow for traffic jams or pull-offs for passing, like in other national parks. Your bus ride can cost you (for wildlife viewing) anywhere from free (a shuttle bus a mile or two around) to $225 pp (for an interpretive, 12-hour round trip). We decided to do the cheap-o, $64 pp 12-hour RT non-interpretive bus ride. But Omar, our nice driver, took pity on our downtrodden faces and gave us a narrated tour for free. 😉 Yay, Team Omar!

The park has lots of flora and fauna, and many people come to see the main 5 mammals: moose, caribou, wolf, grizzly bear, and Dall sheep. Our key word for Omar was STOP. He would stop the bus so we could see the wildlife because, well, he was driving. We were able to see 3 of the 5, plus 2 neat birds. Unfortuately, we missed the grizzly and the wolf. But hey, they can't all be A+ days! We did manage to be part of the Elite 30%---those that actually see Denali. She shone in wondrous splendor that day.

So, without further ado, I give you, Denali

First peek; hint, she's the one all in white

A little closer

Made you look! These are some beautiful colors on the way

This is a model of Denali and its surrounding mountain friends

taken at the Eilsen Visitor Center

same view (for real) at 10AM from outside at Eilsen

4PM from outside Eilsen

the road we drove

And, as you can see, the end of the road

Why did the moose cross the road??

That bird? It's a golden eagle

Willow Ptarmigan---Alaska's state bird (he's the brown patch on the left)

This is the Dall sheep. He was too far away to see well. We had to use binoculars.

Caribou; a family above and a lone ranger

On the way back, as if to make up for the missing bear, we were greeted with this lovely sight:

The name of the creek is Unicorn Creek

It was a fabulous day to go see Denali and wildlife. I am glad that we went. It was relaxing to listen to nature, hear the rain at night, see beautiful rainbows, and a resident moose. Not to mention the mountain view every morning. I hope you all get to visit one day. Until then,

 😉