We spent June 28 – 30, 2012, at Denali National Park, a huge wilderness area with lots of wildlife, the imposing Mount McKinley, and limited access by road. We saw the McKinley mountain range but McKinley hid behind the clouds during our visit. We enjoyed the exhibits at the Visitor’s Center and took the Tundra Wilderness bus tour which continues past the limited road open to the public.
Our tour guide/bus driver did a great job of spotting wildlife and informing us about Alaska. At one point, she stopped on a bridge and said, “Look up the river. You can go 1500 miles without seeing any signs of civilization.”
Our first “wildlife” was Alaska’s state bird, the ptarmigan – actually mama ptarmigan and her brood along the side of the road.
Shortly, we spotted Dall sheep on the rocky hillside where they adeptly climb, staying away from most of their predators.
Of course the scenery was as awesome as the wildlife but we saw only a small sample of the vast expanses of Denali with its snow capped mountains, rivers, and winding roads.
We were fortunate to see grizzlies a couple of times including a mama grizzly with two cubs. We viewed them from a distance but we weren’t unhappy with that.
At one of our stops on the Tundra Wilderness Tour, we checked out some good-sized discarded antlers from the park’s inhabitants. And later on we saw caribou.
While we were at Denali, we stayed at McKinley Chalet Resort, a large complex with many lodge buildings and a central shopping and dining area which was reached by shuttle vans which occasionally required some waiting. It was a nice resort employing many students, both U.S. and foreign (especially from Easter European countries).
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