Our Memorable Journeys

Day 15 - 9/5/2018 - A Journey Into the Heart of Denali National Park

Today's Weather: High 54, Low 41, Mostly Sunny

Wow! This was another lucky day! We have been so blessed with good weather in Alaska, but today tops it all! They say only 30% of people who visit Alaska are fortunate enough to see any part of Mt. Denali and only 10% of people who visit Denali National Park see the entire mountain without any cloud cover. Today we rode the bus 66 miles into the park to Eielson Visitor Center and the mountain was out in all its glory!! Yah! We made the 10% club! The 8 hour ride on a bus over gravel and sometimes bumpy road was so worth it!

Denali National Park covers six million acres of pure wilderness. The varied terrain includes brilliant mountains, pristine rivers and lakes, colorful tundra this time of year (red, yellow, orange, rust, green), alpine meadows, sweeping vistas and abundant wildlife. Today we saw 8 grizzly bears, 4 moose, a band of 8 Dall sheep, a large flock of Ptarmigans, arctic ground squirrels, a golden eagle, 2 Gyr falcons, a raven, and several magpies. We also learned that what I called a bunny yesterday was a snowshoe hare.

Our bus driver,Sandy, who was also a naturalist, provided a great narration about the animals, trees and vegetation, and park geology as she navigated the switchbacks along the park road. Speaking of the road…it was a narrow unpaved stretch of switchbacks and curves with steep drop-offs and no guardrails. At times you would swear there was not enough room for 2 buses to pass, but the skilled drivers handled the task easily. Passengers were instructed to yell stop when an animal was sighted so that everyone on the bus got a chance to view or photograph the wildlife.

The view of Denali at the Eielson Visitor Center is incredible…... only 33 miles from the summit of the mountain.