After an uneventful flight and an overnight stay in an Anchorage hotel that we would frequent two more times on the trip, we jumped in our rented mini-van and headed north towards the must-see national park - Denali. Sarah had done a ton of research leading up to this trip, and one of the things she learned was that it is actually relatively rare to get a glimpse of the mountain, Denali, due to the fact it has its own weather system because of its elevation. And yet as we started to get closer to the different viewpoints along the drive we realized that we were about to become the newest members of the 30% percent club - those who actually get to see the mountain.
As you can see, the day could not have been more beautiful. Every place we stopped we had a great view of Denali and the surrounding mountain range. We could not believe our luck. We also shed our raincoats and took in the sunshine. After a week in mostly overcast Juneau this was an added bonus.
What better way to celebrate our arrival outside the park then going to the 49th State Brewery for food and a beer. And as it turned out this brewery was hosting a big summer solstice party with festivities lasting through the night. We have to say that we were very excited to know that we would be in Alaska for the solstice, but also a little concerned about how difficult it might be to sleep because of the extended daylight hours. Good thing we brought sleeping masks for everybody. In the end, we were so active during our days that our nights were very restful.
Our drive up from Anchorage was short enough that we were able to stop in at the Denali Visitor Center to pick up our tickets for the tour we had booked for the next day. But we didn't have to wait for any tour to get our first wildlife spotting. Right after we parked we saw our first moose! All of us had moose on our sight-seeing check list, so this got us all excited. The moose appeared far less interested in us, which is probably a good thing since Sarah kept wanting Reese to get just a little closer.
For our first full day in Denali we had booked the ultimate tour. A twelve hour bus ride that would take us 90 miles into the park, far past the point where private cars are allowed to go. Denali was created to protect wildlife and its rules continue to adhere to those origins. We were amped at the idea of what we might see, but also a bit fearful of what 12 hours on a bus might mean. So we did everything to prepare the right way - we packed a ton of snacks and charged our phones. We were ready to go at the 7:00am departure time.
Count yourself luck to not get a play by play of all the animals we saw because this post would be three times as long. We figured we would go with the highlights. The bus driver stopped any time we saw something and we saw a lot. Here's a caribou that was just strolling along the road, paying no mind to all the people inside the bus snapping photos and admiring its beauty.
Speaking of beauty, the driver also stopped at various points so we could stretch our legs and check out the scenery. This stop was along Polychrome Pass, which is a narrow road in a beautiful valley. We were able to hike a small path to a viewpoint that overlooked the valley. It was amazing to say the least.
At another stop along the way, there was a small visitor's center where they provided artifacts and hands on materials to get a sense of the size of the animals we were seeing. Although we know we got the antlers positioned incorrectly in this photo, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see what Reese would look like as a male moose. Not seen here, Sarah pulled off the caribou antler look just as well.
Every direction we looked gave us another opportunity for a photo with a great backdrop. But it wasn't just about the scenery. All along the trip our driver was providing a wealth of information, so we were learning about glacier runoff streams like the one pictured here.
After passing multiple landmarks like Reflection Lake, we finally made it to the end of the road and this unassuming sign marking the turnaround point. Only 92.5 miles left to go! Honestly, all five of us would have been more than willing to go another 92.5 miles into the park if we had the option.
We had a couple of bear sightings on the drive in, but they were too far away to see very well. But on the way back we got lucky and right there along the road was a mom with her two cubs. The driver thought the cubs were probably two years old or so. We just hung out on the side of the road (from within the safety of the bus) and watched them eat for 5-10 minutes. It was awesome!
This is a picture of the cabin we called home during our time in Denali. It was only a 15 minute journey to the park entrance from here, and it worked out quite well for us. We were able to keep our rhythm of eating breakfast at home, packing lunch, and then finding a local restaurant to enjoy for dinner. We only stayed for two nights, though, and didn't spend much time inside because we wanted to get all we could out of our limited time at Denali.
One cool thing about Denali is that it is the only national park that has its own kennel of working sled dogs. When winter comes the rangers travel throughout the park using sled dogs instead of vehicles. In the summer, though, the dogs are in training by the Visitor's Center and you can go and meet them.
Without a doubt this was one of the highlights of the trip for Reese. And for the first 20 minutes that we were at the kennel the rangers allowed us to pet and hang out with all of the dogs while they ate their breakfast. Some of the dogs were more interested in getting love from us than others. Reese just wanted to take them all home.
After some time to hang out with the dogs the rangers then had a demonstration for all of us so we could learn more about what they do. This is one of many reasons why we love visiting national parks. The ranger education experiences have never disappointed.
Denali marked one more national park visited and like every one we have gone to we need to go back and spend more time there. And it was great to be able to take it all in with Grammy Gayle.
On the drive back to Anchorage we made a stop in Talkeetna, which is a unique town right off the main road. It has a small, walkable main street with lots of retail stores and restaurants. We enjoyed checking it all out, but by this time we were also having to deal with an unsettling heat wave in the region. We did not pack for 80 degree weather when we packed for Alaska. In fact, when we got back to Anchorage we had to make a stop at Target so Grammy Gayle to get shorts and sandals. As you can see here, though, no matter what we encountered we were still smiling because we still had more of our Alaskan adventure to go.
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