Day 42, JUly 16, 2011 Riding the bus into Denali National Park and Preserve

Day 42,Sat July 16, 2011 Riding the bus into Denali .P. and reserve

1. The "Canyon" just outside Denali NP where the amenities are.

2. From a distance but it is a Grizzly Bear (Sow) and two yearlings

3.The road into the Park near Polychrome mountain.

4. The bus that took us into the Park.

5. The female Moose by the roadside. (No, they don't pose for you .

It was a good thing and perhaps an omen that we did see Denali in all it’s grandeur yesterday, because today it was behind the clouds. The morning started with rain that let up right after we were outside and ready to go to the Shuttle bus for the Park ride to the Eilson Center and back . Our bus was scheduled for 8:30 Am and everyone going into the Park must register to get on a bus or get a permit to ride in. It is 65 mies one way to the Eielson Center and takes about 3 1/2 hours to do on the required bus. All the way to the end of the road is 95 miles. It might be noted here that there are other busses that travel the park as the concession is owned by a major Corporation (Doyon) and they have a number of other alternatives to choose from . Ours was the “basic” package but gets you there and back without the frills. (All vehicles have to travel the same road.)

The object of the driver of the bus is to DRIVE the bus. The object of the 40 or so people on the bus is to see and ANNOUNCE the wildlife when they see it. The key word was “STOP!”. Then the driver (ours was Lee) will stop the bus and the person who sighted the animal can tell others where to look for the sighting. We use the military vision technique like a clock saying it is at “at 6:00 o'clock, or 9:00 O'clock”, etc.

Our first sighting some 30 miles out on the road was a female Moose just browsing. They eat grass so that’s where it was. It was rather close to the road (50 yards) and as the windows went down, all got a good view of it. It was well hidden in the spruce. (White).

Then came a number of Dall Sheep. These roam the highlands up the mountain slopes away from the bears that use the bottom of the floor . Not too good for picture taking , but some representative shots were taken. The sheep are usually along the high ridges and can hardy be seen. Then we began to see parts of the Caribou herd that lives in the Park in the summer. Some on ridges, some on the slopes.

By that time the windows had been cleaned three times from the mud splashing of the tires and road, as we approached the end of the journey onto the Park. It was time for lunch and we ate in the bus as it was a bit cold (42 F outside) ,and the tables in the Visitor Center at Eielson Center were already taken in the lunchroom. After lunch it was time to get a few pictures of the Marmots and ground squirrels and view the items in the Visitor Center. There was a quilt there which was given to the Park by a local woman, that was displayed on the wall. It was a five piece panel that depicted the entire life cycle of birds, animals, plants and seasons in the Park. It was excellent!

The sun tried valiantly to shine and did a few times , but not enough, for many of us. It was a very overcast day until the evening.

On the way back out of the park, we did see the Moose Mom and some caribou, and the Bear was moving more quickly, now, looking for better grasses to feed on. The berries are a few weeks away so they are not eating them. Again we saw a different group of Dall sheep high on a small mountain, and more caribou and the same bear who had moved considerable westward. A few miles from the end of the ride the front of the bus saw a Lynx, and that is seldom seen. So we did see “The Big Four” (Sheep, Bears, Caribou and Moose) so it was a successful day for the riders. The Park is a wonderful view of what life for the natural things can be and should be. Six million acres of the great out of doors.

Tomorrow we take the Denali Highway (gravel road for 138 miles) which has some great birding and a few mammals on it. That will bring us back to Anchorage via Glenallen.