DENALI NATIONAL PARK,  AK

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Denali National Park was created in 1917 with 2 million acres.  It has since grown to 6 million acres.  In Denali, visitors are considered lucky if they see the big 5 animals in the park -- moose, caribou, bear, sheep and wolves.  Mount
McKinley is 20,320 feet high, that's almost 4 miles high, and it is still growing!

The entrance fee is on the honor system.  For an individual it is $10 and for a motorcycle the fee is $15. The fee is good for 7 days.  Visitors are only allowed into the park the first 15 miles as the park wants to control poaching and littering.  You must use the park bus system to go any further or have a pre-paid reservation at the campground.

Arrangements were made for us to take the premier bus trip on a private charter.  Our bus driver would provide commentary and would stop for wildlife viewing if he spotted something or we shouted out STOP.  Pickup at our campground was 6:15 a.m. and everyone was there bright eyed and bushy tailed.  However, once on the bus and going down the road, we discovered we left LeRoy's big camera  in the coach.  We knew then that there would be no close up pictures taken today.  So LeRoy let Dick use his biggerlens for his camera.  Hopefully, he was able to take some good pictures of the moose, Dall sheep, bear and caribou we saw on our tour. 

Deep into Denali Park we went - 91 miles one way around mountains on essentially a one and one-half lane dirt road.  We were on the Kantishna Experience Tour.  This Denali backcountry Adventure took us to the end of the road in Kantishna, past Wonder Lake.  A buffet lunch was served at the Backcountry Lodge in Kantihna, the very end of the road in the park.

First we saw 4 moose, one bull, one cow and 2 yearlings on a stone riverbed.  Next we saw a band of Dall sheep, the animal responsible for creating a park in this region of Alaska. Later on we viewed a herd of caribou and then a couple of
grizzlies. On the return trip it was more grizzlies, more caribou and more moose.

LeRoy tried his luck at panning for gold again.  The shovel and pan were free but the water was
icy cold and unyielding.

There were also a couple of memorable mountain views - Divide Mountain and Cathedral Mountain.