Thurs 5/20/10
Board train for Denali Princess in mist and rain. Rain clears as we move south. See Dall sheep and 3 dead wolves from train. Not see Denali.
From station, shuttle to lodge. Check in and go on Natural History tour with driver Gary. He has been in Alaska 9 years, ex-long haul trucker. Very passionate about park.
From the bus we see caribou, very pregnant moose, artic hare (10 feet away) spruce grouse, ptarmigan, artic ground squirrel, and best of all a mother grizzly and cavorting cub.
Tour has stops at wilderness center, cabin for reenactor, and a talk with native Athabaskan.
Dinner at the bistro
We settled in at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, and freshened up for our Natural History tour.
This was a five hour bus tour that felt like an hour - and left you wanting more! We learned about the history, culture and wildlife of Denali National Park from a sincere, passionate bus driver whose life has been changed by being in the wilderness. He narrated beautifully, he was knowledgeable, and he even read us poetry. It was the most successful wildlife tour you can imagine. We saw caribou, moose, grizzly bears, ptarmigan, Arctic ground squirrel, and snowshoe hare. Unbelievable. The bus drivers were all exclaiming about how rare a day this was. We've been sprinkled with pixie dust.
MOOSE (2) This was a very pregnant moose. I'm sure she's a mama by now.
CARIBOU (2) Did you know that caribou and reindeer are the same animal? The difference between caribou and reindeer is that reindeer can fly. We have it on good authority!
DENALI SCENERY
VISITOR CENTER
GRIZZLIES (4) There's at least one bear in each picture. One of them clearly shows the cub. This was the most fascinating part of the tour for me.
ATHABASCAN MAN DESCRIBING CULTURE OF NATIVE AMERICANS
DENALI SCENERY
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS LODGE FOR DINNER
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