Denali Park Bus Tour

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Today started with a misunderstanding. The phone in our cabin rang at 6:05 AM. It was the front desk saying the tour bus was waiting for us! And I was sure it was scheduled to leave at 9! In fact, I asked at the front desk yesterday evening and they said yes. So, we all got up in a rush and one of the Denali Cabin employees drove us to the bus, so it all ended up ok.

We got on the bus, again an old school bus, and our driver, Becky drove us into the park. Becky likes to talk. Really. Non stop stories about the history of the park, the animals, the rivers, Mt. McKinley/Denali (depends who you ask) and so on. A bit tiring but very informative. Along the way she told us about how the mountain was named McKinley, about the people who thought up the idea and got the park started, about the people who did research of the animals in the park, about the single road into the park and so on. She also told us where to start looking for moose. "Look in the forest," she said, "They prefer it to the open areas, but they are very shy, so stay sharp." She went on to say how most of the other animals that live in the park are used to the buses and know that they pose no threat. It's just the moose who are shy. Anyway, sure enough we did see a moose cow and her calf between the trees, just a quick glimpse but enough to identify it.

A little while after that we saw a few white specks high up o the mountain. Those were Dall sheep with their great big horns just resting. Lucky our camera has such a great zoom. Becky stopped the bus and turned off the engine so we could watch the sheep through binoculars she lent us and our fellow travelers and take pictures. But the Dall sheep were not really what we came to see...

We drove on. Someone saw a large brown animal up on the hillside and called out. The bus stopped and the animal turned out to be a huge bull moose! Now we're getting somewhere! He was far enough away that the bus didn't bother him, so many pictures and videos ensued as he browsed on a bush.

Further along the road we came to Polychrome Pass (mile 46), where the road passes over the mountains and a colorful vista of different rock and plant opened up to us. The hills across the valley looked streaked with various browns, yellows and reds, greens covered the valley below, white streaks of snow above and white and grey clouds spotted an azure sky. We stopped to stretch our legs (surprisingly enough we had been sitting in the bus for a few hours by now). We kept on the paths but still got to enjoy the scenery, the wildflowers, and even a few ground squirrels who were equally interested in us as we were in them.

Another half hour or so on the bus brought us to Toklat River Rest Stop (mile 53), where we stopped for a longer time. Becky fixed up a coffee corner at the rear of the bus and we each got a complimentary coffee cup to fill with whatever our poison was. There was coffee, decaf, a selection of teas, and hot chocolate. She also gave us some cookies and snacks for the road.

The Toklat rest stop also has a little book store, restrooms, and some moose and caribou antlers that we could hold and take pictures with. Those things are heavy! Gives you an appreciation for the creatures who grow them and carry them around for several months each year.

We got back on the bus soon after and got going. Then we started seeing caribou. First it was one with antlers starting to look good. Then a small herd. Then more, and more! One or two seemed to be playing with the bus, pretending to run along with us while still keeping a respectful distance, but they all allowed us lots of photos.

A little after that we saw the bear. Quite far away, I'd say at least 300 m', but still impressive. He (or she) just wandered around, totally ignoring that big noisy creature that stayed o the road and vacuumed huge quantities of berries from the plants and bushes on the tundra. That's also when Gilat and I really took notice that the bus drivers communicate with each other, telling each other what to look for and where to look. Very nice indeed!

We watched the bear for a bit until it moved farther away ind into a ravine and was lost from sight.

At about the highest point on the road, more or less, a long tailed jaeger waited to have his picture taken. The jaeger is a pretty bird, resembling a gull or tern with a black head, white and grey body and wings, and a very long tail with two streamers following behind when in flight.

We soon stopped for a break at the Eielson Visitor's center. This is a proper visitor's center with interpretive displays and models, and outside are two massive interlocked moose skulls. The plaque there says that the two males fought for breeding rights and got stuck together, couldn't break apart. They eventually died that way, and by the time park rangers found them all that was left were the skulls. Wolves, bears, coyotes had eaten the meat and scattered the bones, and other animals, including hares, squirrels and voles nibbled on the mineral rich bones.

20 miles later we reached Wonder Lake, from where The Mountain is sometimes seen (according to the statistics displayed at Eielson, it peeks from the clouds on only two days on average in July), and soon after that we arrived at our lunch location, Kantishna, at Mile 92, the end of the road.

Kantishna is a privately owned area in the middle of the park. It used to be a mining complex but now mostly caters to tourists with a lodge, buffet lunch for the buses that arrive, and a small air field.

After lunch the kids tried their hand at gold panning while Gilat and I joined a botanical walk around the complex. The kids enjoyed themselves though they didn't find anything. Gilat and I also enjoyed our walk and learned a lot about the plants and fungi of the Denali. We saw and tasted wild blueberries, cranberries and a few others I don't remember.

We loaded back onto the bus and shortly after we got going we saw a big bull caribou with the most magnificent antlers just enjoying the day, so we stopped for more pictures, and soon after that another bear showed himself.

Further down the road we came across yet another large bear, this one almost blond with dark tummy and legs. Beautiful! She (we decided this one was a she) got lots of pictures taken.

Finally, after a very long day, the bus dropped us off at the cabins at about 8:30 pm. We were exhilarated and exhausted, but you can still enjoy our day:

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