Up Close and Personal

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Geo: 63.2237, -151.002

By and far, we were most excited about finally seeing a moose in real life. But we hadn't yet, despite everyone telling us they were EVERYwhere. So, as we ventured north into Denali National Park, to do what we weren't quite sure, we kept our eyes peeled for mooses.

As it turns out, you can't actually drive a private vehicle into the National Park. Totally get it. I remembered reading several articles about Yosemite considering the same restrictions. It infuriates the regulars but it cuts down on ill-prepared tourists doing harmful or damaging things to the park and wildlife. If it's something my Yosemite will one day have to do, I'll accept it.

We ended up getting lunch and hopping on a four hour tour into the park to Toklat and back. We weren't guaranteed to see wildlife (how could they) but we ended up seeing a TON of wildlife anyway. It was amazing!! And even though we were in a bus for the most part, we were really close at times. We saw a mountain goat precariously standing on a cliffside. Our first glimpse of caribou. Watched a moose run across a mountain (our first one!!). A wolf running along a river, with a grizzly bear in the same vicinity. More sheep. AND BEST OF ALL, we saw a mama grizzly bear and two cubs, eating and playing not 50ft down the cliff from the bus. I was on cloud freaking nine watching all the wildlife.

But there were more surprises after we left the park...

First, though, we were starving. So we stopped at the first pizza place we saw and devoured an entire pizza. It was late... probably close to 10pm. Then we continued back down the highway toward our cabin in the State Park. Apparently that's when all the wild life comes out. A wolf ran alongside our SUV. We nearly ran over something small that might have been a porcupine. And then.... we saw it... a MOOSE RIGHT BY THE ROAD. Chris flipped a U-turn and we got as close as the vehicle could get. I was suddenly every tourist I ever hated in Yosemite, stopping on the highway to get close up pictures of bears, and then wondering why in the world something that cuddly looking would maul them and their vehicle. But I mean... we had insurance on the rental... right? I took a few pictures, and was satisfied. We didn't get out of the car and we tried not to startle it. I don't think we did.

We drove further down the highway as the sun was setting. The sky was suddenly absolutely clear. And then we saw Denali. In all it's glory, with a sky of pink. It was breathtaking. Again- we stopped and took pictures. Perfect last day up there.

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