Talkeetna to Denali Park June 9, 2011

June 9, 2011-Talkeetna to Denali National Park -   We left Talkeetna around 9:30a.m. after having a great time and heading for Fairbanks.  It looks like the weather is going to be crappy and we’re going to decide what to do when we get to Denali National Park.  It rained off and on but not too hard and we’re arriving at Denali National Park around 1:15 p.m.  I can’t believe it!  We have a momma moose and her little one heading right at us.   We have stopped and I took 10 million photos as they walked down the road toward the front of our truck.  What a beautiful sight!  The momma moose finally turned left and the baby followed.  We moved on and Dave and Jerry went into the Wilderness Access Center and scheduled us to take the 2:00p.m., 60 mile one way road trip by bus returning at 10:00p.m.  We quickly ate lunch and packed a sandwich, snacks, cookies and water for dinner and off we go.  Here’s a little history of Denali National Park and Preserve as it was established in 1917 as Mount McKinley National Park and renamed Denali in 1980.  A prospector, William Dickey, named the mountain for presidential nominee William McKinley of Ohio, although McKinley had no connection with Alaska.  The Alaskan People protested that the mountain be returned to its original name, Denali.  In 1980, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 changed the park’s status and name back to Denali, however, the U.S. Board of Geographic names, still show the mountain as Mount McKinley.   There are so many rules and regulations that you can read and follow them when you come to visit. J  There are approximately 6 million acres and we only saw a small portion of it.  The crown jewel is Mount McKinley, North America’s highest mountain at 20,320 feet.  However, you have to be very lucky to see the top because of the overcast and rainy weather.  More than a thousand people attempt to climb McKinley and slightly more than half succeed each year.  We saw lots of animals today besides the momma moose and baby at the entrance.  Once we were on the bus, we saw several caribou, a fox, another momma moose and baby, a bull moose, and finally a grizzly bear.  As soon as someone said there’s a bear, I started pointing, shooting, and clicking.  I didn’t know I got the grizzly and baby until we got back to camp.  
Needless to say, I’m so excited!!!!   I didn’t see the baby but my camera did!!!   
I'm sure that's the same as seeing it.          It counts, I'm pretty sure!!!!

On the way back, we saw a Raven’s nest, and a few more caribou.  We we're beginning to relax, thinking that it's late and we wouldn’t see many more animals when a guy in the back of the bus spotted a wolf.  The wolf was just walking along a river bank and we got a few more shots.  A little further down the road and several yards away we saw a beavers’ wake as he made its way across the pond.   Needless to say, we had an amazing adventure and can recommend everyone take this trip.  We arrived back to our truck and trailer around 10:00p.m.  We only have to drive a mile and half to Camp Riley to set up and start checking out our pictures by 10:15p.m.  What a fantastic day!Tomorrow we'll check out dog sledding, the kennels, and how they survive the winters.  I'll let you know how that is. /Marilyn