We didn't see Mt.
McKinley 'till
day 3 in the area. While driving to Fairbanks, we saw someone off
the side of the road taking a
photo in the opposite direction and we turned
around
to see a clear distant view of it shining in the
sunshine—finally our
glimpse of “the high one” as the indigenous people named it.
Finally
at breakfast our last morning on the road, the clouds parted and we got
to see views of the majestic
peak. It
is just so amazing how tall it is.
To protect the environment, the
park service does not allow
private cars
onto the
90 mile road through the park so we booked an eight hour bus trip.
The bus stopped every hour and a half for rest breaks (not counting all
the stops we made for critter viewing) and we had time
to enjoy the scenery. Polychrome Pass is like sliding sands in
Haleakala Crater--very slippery. It is amazing they built a road
through
it.
The bus stopped in
the middle of the road when wildlife was spotted and Neil
got a lot of wonderful photos. Our bus driver
called it
a “grand slam” to see all of the “big four” animals on a trip: the
grizzly
bear, moose, caribou, and Dall’s
sheep. We were fortunate and saw all four.
We were fortunate to see several grizzlies and one with a cub.
We were fortunate to see several grizzlies and one with a cub.
The grizzlies mostly eat vegetation and berries (80% or more), contrary to what people commonly believe.
The Dall Sheep are tiny white specks up on the rocky mountain sides until you look at them through binoculars.
We saw a few
solo
caribou near the road throughout the trip.
The moose and two calves were right on the road outside of park headquarters feeding.
We saw a couple of other
creatures not quite as
large, such as curious ground squirrels and the occasional grayling.
And then there are those funny beasts, the Neilabou and the one-horned Nanemoose.
So long to Denali for this trip!
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