Fox Pup's AK Vacation - Day 3: A Day Late & A Dollar Short? I Think Not!

Another early morning and long day, but that is hardly a complaint!  We had to be at the entrance to Denali by 7am to catch the 7:15am shuttle bus.  Personal vehicles are generally not allowed beyond Savage River, which is 15 miles into the park.  Since the road is 92 miles long, they have shuttle buses and tour buses that can take you through the park.  I liked that... it really cuts down on traffic, someone else is doing the driving, you're up much higher than you would be in a car, and there are several people looking for wildlife also.  There were hairpin turns and switchbacks that the drivers are used to on the narrow roads, so we were glad to leave the driving to them!

Everyone living in the places we've been so far has told us how unusual this beautiful weather is.  Temperatures have been in the 60s, wind is calm, and the sky is a deep blue.  The best part about that is that Mt. McKinley is completely visible.  We are told that this only happens a handful of times each year, because usually some portion of the mountain is obscured by clouds. We're thankful and appreciate it!!  We met people on the shuttle bus from Texas, Illinois, England and Switzerland.  The guys from England and Switzerland were camping and hiking in the park, and it was neat to hear about their adventures while they were on the bus with us.



So... aside from the wonderful scenery we've been seeing, we just so happened to see a little wildlife, too.  I picked out a moose right near the road, a couple snowshoe hare running across the road, and a golden eagle in a tree.  Others on the bus found a small herd of moose, grizzly bears, caribou, and dall sheep.  When the day was done, we saw a total of 16 moose, 13 grizzly bears, about 12 dall sheep, 5 ground squirrels, 5 magpie (birds), 2 caribou, 2 snowshoe hare, 2 golden eagles, and a small group of ptarmigan (the Alaska state bird).  Our bus driver said the most moose he's ever seen in one day is 8, and he's been driving on this road for almost 8 years.  We doubled his record! :)  So much for our reputation of being a day late and a dollar short!  It was another day of being thankful for having so much room on our digital cameras!

Bull Moose

Grizzly Bear

More to come!!
- Foxpup