Denali Visit #2... The Mountain In Hiding 7/3/11

My second visit to Denali National Park... an afternoon and evening ride through the park on one of the longest days of the year.  Our trip to Denali National Park was planned as an overnight trip, but a sick cat caused us to adjust our itinerary.  So we drove the 4 ½ hours to the park in the morning, rode the park shuttle bus for 8 or 9 hours, and then drove 4 ½ hours back home that night. 

The great thing is that it is July 3rd, so there was no “dark” to drive in, even at 2 and 3 am.  The weather was a little rainy/misty, so being on dirt roads meant that the windows on the bus didn’t stay very clean. The windows were cleaned at some of the rest stops along the way, but within minutes of leaving the rest area they were too dirty to see out of again.  So we didn’t end up seeing very much wildlife, but we did get one very special experience.  We came upon some vehicles that were pulled over, so we knew there was some sort of wildlife to see.  We finally saw it… on the road ahead of us… a young grizzly bear!  As we got closer to it, and took our turn at the front of the line of vehicles, the bear continued to walk right on the road ahead of us.  I then got my favorite photo of this trip through the park.



Bear butt! :)

We did see some beautiful scenery along the way, despite the rain.  The last time I was at the park, it was late fall (mid-September) and all the fall colors were past peak.  This time... very green and lush! We didn't get to see "The Mountain" because of all the clouds, but we were still treated to some great views along the way.