The last of my “summer” visitors were my parents in early September. They intentionally came out at this time because we planned to go to Denali National Park during my favorite time of year… fall foliage time! We decided to not make any reservations until they arrived so we could find the best weather days to get up there. The morning after they arrived (they got here at 10:30pm AK time Sunday), I looked at the forecast and saw that Monday and Tuesday were going to be the best days. I asked if they could be ready to go in 30 minutes or so, and that’s what we did. It was a clear blue day for our drive up, as well as our time in the park the next day. We could watch Denali "grow" as we drove north. It is quite a sight to see!
One of our first stops when we got to the park was to visit the sled dogs. I wanted to see the puppies again (although they're looking less and less like puppies!), but the adult dogs there are just as much fun to visit and they love having visitors! We once again missed the demonstration they do there, but you can visit the dogs anytime thankfully.
This is Nuna, one of the dogs from the 2009 litter. Her bio says, "Nuna is one of the strongest girls in the whole kennel. Already, she has broken two doors from jumping on them out of excitement for dinner." She's very pretty!
While we were there, one of the kennel staff took Annie (one of this year's pups) into the office. I'm not sure what happened in there, but her brother (Lucky) and sister (Polly) were quite curious about what was going on and why they didn't get to join her!
As you can see, Annie has grown into an armload!
Polly is taking advantage of the open top half of her door to check out the view.
Lucky has joined her... and of course there's some nipping and playing!
"What do you think they're doing in there, brother?"
Lucky has moved on, but Polly is still curious!
Annie is back (we missed them bringing her back while we were visiting other dogs) and looks quite content. Must not have been too bad an experience! ;)
This is Nuna, one of the dogs from the 2009 litter. Her bio says, "Nuna is one of the strongest girls in the whole kennel. Already, she has broken two doors from jumping on them out of excitement for dinner." She's very pretty!
While we were there, one of the kennel staff took Annie (one of this year's pups) into the office. I'm not sure what happened in there, but her brother (Lucky) and sister (Polly) were quite curious about what was going on and why they didn't get to join her!
As you can see, Annie has grown into an armload!
Polly is taking advantage of the open top half of her door to check out the view.
Lucky has joined her... and of course there's some nipping and playing!
"What do you think they're doing in there, brother?"
Lucky has moved on, but Polly is still curious!
Annie is back (we missed them bringing her back while we were visiting other dogs) and looks quite content. Must not have been too bad an experience! ;)
One of the goals of this trip was to catch myself on the puppy cam. My sister and I have been diligently watching the camera all summer and seeing all the visitors (mostly their feet but sometimes their hands reaching in to pet the puppies) there. So we coordinated the effort and we got it! I had to practically lay on the ground and get in just the right spot. See me there in the lower right corner while Polly and Lucky are wrestling right next to me?
For a little trip down memory lane (for me) and a comparison (for you), I believe these are the first couple screen shots we saved last summer. Their mom, Sultana, is with them at this point and there is a ramp just for the puppies to get into the kennel. They sure do grow quickly!
The rest of the family went inside the cabin, but little Annie stayed out on the ramp a little longer. So cute!
The rest of the family went inside the cabin, but little Annie stayed out on the ramp a little longer. So cute!
Ok, enough of the dogs. It's hard to tear myself away sometimes! After we visited the dogs, we drove along the part of the park road that anyone can drive on and took in some of the fall foliage and mountain views.
After we got done with our drive, we went for a walk on the "Roadside Trail". This trail actually leads you to the kennels, which is one of their suggested means of getting to the kennels since there isn't a lot of parking there, but we didn't go that far.
After we got done with our drive, we went for a walk on the "Roadside Trail". This trail actually leads you to the kennels, which is one of their suggested means of getting to the kennels since there isn't a lot of parking there, but we didn't go that far.
We fit a lot in that first day, especially since it took a few hours to drive up there. When we got to our hotel room that evening (I had made a reservation that morning), the manager told me that after I called, it wasn't long before their last few rooms were reserved for the night. Apparently we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather!
The next morning we did our bus tour of the park. We didn't see as much wildlife as I'd hoped, but we had some beautiful views the whole way! And near the end we did come across a grizzly bear that was relaxing up on the rocky hillside above the road.
We had to look at stuff like this through the bus windows/windshield. Terrible, eh? ;)
The Great One, Denali!
I tried stitching a bunch of photos together to give a better idea of the panoramic views all over the park.
The next morning we did our bus tour of the park. We didn't see as much wildlife as I'd hoped, but we had some beautiful views the whole way! And near the end we did come across a grizzly bear that was relaxing up on the rocky hillside above the road.
We had to look at stuff like this through the bus windows/windshield. Terrible, eh? ;)
The Great One, Denali!
I tried stitching a bunch of photos together to give a better idea of the panoramic views all over the park.
This is at one of the rest stops. FYI, glacier water is chilly!
I don't know what these sheep are finding to eat here, but they do stand out at least so we can spot them!
The Great One again...
This is probably the most popular spot to photograph the mountain, complete with a leading line. :) What a gorgeous day we had! Days like this really don't happen THAT often, and I've been fortunate to be there for several.
Zooming in from the same vantage point...
This was our best wildlife sighting, and we only knew he was there after we stopped by some professional photographers and one of them pointed him/her out to us. These photos are zoomed in to 300mm, and some were even cropped a bit from there. So he/she wasn't too close. Fun to watch though!
One of our great views on the way back to the visitor's center. Clouds are coming in... we're heading out just in time!
A successful trip all in all with a couple more satisfied customers, I'd say! 'Til next time...
