Denali means "the High One" to the Athabascan native people. It is the 20,320' peak in the 600 mile long Alaskan range. Denali National Park was formerly called Mt. McKinley after president McKinley. The park covers 6 million acres-that's larger than Massachusetts.
There is only one road through the park. The park runs a shuttle system for hikers and very limited tours. We went just past the Eielson Visitor Center at the mile 66 marker for our tour. The dirt road continues all the way to Kantishna. The road is only open about 3 1/2 months of the year, the park is open year round.
Yesterday we went up on the Alaskan Railroad which criss-crossed the highway.
There is only one road through the park. The park runs a shuttle system for hikers and very limited tours. We went just past the Eielson Visitor Center at the mile 66 marker for our tour. The dirt road continues all the way to Kantishna. The road is only open about 3 1/2 months of the year, the park is open year round.
Yesterday we went up on the Alaskan Railroad which criss-crossed the highway.
We got to see a moose,
Dall sheep,
We didn't get to see Denali at our turnaround point.
Had we, it would have looked like this.
We did get to see two sets of Grizzly Bears! At one point the ma ma stood up on her hind legs to look for her baby. That was pretty cool.
This pair was working their way toward us but the bus left before they came over.
At the Eielson Visitor Center Evan got to see how heavy antlers are.
Even though we didn't get to see Denali, the scenery was still beautiful.
Tracks were all over.
We also saw caribou. An adorable little ground squirrel entertained us too.
After our tour we caught the train and continued on to Fairbanks.
2 comments:
I am in love with Alaska via your post! But my heart will forever belong to Hawaii!
WOW!!! It looks like you had quite the incredible trip! I would love to see grizzly bears. Especially the mom and cub! How cool!
Post a Comment