Denali National Park - Alaska 2005     

Updated: 11/30/08

First Visit

It rained all night before we were going to visit Denali National Park and Preserve. When we woke up, the sky was thick with clouds. We tried to call for bus tour reservations but were disconnected. The day was not going well. We decided to drive the 27miles to Denali and register as 'walk-ins'. There are various length bus tours from 2-hours to 13-hours. Our campground owner recommended that we take the Fish Creek tour ($23.75 each) which is 8- hours long and covers 64 miles.

In Denali, a cloudy day is still beautiful.

It was still cloudy when we arrived at Denali. But the day improved while we were in the Wilderness Access Center and the Visitors Center. We purchased our tickets, a Golden Age Passport and watched a great video at each location. 

    (We made this photograph on the way out of the park so there is some blue sky.)

     
Relief Map                                       Displays

Because the day had improved, we had a nice ride into the park.

At one location, the mountain on the left side of the road was lush. On the right side of the road, the mountain was rocky and we looked for Dall sheep. 

The number of ridges here indicated the need for a 3-D camera to appreciate them.

About half-way along the route, we saw a spectacular sight - Mt. McKinley. The people at the pull-off when we arrived had been waiting ten days to see it.

Mt. McKinley is the snow covered image above the dark mountains.
Both the South and North peaks are visible.
At this point, it is 75 miles away.
(We did not know the best views were on the road to Anchorage.
Some people do not see Mt. McKinley during their entire stay due to weather.
We were fortunate on our drive to Anchorage to experience two clear days.)

For additional views including those on the Fairbanks to Anchorage page, go to our  Mount McKinley page.

You can drive your personal vehicle 15 miles into the park. Beyond that point, only the buses can continue. There are restrooms and beautiful views at the turnaround.

The only wildlife we saw on our ride was this squirrel at the visitors center. We are told as you ride the bus into the interior more wildlife may be seen.

We will get up early and meet our bus at 9:00am tomorrow.

Bus Tour

We took the Fish Creek tour.
It was 64 miles one-way into the park.
The eight hour tour cost was $24 per person.
It can be longer if you get  off to hike and catch a later bus.
Nothing is provided, take water, food and dress in layers.
Oh, yes, don't forget your camera.

While the landscape is beautiful in the entire area, the bus trip affords you the opportunity to get deep into the park and hear interesting comments from your driver. 

The day started cloudy but cleared.

           
These are called 'braided' rivers.                                                                                                           

This Caribou was wondering alone in a gravel bar.

An unrelated story . . . Earlier bus tours watched a grizzly bear eating this unlucky Caribou. We could only see the bones.  

Along this part of the route, we got two glimpses of the South Peak of Mt. McKinley. The driver said we were about 30 miles away.

           
While have used all the zoom the camera has, the white dots are Dall sheep.

A big hit along this part of the route was a fox family.

 
Interesting pop-ups ...

High in the mountain this grizzly bear was, according to some people on the bus, eating something. They were using binoculars and saw 'blood' on the bear's face. 

Because this caribou was running away from that location, they deduced that the bear was eating a baby caribou. 

It made for good conversation.

                                      
Polychrome Glacier                                                                                            Polychrome Rock is four stories tall.

This caribou stood motionless, just staring at us.

Legend has it that Chicken, Alaska was named after theses birds - Ptarmigan. No one knew how to spell their name so ... it became Chicken, Alaska.

            We saw one in Chicken but it was moving too fast for a photograph.

 
This is our bus.

This is the road our bus rides on . . . both ways. (64 miles out, 64 miles back)

           
                                                                     The drivers made wide turns to 'peak' around the corner. 

About mid-way along our ride, we stopped at the Teklanika Visitors Center. It was not very highly stocked with supplies - books, postcards and a couple displays. You could get trail type information.

This comment was on a placard
someplace on the road.

To view most of the wildlife, you needed binoculars and a camera with a good zoom lens.

But . . . for this bear.
He was on the left side of the road as the bus approached - everyone move to the left ide of the bus. Before the bus came to a stop, we crossed the road.

Why did the bear cross the road?    

Because the grass is greener     
on the other side of the road!     

           
A colorful mountain . . .

On the way back to the Wilderness Access Center where we boarded the bus we saw a resting bear, a small herd of caribou and more sheep.

We had a fun driver and after this many hours on the bus some people get giddy. The driver, at one point, suggested we make photographs of these creatures - human beings.

We had a final glance at Mt. McKinley at the end of the our route.

By the end of the day we felt like we had been riding a bus on a long and dusty road. Would we do it again? You bet we would.

Go back to Alaska Photo Album .

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