Seeing the Wonders of Denali National Park
Trip Start
May 10, 2011
1
32
55
Trip End
Jul 04, 2011
Where I stayed
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Friday, June 10, 2011
With a bus tour of the park booked for the afternoon, it was back to the village for lunch.
After a mix up over the time and place of pick up, the bus tour eventually got underway at 1420 – and it turned out to be an excellent tour, if a bit long. The bus went about 70 miles into the park. The viewing included huge landscapes that have not been touched by humans since they were formed in the ice age, except to build the gravel road and except for a few 19th century gold prospectors that found nothing and passed on. The bus driver was also the guide and the commentator, and stopped frequently to explain what we were looking at and to see bears, caribou, dall sheep, porcupine, and ravens. The weather was mainly bright with an occasional shower: after one, a magnificent rainbow appeared, adding to the fantastic scenery. The tour was expensive, but worthwhile. The only criticism would be that it returned to the village at 2300 – still in sunlight, but all the eating places were closed, so dinner was a plastic sandwich from the 24 hour Subway: a dismal end to a glorious day.
Distance driven today: 35 miles (not including the bus tour).
