Another 120 miles down the road to Denali NP – now six million acres of protected watershed and home ranges of wildlife populations.

But, before all that excitement, Doc and Wyatt became our new form of transportation pulling this covered wagon to a delicious chuckwagon dinner;-)

 

 

The next day it was into the Park to see if we could accomplish our feat of 8 years ago and see ALL of the Big 5.

 

Thankfully, the park service has developed a wonderful way for the thousands of park visitors every year to see the park without disturbing, plundering or conquering the land.  Buses, with informative and knowledgable guides, are boarded to transport one down the single road through the park into a wonderful world of beauty and animals;-)

For seven hours one sits on the edge of the seat scanning and/or waiting for one of the fellow travelers to shout “STOP – wildlife at 3 o’clock”!  As the bus stops everyone scans the area for that special sighting.  There are 5 animals that one crosses their fingers and hopes to have at least one sighting of each.  Today was our lucky day!!

First up – moose.  Barely in the entrance, there they were.  About 1,500 pounds munching their way through breakfast (it was about 7:30AM!).

 

Second – grizzlies.  They hibernate from October to April, so at this time of year they are eating madly to build up their winter fat.  Next to wolves, these are the least populous of the animals in the park totaling around 300-350.  While we see a fair number of moose even in Park City, we rarely get to see grizzlies.  So – these guys are really special.  AND, we never get enough of them – especially when there are sibling cubs playing with Mom keeping a watchful eye on them.

 

Third – caribou.  Yes – these are the reindeer made famous by Santa.  AND, both the male and female have antlers (the only of the deer family this is true of).  AND, the female loose theirs long after the male making them the pullers of Santa’s sleigh;-)  They roam in groups and favor open tundra and ridgetops.  They are also the most populous of the animals in Denali at around 2,700.

 

Fourth – dall sheep.  These herbivores eat low-growing alpine plants year-round.  They tend to be in packs – always at long distances from the roads;-(

 

Five – the seldom seen wolf.  These are so seldom seen, as there are only about 70 in the park, that many of the guides now refer only to the animals above – the big 4.  BUT – today was different.  We saw ALL FIVE.  While wolves are highly social and usually live in packs, this guy was off by himself.

 

There is a number six – Denali, the high one, itself.  Unfortunately, this was a drizzly day so the mountain was engulfed in clouds.  But, perhaps it was this cloudy day that encouraged all the animals to be so active.  Since Denali is over 20,000 feet and seen from as far away as Anchorage, perhaps we will see it another day.

Denali is another of our wonderful National Parks.  Thank you to Charles Sheldon and Adolph Murie for working so hard to see that this land was preserved for us to visit.  It is up to us today to help with the challenges that remain.  Wolves are routinely shot and trapped near Denali.  The climate shifts, the air grows warmer, permafrost melts and habitats disappear.  Visit a NP and help where you can so that we can continue to enjoy!!

With Love to All – E & G loving our NP’s;-)