I'm sitting here listening to a babbling brook in Denali National Park. We just took a mile hike through some of the tundra right behind the Eielsen visitor center.
We woke up to Jackson's alarm at 4:15 this morning. He wanted to wake up early so he could talk to his girlfriend a half hour before getting ready. I didn't mind as we slept pretty hard through the rain storm last night. We boarded the national Park Service shuttle bus at 6 a.m. and took a leisurely 3 hour drive through the park.
When we arrived to the park yesterday around lunch time, it was pretty cold and dreary. When we checked into our hotel called Crow's Nest, it look like a treehouse with five floors. We had to lug our bags to the 4th up the wet steps. Fun and scary.
Today though, it is starting to actually get sunny and a little bit warmer. We started our hike in the rain but now the clouds are disappearing. So far we have seen a hawk, Dall sheep, some caribou, and a scary looking grizzly who was munching on a bloody caribou antler. Yesterday we also saw the sled dog demonstration by the park service Rangers, but I guess that wouldn't count as wildlife.
Today though, it is starting to actually get sunny and a little bit warmer. We started our hike in the rain but now the clouds are disappearing. So far we have seen a hawk, Dall sheep, some caribou, and a scary looking grizzly who was munching on a bloody caribou antler. Yesterday we also saw the sled dog demonstration by the park service Rangers, but I guess that wouldn't count as wildlife.
Yay...the sun's out! Maybe we'll get another chance to see Denali, the former Mount McKinley, on our way back to the visitor center. It's a lovely day and there are hardly any people this far into the park. Our driver pulled over so we could quietly observe a mother grizzly and her two cubs. They are also called brown bears..
and these 3 are almost blond. Further toward the entrance we spotted awesome ptarmigans with chicks and a bull caribou.
Our luck continued as we drove on. We saw another grizzly with her two cubs, and a much larger and darker male grizzly close by.
About 20 minutes later, another bus was stopped ahead. The driver was very patient and we waited 5 minutes to see what they were looking at. The bushes started moving, and something the color of a golden retriever rustled the leaves a bit. We could finally see that it was a bear, and close!
and these 3 are almost blond. Further toward the entrance we spotted awesome ptarmigans with chicks and a bull caribou.
Our luck continued as we drove on. We saw another grizzly with her two cubs, and a much larger and darker male grizzly close by.
About 20 minutes later, another bus was stopped ahead. The driver was very patient and we waited 5 minutes to see what they were looking at. The bushes started moving, and something the color of a golden retriever rustled the leaves a bit. We could finally see that it was a bear, and close!
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