DAY 5 – June 22
Denali National Park
Tina and I woke up at 4:00, before the alarm went off at 4:15. By the time we got the kids ready, had a quick breakfast, and walked to the Wilderness Access Center, we still just made our 5:30 bus headed to Wonder Lake. (If we had been staying at Teklanika, we could have just hopped on the bus when it got to the campground at 6:30.)
The trip started out with several good wildlife sightings – two moose in the road, a den of fox kits chasing each other around, and snowshoe hares everywhere. We saw a juvenile golden eagle and a willow ptarmigan, and a few Dall sheep at Polychrome. We searched for wolves near a den, but didn't see them on the way west. No bears on the way out, either.
Since the mountain was not out, we got off the bus at Eielson. We enjoyed the brand-new Visitor Center. The kids especially enjoyed the arctic ground squirrels. We ate an early lunch here, then took a short walk on the tundra.
We had originally planned to hike in the Stony Dome area, but our bus driver advised against it. He told us that yesterday a bear attacked a smaller bear in that area, and beat it up pretty badly. This all took place near one of the shuttle buses; in fact, the smaller bear had escaped by squeezing underneath the bus where the larger bear could not reach. The bus couldn't move until the larger bear moved on and the injured bear was able to get out from under the bus. Our driver was afraid the bear might be dead, either from his injuries or from a second attack.
Rather than follow the trails at Eielson, we walked up the road a short distance then found our way up the tundra. We saw a large variety of wildflowers in bloom. We didn't get far before the way became too steep for the kids, so we turned around and wandered on the other side of the road a bit.
After our walk near Eielson, we took another bus toward the entrance. We saw a large group of caribou from a distance, running up a hill. When they topped the ridge they all turned and ran back down. Back at the wolf den, one of the wolves and a couple of pups were out, but they were difficult to see. We also saw a grizzly sow with two cubs, but they too were at a distance and hard to see. Near Polychrome we saw a lone caribou in the road.
The kids did well with the long bus ride, but they were really tired near the end. (We were all tired.) I was afraid we wouldn't all want to take another bus ride, although I was really hoping for another try for a better wildlife experience.
Heavy rain began just after we arrived at the Wilderness Access Center, so we spent most of the rest of the day in the RV. The rain really cooled things off. We were chilly in the RV, and slept in extra layers tonight.
Next: Day 6, Denali National Park
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