We arrived at Denali National Park about noon. Of course, the mountain is still hiding behind clouds, but the rest of the place is pretty impressive. The moose by the side of the road was a nice touch, and he/she turned toward me at just the right moment.
We arranged for a campsite in Riley Campground for a couple of nights and signed up for a 6 hour bus tour led by a Park naturalist tomorrow.
There are not many roads that you can drive any old car on here in the Park, so it makes sense to take a tour that takes you to see some of the wildlife and scenery that would otherwise be out of bounds unless you hiked. In the winter there are no motorized vehicles allowed at all, so people arrive by dogsled, skis, snowshoes, air, and Shank's mare. We picked out a campsite and set up our screen tent (a necessity), then had lunch inside of it. We spent much of the afternoon at the Visitor Center looking at exhibits, listening to a presentation about raptors in the Park, and watching a gorgeous movie about the Park in all seasons.
Then we drove as far out the road as was allowed, to a place called Savage River, where there is another campground.
On the way back I spotted a herd (?flock) of Dall sheep on the hillside. They show up as small white spots. The main way to tell them from rocks is if they move. This group was grazing so they were wandering about quite a bit, and Bill was also able to see them. This is what Bette would call a "confirmed sighting."
We took this as we left. This isn't us in the picture, but it's close.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Denali National Park
-Edit.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment