We got up early this morning to have breakfast before our
Denali Tundra Tour. The weather
was cold, but clear so we had great hopes of both spotting wildlife and seeing
Denali (only about 30% of visitors see it as it frequently is hidden in the clouds). What a fabulous day we had! The weather was perfect and we saw so
many animals! There were moose,
including a female and her calf who came right next to the bus, caribou, Dall
sheep – the males with their curly horns, ewes and some lambs, a willow
ptarmigan, the Alaska state bird, a red fox which ran right next to the bus for
a while, and grizzley bears. The
first time we saw one from a distance – it was chasing a moose and her calf,
but fortunately did not catch them (probably didn’t want to put in the
effort). We saw a few more from a
distance, but then we spotted one very close to the road. He was digging in the ground for roots
or insects and paid us no mind – we watched him for quite some time. We also saw ground squirrels, who
looked like prairie dogs and are, along with the arctic hare, the main prey in
the area. The wildlife was
amazing, but the wildflowers were also wonderful, although the peak is probably
a week or two away. The most
amazing thing though was to see Denali – it was majestic! We were able to see both the north and
south faces before the clouds obscured the peaks. Our tour guide/driver, Rebecca, was fantastic and since
today was her birthday, I think she brought us good luck in seeing all that we
did. This was the best day ever –
we saw much more than I dreamed we would.
When we returned, we had an hour before it was time to go to
dinner. Dinner was fabulous! I had Alaskan King Crab – delish! The chocolate cake for dessert was
good, but the homemade huckleberry ice cream that was the ala mode was
absolutely scrumptious!!! (this
endorsement from a non-ice cream person).
I am looking forward to our train trip tomorrow – we are headed closer
to Denali and am hoping for the same wonderful weather we had today.
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