We took a bus ride into Denali National Park. The Park Service allows use of only school buses for guided tours. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we coul hear his love for the wilderness and the Park in his voice. Hewas originally from around the Terre Haute area.
It's difficult to photograph animals when you're moving and so are they. You see them so briefly. Whether or not my pictures turn out we saw caribu, Dahl sheep, tarmagen (Alaskan state bird), and a moose. The moose actually crossed the road in front of our bus.
This shows how early cabins were fortified against bears. Nails were hammered from the inside out around all the doors and windows. They've done the same with some signs in the park to keep the bears from knocking them over as they rub against them to scratch.
In Denali an Athabaskan tribal elder talked to us about the native inhabitants, how the lived and still live today.
Later we boarded the train for McKinley Willderness Resort. The ride was very long for our already-tired systems, but was exciting because we saw eagles, 2 grizzly bears, black bears, trumpeter swans, and caribu. On the bus ride from the depot to the resort we saw an eagle fly close overhead. Of course Iwas too awed to grab my camera.
The Resort is beautiful and built for its surroundings. there is a fantastic view of Denali (Mt. McKinley) and its surrounding mountains. Both from Denali Park and at the Resort we caught glimpses of the mountain. Not that many people get to see it because it is usually covered at least partially by clouds.
There is a service at the resort whereby they call your room day or night if the mountain is visible. How cool is that! We got a call at 11:30 pm that night (2:30 CDT) and Cheryl and I put on our clothes and headed for the Lodge. Boy are we glad we did! The mountain was fully visible and we got some great pictures.
Got several photos the next day, too, until clouds rolled in. One thing we learned--looking at Denali and taking picturesis quite addictive. You can't walk by a window without looking.
By the way, we ate a very expensive dinner at Cafe' Michelle in Talkeetna. The restaurant may have been featured on the Food Network--I'll hae to research.
Talkeetna served as a model for the TV show "Northern Exposure."
No comments:
Post a Comment