The first view on McKinley from within the park
Lots and Lots of Caribou
We saw caribou more times than we saw anything else while we were in the park.
And there were more of those sheep!
We saw quite a few Dall sheep in Denali. They don't just hang out down by the coast.
And the mountains....
At times, we were at almost 4000 feet, and there were still mountains that were taller...
Can you believe the picture on the right was taken about 10 o'clock at night??
And the valleys...
There are quite a few breath-taking views to be had in Denali. The bottom photo was taken at the Eielson Visitor's Center, the turn-around point for our 8-hour shuttle bus ride through the park. If the clouds hadn't moved in like the apparently do most afternoons, you'd be able to see Mount McKinley.
On wings of eagles...
This eagle was flying overhead at the Eielson Visitor's Center. It was hard to tell whether or not it had a bald head, but it's an awesome sight either way....
And we finally got to see some bears...
We stopped on the way out when there was a professional photographer with his super-highpowered lens pointed up the hill. This was our first bear-sighting. This was a mama bear with her two cubs.
Our driver/guide said this was a mating pair. We were a bit closer to these bears than the mama and her cubs.
Another raptor
This guy is hard to pick out if you're not sure where to look. See if you can spot him in the lower right corner of the photo - the gryfalcon's coloring is good camouflage.
And some flowers
There are some beautiful wildflowers if you look a little closer.
A sea gull???
I couldn't believe there was a sea gull all the way up in Denali.
This is why it's not a paved road...
They only pave the park road about 15 or 20 miles into the park.
Rivers
The Toklat River Even though the river beds are really wide, the rivers don't ever fill it up, and they weren't running deep.
The Teklanika River
One nice thing, besides the company, of playing tourist with someone is that you can get pictures to prove you were actually there!
I thought there were moose in Alaska??
We didn't see a moose until we were leaving the park. By the time we stopped and I got my camera out, it had moved back into the trees. Can you pick it out??
And watch out for caribou, too!
I didn't see a single "deer crossing" sign, but I saw this "caribou crossing" sign and countless "moose crossing" signs.
Better McKinley photos...
On the way to Denali on the 3rd, we couldn't stop for pictures, since we had a reservation for the shuttle into the park.
And more proof I was actually there...
We found one really good photo spot, on a road named "McKinley View Drive".
And there are even some that look suspiciously like Texas Bluebonnets...
Then, when we went to dinner after our trip into the park was over, I counted 8 or 9 in the restaurant parking lot!
Beyond that, it's gravel that they re-grade every year.
Too costly to try to maintain 90 miles of road in a place like this...
This particular spot is called Polychrome Pass. The orange color comes from the iron in the rock.
They call them a "braided river" because it changes it's course over the years within the river bed.
We were lucky on the 4th on the way back to Anchorage. The weather was beautiful and we could take all the time we wanted. Mount McKinley's North Peak is over 19000 feet and it's South Peak is over 20000 feet.
Also, at one of our stops, we met some other people who had also stopped and we traded photography services.
Kathryn and I have proof were on the trip together!
