Denali

We had a mixed experience at Denali and area. Started out chilly in our campground 13 miles into the park. Took the 5 hour bus trip to Wonder lake and ran smack into mosquito ville. On with the head nets and bug spray. Nice little spot on an incline near the lake, should have been lovely but in turned out to be our rainiest day in 8 weeks! One night in the tent for Joe and I, not too bad, but poor Phil, wet, and failed air mattress, left him looking sad after spending the night trying to sleep in a gravel pit covered shelter covered with mosquitoes!

Regular attempts to see "the mountain", everyone looking, it is the big draw of course beside the wildlife. On the bus we saw 2 cute little short eared owl juveniles sitting in a pine tree, 2 grizzlies, a wolf, dall sheep on the hillside. The park was overwhelmed with a peak population of snowshoe hares, which means, there will be a peak in the lynx and wolf populations in the next few years. We also spotted some red fox pups playing, nice sight. A golden eagle roosting on the ground, a jaeger ( pronounced with a y), gulls, and sandpipers in the woods! And of course old Mr Raven follows us everywhere taking advantage of left overs. Everyday we see more and more wildflowers, so many varieties, such as blue bells, lupine, dogwood, fireweed, wild rose, ect., I am amazed at the numbers. We had the treat of watching a dog sledding demo with the rangers, including 6 husky pups. Huskies come in many different colors and types and are bred by their ability to lead, and good temperaments. Dog sleds are used exlusively for patrolling the park by rangers in winter, snow mobiles are prohibited.

Denali is enormous and mostly closed to tourists unless you backpack. Just a few days before we came 2 young women were lost in the park and finally found, following a braid ( rivers separating as a result of glacial runoff). One must really be prepared to venture out into this wilderness.

The day after rain comes the sun, and with it Mt McKinely, over 20,000 ft, which is very grand and quite exciting. Two more days of boon docking and we head back to Anchorage where we bid a farewell to Phil as he heads out to visit his cousin in Kotzebue, a remote area in the Arctic circle, we look forward to hearing about his travels.