Grizzly Bear-----------------------------------------------------------------Dall Sheep 
----Pete, Leslie, Myself and Larry ----------------------FOX -----------------The AMAZING Mt McKinley!
Tuesday August 3, 2010. We all hauled it out of bed early this morning as we had to be at Denali to catch our shuttle at 6:45am. Pete was not feeling well last night and again this morning. He suffers with cluster headaches so I wasn't sure he and Leslie would make it on the trip this morning. They went to one of the gift shops before we left and got some Excedrin for Pete. We packed lunches and made it in plenty of time for our bus.
We all boarded the bus for our trip to Mt McKinley and Wonder Lake. The sun was shinning and it was very clear this morning. As we headed toward the mountains we began to see wildlife. Tom, the bus driver, gave us a narrative about different areas and told us each time we saw wildlife to yell 'stop'. For about the first 30 miles there was a lot of sightings and each time someone yelled, he would pull over to the side of the road so we could all see and take our pictures. During the day we had multiple sightings of moose, many grizzly bears, golden eagles, a wolf, several dall sheep and many caribou. Someone on the bus saw a red fox but it ran out of sight before many were able to see it. The further we drove the more mountainous it became and literally out of the clear blue sky appeared Mt McKinley in all it's glory. Since we had absolutely clear skies, we could clearly see the whole mountain this morning, which is rather unusual. What a beautiful sight as the entire mountain was covered with snow, so against the sunny sky it really stood out for all to see. At one point of our trip we were within 30 miles of Mt McKinley, which is as close as you can get by vehicle. From the point of the first sighting of Mt McKinley we could see it off and on many times during the day.
The day became very warm and we rode most of the way up and back with the windows of the bus wide open. The bus stopped at various spots for us to get off and stretch throughout the day. We also made a longer stop when we got to the end of the route at Wonder Lake and most of us ate our lunch at that point. Pete and Leslie found blueberry's right away and picked several and brought them to Larry and I. There were also cranberry's growing up at Wonder Lake but they were not ripe enough to eat.
During the trip we saw so many variations of vegetation, wildflowers and the terrain was different with each hill and curve. At several points during the day the road became so narrow and the drop offs so deep, I was amazed a bus could travel on the road without falling off the side of the mountain. Besides the drop offs, at certain points, the buses had to meet and navigate past each other on the roadway. If you happened to be setting on the side of the bus that was driving on the down side of the mountain, it was best to just not look down. Larry commented that the road just looked like it would just fall away from the weight of the tires.
We traveled the entire day in the shuttle bus, which is a school bus painted green. No great comforts were to be had and by the time we arrived back at the end of the day we were exhausted. Pete and Leslie talked to Mike, our driver, about the best places for hiking. The first place was on the ride up and the hike was to be guided by a park ranger. Before they ever left for the hike it was cancelled because they sighted two grizzly bear up near the trail they were to hike. On the way back Mike told them where they could get off the bus to hike. They both got off the bus we had hardly driven any distance when someone sighted another grizzly. I was worried about them hiking alone because not only the bear but many of the other wildlife are dangerous if surprised by hikers. When we got off the bus for the day, I asked Mike how many miles the trip was and he said it is 86 miles one way so we actually traveled 172 miles. We did not arrive back at the park station until 6:00pm so we spent the entire day making the trip. We all agreed we were glad we made the long trip to Wonder Lake but one time is enough. If we ever return, we will take a much shorter shuttle ride and the last hour driving up was not really so amazing.
Larry and I retrieved the car and drove the short distance back to Denali Village and he suggested we go back to The Prospector Restaurant for dinner. We just ordered their Cheddar Soup and a salad. By the time we got back to RV Pete called and said they were ready to be picked up at the park. They hiked a distance and then boarded another shuttle back to the park office where we boarded the shuttle this morning.
The water here at the campground is horrible. We made coffee a couple of times with it and there is so much scum on it we cannot drink. Leslie and I went to the General Store and I bought 4 large bottles of water, a small bottle of vinegar(to clean the coffee pot) and a small coffee creamer for $17.45. WHAT A RIP! We needed a few other items but will do without until we arrive back in Anchorage. These people fleece everyone to make a buck while the sun is shinning I guess! Won't be long until their winter begins. Tom said today that fall will start about the 3rd week of August and a month later their winter begins.
The campground where we are parked is just a large parking lot. It is nothing but a dust bowl and the motor home and car are so covered with dust it hard to tell what color they are. We are literally backed in behind all of the gift shops and such here in Denali Village. There is a coffee house right behind us and they party all night long. Of course they have the windows and doors wide open for all to hear the talk and laughter. This is a lively place as there are so many hikers and they all love to congregate at the coffee house to tell their story's of their day, I assume!
It is almost midnight here and finally the sky is starting to darken. I read in the paper yesterday that the daylight hours have shortened to 17 hours and 20 some minutes. This has decreased about 2 hours since we arrived in Alaska. I am still having a hard time getting to bed at night because of the daylight. I just took a handful of Ibuprofen to try to loosen up as I am so stiff from setting on the buss all day. I should sleep very good tonight!
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