Weekend in Denali

All aboard the Denali Star.

Friday we took a train north a couple hundred miles to Denali National Park. It was a scenic trip and the mountains grew larger as we went. The train ride took most of the day. After checking into our cabins, we had supper in the small tourist area next to the park entrance.

At 6AM Saturday we headed out by bus into the Denali National Park. The first moose spotting was before we even got to the park entrance.  The vistas just kept getting better and better as we traveled on the dirt road deeper and deeper into the park and closer and closer to Denali (aka Mt. McKinley). We saw all kinds of wildlife, including grizzly's, moose, karibu and sheep. We stopped at various points to take pictures of Denali.

After 6 hours and 90 miles of dirt road, some of which was 4900 ft up on the edge of the mountains, we arrived just after noon at Kantishna. the farthest most point in the park. Here we ate lunch, panned for gold, and took short botany tours before boarding the bus for the long ride back out of the park. But we were rewarded with many big animal sitings, including bull moose and 10 grizzly bears including a pair of grizzly's disputing about a piece of territory, and a mom trying to get two cubs to leave her alone.

After a 13 hour day in the park we ate supper in the restaurants outside the park and headed back to our cabins for the night. Sunday morning we got to sleep in. We had devotions in a meeting room close to our cabins and enjoyed lunch while waiting for our 3PM charter bus ride back to Big Lake. After an afternoon on the bus highlighted by a clear shot of Denali from the south, we arrived back at Big Lake about 7:30. We had supper and devotions again and then turned in for the night.

Tim and Connie enjoying the scenery from the Dome Car as the train crosses a gorge.

Passing the south bound train.

Rounding a bend as we near Denali National Park.

View of some of our cabins as the train nears the station.

Salmon Bake for our first meal at Denali.

One of our cabins for the two nights we spent at Denali.

We saw this bull moose on the road by the cabins before we even entered the park.

Female moose.

One of the many breathtaking views inside Denali National Park.

Some of the many Dall sheep we saw high on the hills in the park.

Denali from the east with a scarf made out of clouds.

There is a reason they don't let just anyone drive these 90 miles inside the park.

One of many switchbacks carved on the edge of the mountains.  We were almost 5000 ft above sea level at one point.

Tim and Connie with our bus driver's wife soaking in the views.

Becca and Derek taking pictures at a scenic overlook.

Don and Ken taking pictures at one of the scenic vistas along the way.

Elk or Caribou in the valley.

First of ten grizzlys we saw that day.

We were 4-5 feet away from this beast. Fortunately we were safe inside the bus.

Denali (Mt. McKinley) from the north with just the peak shrouded in cloud.

Another moose

Kantishna from above as we started out decent to this lodge for lunch and to pan for gold.

Lunch is over and swatting mosquitoes until we could pan for gold.

Another Grizzly looking for berries.

Grizzly cubs wrestling.

Same cubs wrestling or making up.

Mama Grizzly with two cubs picking berries.

One more "bullwinkle" before we left the park after 13 hours.

Denali (McKinley) from the south.

A closer look at Denali from the south.