Denali National Park

Unfortunately I managed to catch the flu while is Seward.  After getting drugs from a walk in clinic in Wasilla I went to the Teklanika campground inside Denali National Park.  The god's then took pity on me for as I started to feel better the sun camp out with great blue skies.  Most people, about nine out of ten, visiting the park don't get to see Denail.  Lucky me, I had about a week of great weather 

Denali from my bicycle ride to Wonder Lake.  

When I was in the park two years ago, my daughter, Christine, was with me.  One of the hikes we took was along this river bed.  This year the area was closed because some wolves had taken down a caribou.
A pair of grizzly bears drove off the wolves and claimed the caribou for themselves.  

Another hike we did two years ago was along Polychrome Ridge.  This year I convince two couples to join me since I knew how to get up and down.  The views from the top of the ridge are something else.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any wildlife.

On the way down we came across this recent kill site.  So maybe it was a good thing that we didn't see wildlife, especially the large brown fury kind.

I feel sorry for the folks who make it all the way to the park and don't get to see the mountain.  This view is from a point near where the tour buses turn around.  The shuttle buses go much further into the park, at least as far as the Eielson Visitor Center, another 5 miles or so down that road from this point.

You can't drive you own vehicle into the park.  The an exception is a few times a year professional photographers can drive the park road.  The photographer's permits are extremely hard to get.  Another exception is campers at the Teklanika Campground who can drive to the campground but then must take the shuttle buses.  It's a good deal since you only have to pay for one ride but can ride as many times as you want.  Another good way to get around is by bicycle.  This couple, Ben and Kelly, also have a View motorhome and were camped next to me.  We had a few adventures together.  They also were gratuitous enough to feed me dinner a few times.  

 One of the adventures we had was a hike up this river bed.  It was pretty exciting at the beginning.  As we looked back, we could see the shuttle buses stopping on the road and bridge watching a bear.  From the way the buses were moving we could tell that the bear was coming our direction.  We continued a few more miles up the river and, fortunately, never did see the bear.

One day I also rode my bicycle on the road back to the campground.  This view is from the road on the side of Polychrome Ridge.  There are a few sections of the road where hillside is much steeper than what you see here.  One bus driver commented "This section of road can be really scary if your afraid of heights, so don't look down or better yet, close your eyes.... like I do".  I wonder if she's still working.

Along the ride I saw this caribou on a ridge way off in the distance.

 I rode about 30 miles over two passes.  The climb up to Sable Pass about did me in.  My reward was that it was pretty much all down hill from  here to the campground.  

My last few days in the part were pretty much rainy.  I wasn't much interested in hiking as my old hiking boots, Goretex lined, were no longer waterproof.  Hiking in Denali requires a lot of walking on tundra and low brush which mean your boots get soaked, and your feet, if the boots aren't waterproof.  

One day, since it was raining, I figured I'd just ride the shuttle and maybe take some wildlife pictures.  Not only did we not see any wildlife, we didn't see anything.  The muddy roads turned the windows on the bus to a muddy brown.  At the rest stops we would clean the windows, but within just a mile or two, you couldn't see out of them again.  Note:  If your in Denali, and it's raining, don't even bother to take a shuttle or tour bus.  

In fact, because of the rain, I left a day early, which, as it turned out, was fortunate, as I was able to attend an evening concert by the Fairbanks Orchestra in the parks visitor center by the entrance.