Denali

Denali is a huge place to visit.  The park is restricted to where you can go on your own and where you have to go by bus tour.

The day we were there it was over cast and cloudy.  We saw the park through a continuing thickening cloud.  As we traveled on the bus and the altitude increased we became engulfed in a cloud; so much so that Mt McKinley was no where to be found.

The glaciers that worked their way through Denali left what are called 'braided rivers'. 

We also saw a fox  having a merry time.

Caribou grazing in the river land

The Alaska state bird watching over it all

and lots of Dall Sheep.
Denali was first established to protect the Dall Sheep.


BUT  the best part was the' thrilling' bus ride.  The road through the park is gravel, narrow and snakes it way along the edge of everything.  When a bus approaches from the opposite direction, one bus must stop while the other passes.

The picture above shows the thrill  our bus driver loved to take I think to scare us to death.  He would drive right out to the edge and them make sharp left or right turns so you had the feeling you were going right off the edge.

 
You know, Denali is a beautiful park but one that is difficult to feel you are a part of and not just a spectator passing through.