Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour

Early morning! We set the alarm for 5 so we could drive out to the Denali Bus depot...for some reason they can not pick up at the campground, which is 15 miles inside the park on the one and only road in the park. Almost missed the bus, we went to the visitor center instead, and after wondering why there was no one around remembered the bus depot was in a different location. RAN to the RV, drove another 5 minutes up the road, and successfully caught our bus! These buses are filled, so we had to catch our tour or else wait for later openings, if any!

Great drive! (62 miles one way on a gravel road) The views are huge, and the weather was pretty cooperative. Got one or two glimpses of Denali on the tour. You stop several times to "stretch your legs" and they share a lot of info about the park history, life in the park, and wildlife. We didnt get to see many animals, only a handful of caribou, coyote, glimpse of a bear running away, Dall sheep (way up the mountain), ptarmigan, and artic squirrels. The guide thinks it is because this has been a really warm summer and they are a little higher up....Finally on the way back, only about 5 miles from the start of the drive, we got a look at a moose that was pretty close to the road! Even without the animals the drive is beautiful!

After the tour were headed back into the.park to our campsite. Tom and I decided we needed to stretch our legs a little more so we took Auggie and took a walk through camp. As we drew near one of the sites someone spoke up and told us "dont move". We froze, and as we waited, out of the bushes stepped a big bull moose! We grabbed our phones as quick as we could for photos. He was big, and completely oblivious to us and Auggie! He moved almost soundlessly. I would guess he was maybe 25 yards away from us! Beautiful! Just a thrill to get to see him, as he simply crossed the road and went into the forest. Oddly enough Auggie was disinterested, as if he was so big, that Auggie didnt relate to him as a dog or animal?

Back to camp with lots of smiles and we enjoyed the end of the day!Read more