Stony Hill Overlook

We had the best luck today with the weather and wildlife sightings. There’s a thing here called the 30% club, meaning that only 30% of the time visitors are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Denali. The other 70% of the time it is obscured by clouds. Today it was 100% visible all day, putting us in what our guide called the 10% club.

Our narrated bus tour took us about 60 miles into the park. Private vehicles can only travel 15 miles into the park, so it was a great way to go. Our driver and many of our fellow passengers were great at spotting critters out the windows. Then driver Joe would maneuver the bus into a good angle for photos. There were only a few animals on our wish list that we didn’t see (the elusive wolf, lynx and fox). But we saw so many more we weren’t expecting to see. Lucky us!

Animals sightings today: Snowshoe hare, caribou (several sightings), two different moose sightings, two different brown bears (grizzly), a fairly rare gray pika, ravens, magpies, Arctic ground squirrels (look like prairie dogs), and a couple of different Dall sheep. Yay for us!Read more