The Great Alaskan RV Adventure 3 (2016): Photos and Stories From Denali National Park

Trying to recap four glorious days (over 45 hours total) is a bit daunting. Initially I thought writing this way, rather than on a daily basis, would be easier. Now I'm into just my third entry in this blog and I'm stumbling with where to start.

I suppose I should reiterate that it rained every day we were in Alaska . . . often two or three times a day! Some days and in some parts of the park, the clouds were very low making visibility nearly non-existent. We even experienced a decent burst of snow showers around the Eielson bluffs and visitor center late one afternoon.

So to answer what is typically the first question asked, no we did not see Mt. Denali on this trip. I should step back and let folks know that this past year, the former Mt. McKinley was given its rightful native name DENALI . . . the Great One! The photo above is from my September 2011 Road Lottery weekend in the park. I was fortunate to see "the mountain" on four of the five days spent inside the park. When it is fully out from top to bottom with barely a cloud in the sky, it is an amazing sight. I feel my photo, as good as it may be, still doesn't do it justice.

As I mentioned previously, most of the wildlife we saw was pretty far away from the shuttle bus. Taking photos was something like this . . .can you even see the momma grizzly bear and her two first year cubs nursing on the hillside? This photo is pretty much straight off of my camera, shooting at 300mm, about 500 yards away!

The photo below is made possible by software similar to Photoshop. I've had to take some creative liberties to sharpen the image a little, then cropping the subject matter.

The next day, this bear family was down lower and closer to the road . . . probably only 200 yards away. But unfortunately, they were across the river and it was raining pretty good. Shooting through the window of the shuttle bus with its engine idling, I was able to get this photo (which has also been edited for sharpness and cropped).

Of the four days on the shuttle, we only saw them twice out of the eight possible trips through their home area. When you stop to think about the vastness of a place like Denali National Park, you soon realize that to be blessed with such an opportunity is really a gift . . . one I do not take for granted.

We did see grizzly bears each day while riding the shuttle bus. One of the closest viewings was late in the day the first day there. A beautiful large bear was feasting on a ridge about 50 yards above the road in an area well known for bears. As he ambled around, he decided to take a closer look at us. He made his way all the way to overlook the road, then came down the slope and onto the road beside us!

Unfortunately for me and pretty much everyone on our side of the bus, we were in the wrong place on the wrong side of the bus, to take photos. Even worse, the people on the "correct" side of the bus were standing and blocking the view so after a couple of minutes, we couldn't see a thing. This is the best photo I got of him, when he was still pretty far away.

But as it would turn out, I had an opportunity for a teachable moment with about 10 total strangers! Shortly after this bear, we happened upon a small group of Dall Sheep rams. They were much further away than this bear, but their profiles were beautiful atop the hillside where they were grazing. This sighting was on our side of the bus and rather than be an ass about it, I took a few photos and then step out and aside, offering my viewing position to those on the other side so that they too could see and take photos of the four rams. My photos weren't the best as it was getting very late in the evening and light was fading deep behind the mountains. But I enjoyed being a nice person to others who not 15 minutes before, were totally oblivious about sharing the space so that we might have an opportunity to take some close-up photos too.

Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time and one morning we experienced what I like to call a "National Geographic" moment. The place in time when something wild happens that probably happens frequently but out of the range of human sight. National Geographic Magazine has made it their business to go out and capture such moments on film, either in stills or video. I've been around such occurrences personally maybe half a dozen times in my lifetime . . . the howling wolves in Yellowstone National Park hunting bison calves . . . a cheetah stalking and killing a gazelle in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania . . . and on this trip, watching a large mature boar (male grizzly bear) chase a much younger female bear in hopes of mating with her!

The day prior, we saw what appeared to be a small sub-adult bear scamper across the braided river below as if running for their life. Several times the bear looked back over its shoulder, but kept on hustling until it was well out of our line of view.

As we came down across the East Fork River we saw a large bear walking down along the rocky river braids. It was walking from our left to right. Then someone in the front of the bus noticed there was a bear grazing on what appeared to be an island with soapberry bushes, a favorite of the Denali bears. Our driver said that these two bears would probably just peacefully co-exist in the area as there were plenty of bushes and berries to go around for everyone.

But not so fast! When the approaching bear got to within 20 or 30 yards of the feeding bear, the chase was on. The bear that had been eating was about two-thirds of the size of the aggressor. At one point in the chase, it appeared the male bear was going to catch the smaller, younger bear. But as the chase continued, the older guy ran out of steam and the younger one put more distance between them before scampering away out of sight. Here is just a few of the photos I took during their little chase.

Later it was speculated that this was a ritual of mating and that the female wasn't ready to accept the amorous advances by the older male. Rangers at the Toklat Visitor Center confirmed he had been in the area and attempting to gain the attention of a sow down along the river.

Looking at photos I took in the area a couple of days later, I caught what appears to be the same large male near the Polychrome Overlook. He really is a large and beautiful animal with very dark fur on his legs. He walked along the ravine below us, for about 10 minutes.

But enough about the bears!

We also saw a lot of caribou. Several groups of males were together throughout the areas between Toklat and Eielson; mostly at Highway Pass and over to Stony Dome Overlook. On one afternoon we saw an entire herd of them; our driver estimated to be "hundreds" but way too far way to attempt photographing. Most were seeing them through spotting scopes or binoculars.

While in Alaska, it is a normal expectation to see moose. Heck, they are often seen in urban areas including neighborhoods in Anchorage and Fairbanks. We were very disappointed to not see any of the large mammals during our 2014 Great Alaskan RV Adventure. This year's trip made up for that, however. We saw a very large bull moose out on the tundra heading out towards Wonder Lake in an area that often is bare and void of wildlife.

We also saw a tall cow as we headed out of the park in the area where private vehicles are allowed to drive (around MM 10). She was grazing along the southside of the Park Road enjoying scrubby willow bushes as shuttle and tour buses stopped to observe and photograph her. That was our first cue, something of interest was happening up ahead of us.

Fortunately, she continued to eat before deciding she wanted to go to the other side of the road. With all traffic stopped, including us, she strolled right in front of The Beast and then proceeded to eat stuff on the northside to our left. Thank you Miss Moose for gracing us with your presence!

Perhaps the best moose viewing we had was right in the middle of the Riley Merchantile area near the park entrance. I was doing some Facebook posting and work email when the gal sharing my picnic table came over and said "Psst . . . there's a moose and calf right around the building over there." I had to go over to the motorhome to get my camera since I wanted a better photo than the one I snapped and immediately posted on Facebook.

There is far more to Denali National Park than the animals and a mountain however. When the weather permitted, I took a few photos of the lovely flowers that were in full bloom throughout the park. Here is a sample of the colors seen during the summertime in Alaska.