We got up very early so we could board a Tundra and Wilderness Tour bus to take us sixty-two miles into Denali National Park.
It was a school bus, but with nicer seats and windows. It was a cool, cloudy, and showery day and the windows fogged a lot on the inside - bring a rag or little squeegee next time. Despite the rain, we saw a moose mother and calf only a few miles into the Park.
Then we saw some caribou up on a ridge.
There were only a few bathroom stops and one scenic overlook stop. This big valley with glaciers feeding the gravelly braided creeks was spectacular, but rain meant photographs could not even get close to capturing it.
We saw several more caribou in pairs or trios. While it was raining we caught this one shaking off.
Eventually we reached the overlook and turnaround. The tour guide had heard there was a bear sow with two cubs in this area. By the time we arrived they were climbing a distant ridge and were “bearly” visible through the rain and low-hanging clouds. I think this spot was intended to give us a view of the mountain, but we only saw clouds up the valley.
On the way back we spotted two bears crossing a small river. One crossed right away, the other seemed to be thinking about using the bridge, but a bus was stopped ahead of us on its side of the bridge, and we stopped on the other side, so the bear seemed unsure of what to do. We saw it first close to the other bus, then it made its way down and eventually across the river.
Our original plan after the bus ride was to take a short hike our tour guide had mentioned a couple miles down and around a nearby lake, but it was pouring rain and we were tired after an early morning followed by eight hours in a bus, so it was easy to just relax and play games for a while. The Schneider Weisse Tap 7 was tasty, a little darker in color than most hefeweizens, and with a little bit of ale flavor. Very nice, but I think Weihenstephaner still maintains my “best hefeweizen” award.
We’d made reservations at the King Salmon restaurant in the Princess resort next door. It is an upscale place with a three-crab special that my wife and the boys all ordered. My sister-in-law had halibut and I had a bacon-Gouda flatbread. We all split a couple of triple chocolate cake “mountains” for dessert.
