Day 95: Denali National Park

July 18, 2014

This morning we woke to rain as predicted. However, it was fairly light and didn't last long. When we called home, someone said - “Y'all have had a lot of rain.” And yes, it seems we have. However, we have had some gorgeous days as well. It has truly been an amazing trip, so far. Most of the day we had some sunshine with broken clouds. Not nearly as bad as forecast. Hopefully, tomorrow will be similar.

We grabbed some protein bars and headed into the park. Shortly after leaving the campground we came upon two large bull moose. They crossed the road in front of us. Pretty awesome.

 

We then drove on out to the end of the road to Savage River – such a pretty drive. There we did the loop hike again and this time there were 2 caribou – nice racks on both. One of them had a collar with radio transmitter. They track the herds and the migrations with these collars. They walked pretty close to us today. 

 

 

We were told there were 2 grizzlies in the area yesterday, but we didn't see any today. On the way back to the campground for brunch we did see a moose cow with twin calves. So cute! One baby walked out into the road – stood in front of the truck and looked at us for a while then walked back to its mamma. It seemed quite curious about us. Hopefully, it will learn to stay within the confines of the park so it will remain safe.

After brunch we took Scout on a nice hike. He really enjoys his hikes and attention he is getting as we travel. Everyone wants to pet him and tells him how good he is.

We had an early dinner at the Denali Salmon Bake – a locally owned business right outside of the park. They advertise on some vans and on the web a “surf and turf” with salmon, halibut and a petite filet. That was what we ordered. Guess what? They pulled that from the menu this year. Just haven't changed their web site or repainted the vans. Boooo! So we just had surf and surf . We shared a cedar plank salmon dinner with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled veggies and halibut tacos. They were both very good and we are now so full we couldn't eat anything else, so we are going to the Mercantile and have huckleberry ice cream for dessert while we try to get the blog posted.

Someone at home, who wished to remain anonymous, asked to see pictures of outhouses at Denali National Park. So, here they are, Debra. Enjoy!

 

 

Have a great weekend.!