a view of the Alaska Range
a nest of hungry raven
a caribou in the taiga
a wolf patrols a little pool
unless you mount wheels to the sled, it keeps the dogs fit and the ranger happy
ma grizzly is in her prime
in 1993 we were lucky, a grizzly with her two cubs came down the mountain close to our bus
far on the distant mountain slope we spot two grizzly bears
the Toklat River area
a snow hare in the bushes
In 1917 Mount McKinley National Park was created, named after the highest peak in North America.
The
park is centered around the 6 km high mountain, now also called
Denali.
The landscape is very diverse with taiga,
tundra, rivers, bare rocks, glaciers and a huge snow-capped mountain, leading to an also very diverse wildlife from small critters
to foxes, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, wolf, black bear to to grizzly bear.
You cannot drive the 150 km long
Denali
Park Road yourself but there are shuttle buses and guided tours that will bring you deep into the park.
Sightings of caribou
and moose are frequent but you have to be lucky to get a close encounter with Ma Grizzly and her cubs like we had in June 1993.
We
returned in June 2007 and at that occasion spotted a wolf.
there is wildlife everywhere, even at the Wilderness Access Center where we wait for the bus
in summer this means of transportation does not work
a moose checks out our bus
the polychrome mountains
finally she leads her cubs away
a Dall sheep resting on the rocks