kantishna experience

denali national park and preserve, alaska

the rain began falling the previous day, and was steadily coming down when we boarded our bus for the kantishna experience, an eleven to twelve hour, ninety two mile each way, trip to the end of the park. there are no private vehicles allowed in denali (beyond the first fifteen miles), and only one mostly unpaved road leads into the heart of the park's 6 million acres, so making reservations on the bus is the only way to experience it....

except for stops at rest stations along the park road, this is travel through a land without modern conveniences or fences to separate visitors from the natural world. we are passing through a taiga forest, white spruce and black spruce grow here

shortly after entering the park we saw our first moose!! joe, our driver/ranger/guide said moose love to dine on willow, a favorite food. luckily 23 different varieties grow here. did you know the word 'moose' comes from an indian word that means 'twig eater' ?

the road followed the contours of the mountain and river valleys, the alaska range in the distance.

grizzly! this beautiful bear was spotted far off, looking quite formidable though even at this distance! it was our job to watch for wildlife, joe's job was to watch the wild and rugged road

'dirty glaciers'

toklat river rest stop. here is our ride, a bus with drop down windows for good views and for taking photos. we were glad to have heeded the advice to bring layers for warmth and rain gear for wet weather

lindy and lori in alaska!

 the previous day a hiker was killed by a grizzly, a few miles up the toklat river. a terrible tragedy for the man and the bear who had to be killed also. this was the first fatality in denali's almost 100 year history

 grizzly again!

 hello! seeing a grizzly bear from the safety of our bus was a thrill

 he walked on the road for a while, then crossed to the tundra, unconcerned with us

it felt like being on safari, looking for wildlife. in the background of this photo is one of the many rivers we crossed

thank you for showing us your beautiful self mr. bear

 dall sheep

caribou

 eielson visitor center trail

at eielson there were short loop trails to explore, and on a clear day views of mt. mckinley, or denali as the locals call it. we chose to do our visiting inside for two reasons, it was very cold and we'd only just seen two grizzly bears...

 a spectacular photo of denali

 the interactive map showed the various routes mountain climbers take up mt. mckinley, denali

although the summit of denali is only 33 miles away, there was no viewing it today, with clouds and rain and fog covering it

a stunning work of art at the center, a handmade quilt of denali

 shortly after boarding the bus we saw another thrilling sight! can you spot it? hint, there are three...

bears! a mama grizzly and her cubs!

even though these photos were taken with a telephoto lens, and we were far away, the cubs knew our bus was there and were skittish

 they ran to catch up with unconcerned mama

 we watched them forage

 and they watched us. hee hee. and they climbed higher and higher up the ridge, towards us!

 now it was time to switch lenses, they were very close

 there was no sound at all on the bus

 shhh...

 hee hee, quietly thrilled were we

 at this moment, the bears came on the road right in front of us

 mama gracefully gathered her curious cubs and led them back onto the tundra

 where they went back to doing what they do best, grazing and looking spectacular

the weather began to change, quite suddenly

the sun came out in spots throughout the preserve. after mile 66 and before mile 85 we came upon many ponds dotting the tundra. i searched for beavers, muskrat and alaskas only amphibian, the wood frog. this time (i hope to come back!) i saw only waterfowl

nearing mile 85, joe pulled the bus off the road and stopped the engine. he spoke quietly telling us if we sit patiently and look where he was pointing, we would see a rare sight. as if watching a time lapsed film, we watched a furious wind blow huge clouds off the alaska range, revealing mt. mckinley, north americas highest peak. when i learned i was coming to alaska, the one thing i'd heard was 'hope you see it!' mt. mckinley ~ denali, supposedly shows itself 30% of the time. because of it's height, 20,230 it produces it's own weather

 it was awe inspiring

the first true accent was in 1913, and the first man to reach the summit was walter harper. the mountain is regularly climbed today, with just 58% of climbers reaching the top taking typically 2-4 weeks to ascend the mountain

  my sister and i said silent prayers of thanks to have the privilege to see this incredible sight

mile 85 wonderlake with spectacular denali revealed and shimmering in the sun

we made it! 92.3 miles to kantishna and the end of the road. at wonder lake we unboarded the bus and hiked with a ranger to this spot, while learning about the historic area we were in. keith, the kantishna ranger thought i needed a photo with this sign

 we visited an original settlers cabin,  pioneers fannie quigley and her husband joe

 fannie quigley

 joe and fannie and friends

leaving kantishna and moose creek valley now, feeling reflective and curious about the early settlers who staked claims during the gold rush, can you imagine how life was for them then? on the way back, denali began to slowly cloud up again

caribou! 

and caribou buttons, these and the wool pictured here were found in denali, near our lodge. did i already say alaska has the best yarn shops?!

joe is showing us soapberries. they are a favorite of bears. he said they have a strong taste, he asked would anyone like to sample them? my sister lindy did. i took a photo of her eating them, but i think she would be mad at me if i showed you that. they were definitely strong and she made a face. hee hee.

 an arctic ground squirrel

on our return, we stopped at the polochrome pass lookout (the guide book says visitors who are afraid of heights should sit on the north side of the bus. the narrow road climbs up through tortuous turns to this rest area, built intentionally to take advantage of the spectacular views) this time i did take the trail above the lookout, joe said there may still be a few summer wildflowers growing

 i found this tiny blue one

and this, i wonder what it will become?

  it was exciting to get an up close look at the tundra we'd been driving by

on our way back

 with noses pressed to the window, we didn't want to miss a thing

joe explained that autumn was fleeting here in denali, the first snow fall is on the way soon. we are at the end of the season, in another few weeks the park will be closed until next year

seeing these moose on our way out was a perfect ending to a spectacular, memorable day. it's been said that to enter the wilderness is to revitalize our inner selves. i believe.

it happens that while i was traveling, my blog celebrated it's four year anniversary. the best way for me to describe how i feel about this is, just as nature feeds my soul, blogging, meaning you dear friends, fill my heart and life with endless joy. thank you so much. i looked for something in alaska to giveaway, to celebrate this occasion...

and i found these:  one skein of homespun 100% merino wool, made by subarctic spinners in denali park alaska. the wool is 2 1/4 oz, a bulky weight. there are 6 buttons, a lovely natural shade, made of caribou by ulu maker. and a small sample of qiviut, the ultra luxurious fiber from the arctic musk ox. if you would like to win please leave a comment on this post letting me know. a name will be chosen by random number generator on sunday october 21st. thank you and good luck!

thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post, the winner of knitting 24/7 ebook is anke of 'our little piece of heaven'. congratulations anke!  please email me at lorix5@hotmail.com and i'll get your copy to you. i hope you'll enjoy!


thank you so much for coming along on this alaskan adventure, it's truly a pleasure to share, we're heading to the cruise ship and glaciers next!
xxx lori