Day 16: Denali National Park, Alaska

We used this day for exploring Denali. It is quite different from Yellowstone. Yellowstone is overrun with tourists and you can pretty much drive wherever you want. In Denali, you are only permitted to drive in 15 miles and if you want to see more, you have to take a bus. Mom and Dad advised against this, since they had done it before. The ride is three hours in each direction to see wildlife, and Mom said it is often like, “See that white speck way out there? That’s a stone sheep!” We decided this was not an effective use of our time, so we drove to mile 15 and turned around. Just as we got there, we spotted several caribou down in a marshy valley. Dad was excited to see caribou in the wild. He was keeping track of all the animals he hoped to see. Next was the mother moose that was said to be roaming the campground with her twin calves (we never saw them, unfortunately) and had been aggressive towards several campers. He also hoped to see some bald eagles.

Wild caribou

We drove back to the visitor center and explored some of the exhibits while killing time before taking a shuttle to see a sled dog demonstration. Denali raises huskies, which it uses in the winter for various purposes around the park. They use them because of the smaller carbon footprint they provide and because the mushers are a tradition in the park since its inception. We were allowed to interact with the couple dozen dogs they have. Many were friendly and happy to have attention. Then we had to take seats to see the demonstration. The dogs are pretty relaxed until they find out it’s time to mush. Then they all get excited, jumping and howling, hoping to be chosen to pull the sled. The mushers selected five dogs to pull a sled and they zoomed around and ended up in front of the audience. A ranger taught us about the pups and answered some questions. Then were allowed to interact with the dogs some more before leaving. Desmond was more interested in the 24-hour clock in the office, I think, but suggested the name Winter for one of the new puppies. I thought that was a good suggestion, and surprised he made that connection to the area, since it was so warm outside.

Making friends

Learning the art of mushing

Huskie memorial

We took the shuttle back and headed to the Science and Nature Center, where Desmond impressed the ranger with his interest and understanding of the skeletons, puzzles, and stuffed animals of local birds. Afterwards, we grabbed some ice cream from the Mercantile and took turns showering. Once again, we had to pay to use a national parks shower. $4.50 seemed a bit steep, but the site itself was a bargain ($14, I think), since Dad is a senior and member of the parks.

Hangin' with the ranger

"I'm totally not sleeping tonight," - Trudy

It's dusk at 2 a.m. I'm wide awake.

That night, Trudy didn’t sleep well, which was generally the case in Alaska. She woke up a lot and I nursed her a lot. I wondered if it was the extra light that came in. I wonder if Alaskan moms put blackout curtains on their baby registries?