July 7, 2007
Rest Day in Denali National Park: bus tour to Wonder Lake
We have set the alarm for 4:15 to make our 5:30 tour bus departure.
Most of the Denali Park Road is closed to private vehicles, a bus tour is the only way to get to the end of the road at Wonder Lake in a vehicle. The ride is not all that cheap at almost 40 dollars a seat.
Rachel remembers a family trip in the 70's that also didn't allow private cars. Back then we had a view of Mt. McKinley from a distance, but by the time we reached Wonder Lake, it was so socked in that we didn't even know which direction to look for the mountain. We'll see if that is repeated today.
We leave at 5:30 for about an eleven hour round trip to Wonder Lake. First, we see some Dal sheep an all-white mountain sheep, then about 30 yards, a grizzly bear that seems to be burrowing around the bushes in search of ground squirrels. Wonder Lake is pretty, but so socked in that all we see is grey sky, no Mt. McKinley.
On the way back we see a moose, some caribou in the distance, a golden eagle, the same grizzly and more sheep. A long day but rewarding despite the weather. We are not even disappointed for not seeing McKinley because the chance of seeing it, this time of year and later in the day are just about zero. The best bet to see the mountain is to camp overnight at Wonder Lake to see it early morning.
We are not sorry that we didn't camp because of the weather and the mosquitoes.
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