6:30AM was shower time and without breakfast or coffee we drove straight to the Wilderness Access Centre at Denali National Park to catch our 8-9 hour bus tour through the park. Thank God there was coffee available at the centre.

The weather was rainy with low clouds which made us fear that we wouldn’t see much of the natural beauty or animals, but those turned out to be unfounded.

Brian Burnett was our more than competent driver and guide. He has been driving as a guide in Denali for 27 years and had a vast knowledge of the history of the park, the people, the climate and above all, of the animals.

Speaking of animals, we did not see a moose but we had seen two a couple of days ago right beside the highway. We did however see quite a number of animals, starting small with the state bird of Alaska, the modest Ptarmigan. This was followed by witty, charming and curious Arctic Squirrel.

For a while nothing happened until we were able to a see a couple of white dots on the side of a mountain slope. We were told they were Dall Sheep but they were too far away to be photographed.

Now it became more exciting. As we turned a corner we were waved down by a surveying team who pointed down the road. As we approached, right in front of us we saw a mother grizzly bear frantically digging and pawing her cub out of the way. What was she looking for? We never found out, but a few minutes later, a second cub appeared from the other side of the road. Happily, mother bear and her two cubs were reunited.

Constantly scanning the landscape for more animals paid off and we found a herd of caribou on a hill.

At the end of the day we saw another single caribou with a great rack.

We had been so disappointed that the weather was rainy when we left but this accentuated the landscape and put the mountains into a wonderful mysterious fog.

By the afternoon the clouds and mist had lifted somewhat and the gorgeous colors of the landscape were more visible.

The road into Denali Part is mostly gravel and the hairpin turns are very tight and so narrow that two vehicles cannot pass each other. Access on this road is limited to the buses and very few private vehicles that are given passes to camp in the park.

We had frequent stops at viewpoints and rest stops. At the Eielson Visitor Centre we were pleasantly surprised by a youth orchestra playing rock music with classical instruments.

After 8 or 9 hours on the bus we were ready for an afternoon nap. This was followed by dinner at the picnic table outside, a stroll through town visiting the shops and an ice cream dessert.