Denali, Moose and Bear, Oh My!

In Anchorage we rented a car and drove about five hours to Denali Park, a national park with 600 million acres of protected land. We stayed at this "quaint" little place in an effort to escape the most annoying of the tourists. The view was beautiful, of a lake, mountain and trees and the first night we were there, a female moose and her baby strolled past our window! They are huge and look like awkward horses with a weird thing hanging off their bottom jaw (see photos).

Beyond the view, the place was a bit creepy, had to go on a dirt road, past the guys drinking beer and renting ATVs and beyond all the trucks and buses that were parked but didn't actually run, to get to this place. In separate comments, we all remarked that it seemed like the kind of place where you would be murdered while you slept. It was cool seeing the plane take off and land from the lake though, and you can't beat the local liquor store (apparently there isn't much to do there BUT drink)

At Denali park we went for a gruelling 7+ hour bus ride (yes you read that right) and saw some amazing things while blocking out the constant exclamations of people seeing squirrels for the first time. We learned what to do when you see a bear, unfortunately it differs greatly depending on if it's a grizzly bear or a black bear so first you have to know how to identify them (ummmm....). Luckily, from the confines of the bus we saw a female grizzly bear and her two cubs (!) followed by another female bear and her two cubs. Did you know that male bears will kill the cubs to get the females.... "attention"? Explains that maternal instinct! We also saw caribou, a baby wolf wandering across the road and a clear view of Mount McKinley. Apparently only 20% of visitors get to see it's peak. At 20,000+ feet it is so tall and massive that it creates its own climate and the peak is covered in clouds most of the year. So with views of every kind of wildlife you could ask to see, and the 70-80 degree weather we've had on this trip and not a drop of rain, we feel pretty lucky!

The photos again: http://web.me.com/marisg321/Alaska