Then we set out to drive the Park Road (from Point A on the map below) out to Savage Creek (Point B) which is the end of the pavement. Most folks can't go past Savage Creek except on the bus. But when you make a reservation to camp at Teklanika for at least 3 nights you get a magic pass that allows you to drive your vehicle the 10 miles of gravel road to the campground. Once you arrive there, you can't move your vehicle again until you leave.
But the real good news is that you can buy a shuttle bus ticket that allows you to ride the bus from Teklanika (called Tek by even the rangers) further out into the park as many times as you want. This is a REAL deal both because it's a real money saver and because you're over an hour into the park so it cuts off 2 hours each day of bus ride (out and back).
Walter drove the paved section which of course was all dug up and we changed drivers at the checkpoint. The ranger asked us if we understood the rules, if we had food and water and empty sewage tanks and if we had our Tek passes for the bus. Having answered yes to all that and showed her our paperwork we were released to drive on (to Point C).
It was like having the park to ourselves. We were in a little traffic bubble where we didn't meet any buses and weren't overtaken by any either. We passed only one RV who was coming back from Tek in our 1/2 hour drive out there. Amazing.
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We stopped at a pull out at the Sanctuary River.
It was cool and cloudy but the views were still amazing.
The Teklanika Campground has two loops both of which had plenty of spots. Later in the season this place is full but not in late June it appears. We set up camp and had lunch and then went out for a walk.
We toured the campground and then went out along the Teklanika River. It's yet another of those braided rivers with broad sand and gravel bars.
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It turns out that the easiest hiking in Denali is along the riverbeds. There are very few trails and if you aren't following the river, you're crashing through the bushes. We found hiking on the gravel bars a bit challenging. It's not quite as bad as walking in sand but it's not easy footing. Hiking boots are definitely called for.
There were an amazing number of flowers growing on the sand bars and in the willow thickets along the river.
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| Dwarf Fireweed (Epilobium latifolium) |
Dwarf Fireweed (Epilobium latifolium) |
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| Siberian Aster (Aster sibricus) | Denseleaf Draba (Draba densiflora) |
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| Entire-leaf Avens (Dryas integrifolia) |
Entire-leaf Avens (Dryas integrifolia) |
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| Pendant-Pod Crazyweed (Oxytropis deflexa) |
Pendant-Pod Crazyweed (Oxytropis deflexa) |
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| Arctic Lousewort (Pedicularis arctica) |
Northern Oxytrope (Oxytropis viscida) |
The willows were in bloom too.
Best of all someone left a little love letter in a rock pile for us.
The next morning we got up early, had breakfast, made a picnic lunch, put on our DEET, and went out to wait for the shuttle bus at the Teklanika Bus Stop on the Park Road. We had a reservation on the 8:10 am bus because we'd heard that wildlife viewing was better earlier in the day. We were catching the equivalent of the 7 am bus from the Visitor's Center. It turns out that time of day really doesn't matter, especially when it's not sunny and hot, since it doesn't get dark in the summer. The animals are out when they're out and sleep when they sleep!
We'd also heard that you want to sit on the driver's side of the bus on the way out and on the other side coming back because the views are better that way. That was true. We were lucky enough to get a seat on the driver's side going out and we settled in for the ride.
Here's the drive from Teklanika to Eielson Visitor Center. You can only do this on a bus.
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The way the shuttles works is this. The driver drives along watching the road and the other buses. If he sees another bus slow down he slows down too and everyone looks to see what it is that made the bus stop. Your job as a passenger is to watch for wildlife. If you see something, you call out 'Bear' or 'Sheep' or 'Moose' and the driver stops.
At that point everyone starts to look and point. The buses are school style buses with windows that come down from the top. As soon as you spot something on your side of the bus, you stand up, pull the window down and start taking photos (or looking with your binoculars).
So here we go. Here's our first sighting. Sheep on the hillside! Can you see them? Look for the white dots.
That's about all you'll see if you don't have binoculars or a telephoto lens. Here's what the 10x zoom lens does for you.
Bear on the right! Can you find him? Look for a brown patch.
Of course his back was too us. If you're patient and take LOTS of photos you can actually get something besides a bear behind.
This is a grizzly bear. He's got a hump. He's called a grizzly because he's an inland bear as opposed to the same kind of bear we saw along the coast which was called a brown bear. Same bear but the coastal bears get much bigger because they have salmon to feed on. The bears in Denali mostly eat grasses, tubers and berries early in the season and hunt ground squirrels, sheep, moose and caribou later in the season.
We rattled along through the countryside and someone points, 'Sheep'. Way up on the hillside. Can you see them?
It's a pretty big flock!
We stopped at the Polychrome Pass for a rest stop. There's a nice viewpoint above the road with a wide view. The clouds were low but at least it wasn't raining.
There were lots of flowers in bloom on the hillside.
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| Arctic Sandwort (Minuartia austromontana) |
Arctic Sandwort (Minuartia austromontana) |
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| Lessing's Arnica (Arnica lessingii) | Lessing's Arnica (Arnica lessingii) |
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| Pink Plumes (Polygonun bistorta) |
We motored on enjoying the views until we reached the rest stop at the Toklat River. We could see sheep on the hillside but the bus driver wouldn't stop. That's because he was taking us down to the parking lot where we could get out and see them even better.
There were sheep up above the rest stop area. Well, there was a white dot anyway. There are big viewing binoculars at the rest stop and you could see him quite well.
He really was pretty far away.
On the other side of the river there were a few more.
Even with the zoom lens they barely look like sheep.
The Toklat River is yet another braided river with the broad valley created by a glacier grinding away.
They had moose and caribou antlers for folks to play with. Here's Walter with the caribou antlers.
There's actually a tent with a gift shop in it here. You can buy guide books and things like that. It's the only place on the whole bus trip where you can spend money.
We all piled back on the bus and continued on our way. The bus in front of us slowed down and we spied a bear. Can you find him?
He kept moving and in time the bus in front of us moved and we got a better view. I took a TON of photos of him and some came out really well.
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On a clear day the view from the patio at Eielson is supposed to be fabulous. It was cloudy so I took a photo of what the view can be and what it was. Denali is behind those clouds in the middle, or so they say.
Here's the view looking across the valley. Even with the clouds it was pretty marvelous.
They have a set of moose skulls mounted in front of the visitor's center to give you a sense of how big they get.
We wandered around inside the visitor's center and looked at the displays including this incredible quilt.
We decided we'd take the wildflower walk out in front of the visitor's center rather than taking the Alpine Trail which goes up above the visitor center because it was totally engulfed in clouds. Who needs to wander around in the fog when there are flowers to be had nearby?
It was raining lightly but we didn't get too wet and there were wonderful flowers.
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| Pink Plumes (Polygonun bistorta) | Alpine Milk-vetch (Astraglus alpinus) |
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| Capitate Valerian (Valeriana capitata) | Capitate Valerian (Valeriana capitata) |
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| Capitate Valerian (Valeriana capitata) | Prickly Saxifrage (Saxifraga tricuspidata) |
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| Northern Monkshood (Aconitum delphinifolium) |
Northern Monkshood (Aconitum delphinifolium) |
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| Northern Goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata) | Northern Goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata) |
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| Moss Campion (Silene acaulis) | Moss Campion (Silene acaulis) |
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| Rock Jasmine (Androsace chamaejasme) | Tall Wormwood (Artemisia tilesii) |
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| Long-podded sandwort (Minuartia macrocarpa) |
Long-podded sandwort (Minuartia macrocarpa) |
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| Capitate Lousewort (Pedicularis capitata) | Netted Willow (Salix reticulata) |
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| Black-tipped Goundsel (Senecio lugens) | Marsh Violet (Viola epipsela) |
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| Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) | Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) |
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| This year's Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) |
Last year's Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) |
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| Roseroot (Rhodiola integrifolia) | Roseroot (Rhodiola integrifolia) |
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| Narcissus Flowered Anemone (Anemone narcissiflora) |
Yellow-spotted saxifrage (Saxifraga bronchialis) |
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| Low-bush Cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) | Low-bush Cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) |
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| Mountain Harebell (Campanula lasiocarpa) | Lichen |
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| Cat's Paw (Antennaria monocephala ssp moncephala) |
Cat's Paw (Antennaria monocephala ssp moncephala) |
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| Tall Pussytoes (Antennaria-pulcherrima) |
Northern Green Bog Orchid (Planthera hyperborea) |
You could see the visitor's center really well from down below. The old visitor center that I saw back in 1967 looked a bit like a spaceship sitting out in the wilderness. This new one blends into the landscape beautifully. From the parking lot above you can hardly see it.
After our hike we went back into the Visitor's Center and had our lunch. After sitting a while we decided we were ready to go back.
The shuttle buses have a set layover of about 1/2-3/4 of an hour. But you can stay as long as you like and then put your name in to get on the next available bus back. So we put our name in for a bus seat and got seats on a bus that had been all the way out to Wonder Lake. They had left the entrance of the park at 6:00 am and folks were a bit sleepy after hours on the bus. They hadn't seen much wildlife at all. See what I mean? You don't have to get up early to see critters!
I grabbed one more view of the mountains at Eielson and we boarded the bus back towards Teklanika.
We hadn't been on the road long when someone yelled out 'Bear'! Can you see him?
Maybe I can help with my zoom lens.
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We saw a couple of more Dahl Sheep.
And I got a much better photo of part of the Polychrome Mountains now that the clouds had lifted a bit.
Then wonders of wonders someone spotted a caribou!
She was trotting along a ridge top.
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Here they up close.
And over all by himself on a rock there was a ram.
Everyone was getting sleepy by this point but the bus in front of us slowed down and the folks pulled the windows down and were pointing into the bushes right next to the road. When we pulled up what did we see? A grizzly asleep in amongst the willows. We were really quiet and he didn't wake up.
We got back to Teklanika at 3:30 pm so we'd been gone close to 8 hours. It was a long day but wonderful. Our original plan was to hike the next day but that was before we realized that there aren't any trails in Denali except at the entrance. They expect you to just get off the bus and set off cross country. That was a little more adventurous than we were up for in addition to the fact that the underbrush is REALLY thick so you have to plan on getting pretty wet.
So we decided we'd just take the bus out to Eielson again the next day and see what we could see. So in Part XIX we'll be taking you on the shuttle bus out to Eielson again and up the Alpine Trail for more flowers.