On Friday, September 11, the second day of our three-day trip to Denali, we took the Eielson Visitor Center shuttle tour. It was the first time we’ve ever done this and though we enjoyed the tour, I now have complete and total appreciation for how valuable being able to go to Denali in our own vehicles during shoulder season is for us.
This is an eight hour bus ride. We were very lucky in that our bus was less than half-full, so we could each take a seat on one side of the bus to ensure we could see on both sides when animals were sighted. Due to my experience going to Denali this spring for shoulder season with my friend Susan and her teaching me about how and where to look, I was semi-adept at picking out wildlife and pointed out six of the eight bears and most of the sheep too.
In total we saw:
- Moose: two male, one female
- Caribou: three males
- Dall Sheep: six that were close enough o get half-way decent pictures, over a dozen other sighted at distances too far to capture with my 210mm lens
- Bears: eight total sighted, and I think I found another that no one saw when we were at Eielson! Scary since it seemed close too!
- Arctic ground squirrel: at least five or so, never got a good photo since they mostly scurried around the road when we were on the bus.
- Golden eagle: I swear I saw one, but my photo of it is so fuzzy it could be just about anything so I deleted it.
And so begins the journey…..
We tried to board the wrong bus. They all look the same from the back though!
First animal sighting, a bull moose.
Denali!
Three male caribou, resting just out of sight.
Denali!
Denali, again.
I should probably pick the best one, but I can’t decide!
Pretty sure there is sheep up there, but my zoom maxed out so I can’t be sure.
First bear, kind of far off but I noticed him!
That first bear ran around.
First bear was fun to watch run! Note how far away he really is…..
Two more bears, on the other side of the road this time.
They were even further away than the first bear, so fine details gets lost here. I NEED a longer lens!
Bear number four, also a runner. This should be a much better photo since Denali is in the background, but this is the best detail I can get. Drat!
This skinny road is where we drove. The drivers must have nerves of steel since we get very close to the edge on many occasions.
But the views were totally worth it.
We were allowed to get out and walk around at this point, but only for a mere 15 minutes. Next time I’ll be bus hopping for sure so I can get out and do more walking.
The views were breath-taking. It was also quite windy and cool up on this little lookout!
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We saw a few different groups on bikes. This person was drawing. I imagine this is an ideal place to sketch for an artist.
Look, more sheep!
A boy sheep. And yes, the sky really was that blue!
And a girl sheep.
Most sheep way up there.
September 11, Eielson Visitor Center. Half-staff in remembrance.
Stunning views.
Doing a small walk on our 40 minute rest, the longest break we had and it was still too short. Definitely will bus-hop next time…..
Pretty flowers pressed into acrylic (we think) that are part of the front desk at the Eielson Visitor Center.
Bear too far away to even mention to the driver.
But this bear we stopped for and was one I didn’t see first. The whole bus got in on this “STOP!” they said, and so the driver stopped.
Probably one of the closest bears we saw too.
There are at least ten sheep on this hillside. Can you spot them all?
Michael surveys the mightly Toklat River. Note the four sheep on the opposite side of the river.
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Caribou antlers.
The same four that we saw from the other side of the Toklat. now closer to the road, but still not close enough for really good detail.
This was the bear closest to the road that we saw. He was beautiful.
And I think he is smiling for the camera here!
Another bear, too far away for me to get much detail with my little 210mm.
More sheep. After you learn to spot them, it’s easy to see them everywhere!
Bus 543, Erland’s bus.
Bull moose in the center. Too far to zoom in for me.
Female moose on the side of the road,
She didn’t seem to mind the buses at all.
