Denali day 2 8/11/2019

View of Denali at Eielson Visitor Center

Today dawned bright and beautiful with blue skies. We headed down to another food truck outside our hotel for breakfast: $28 for 2 bowls of oatmeal and 2 coffees!

view of Denali from paved public access road

Then we headed into Denali for our bus trip into the park. Access to Denali is limited; there is one road that goes 92 miles into the park. You can take your private vehicle on the first 15 miles which

are paved. From that stretch of road, you can get a long-distance view of Denali if it's not cloudy.

To get a better look ( if it's not cloudy), you have to take a park bus that traverses another 51 or 77 gravel miles. We took the bus that goes out 51 miles to Eielson Visitor center. The bus itself looks like a school bus, but instead of bench seats, there are individual seats. 

We were instructed by the driver to call out if we saw any wildlife, and which direction to look (bears at 3 o'clock!). The driver would stop and we could take pictures. While stopped, we were told to be quiet, so as not to disturb the animals. That was a great plan, except that the first time we stopped, the only infant on board (!!!!) was screaming (not just crying). The gravel road was so narrow in places that when we passed buses traveling in the opposite direction (yes, it's a two-way road), the 2 buses were less than a foot apart.

The weather was spectacular; clear, cloudless blue skies and temps in the 50s and 60s. Our driver told us that this year, Denali has been completely exposed only 10% of the time. Normally in other years, you can see the whole mountain, unenshrouded by clouds only 30% of the time. We really lucked out. Along the ride, we saw moose, grizzlies, caribou, and ptarmigan. My own personal biggest thrill

came when we spotted a golden eagle perched on the top of a tree about 40 yards away. The bus stopped, and we watched in silence as he lingered a bit, then lifted his wings and soared into the sky. Absolutely awesome.

On the bus, we met a Bulgarian woman traveling solo,who has lived in Chicago for the last 2 years, and has traveled all over the US. It was interesting to hear her perspective on travel, and on the US.

On return to the park, we headed for Denali Village for dinner. Denali Village is a miniature Gatlinburg. By that, I mean that it is located just outside the park entrance, and is a conglomeration of gift shops selling "original" Alaska souvenirs and lots of food trucks selling ridiculously expensive stuff. There were way more Chinese and Thai food trucks than we imagined there might be. After dinner, we rode up the steep gravel road to check out the Denali Grande Hotel, probably the most expensive digs around. It is perched on the edge of a mountain, and enjoys great views of the valley. I'm not so sure I'd like to pay $400 a night for a room with views of the parking lot. It's $500 for the good views.