Summer Adventure 2018 Day 29

An 11 hour bus trip to Wonder Lake began at 9:15 a.m. on a cool, cloudy morning. Even though I dressed in layers and brought a light jacket, I was cold.  Our driver was Sandy and she was an excellent driver/narrator.  My saddest moment was when we saw a bull moose, but we couldn't get a picture. No time for sadness on this trip, there were so many good things I was able to photograph like the mew gulls chasing an eagle. We watched them for several minutes, the gulls were certainly upset with that eagle, they were there at every turn diving and charging, but it wasn't leaving.

A young couple seated near us were quite amazing. They, well actually she spotted so many of the animals we saw, so quickly and at such distances, it was astounding. He used binoculars to search the mountainsides while she sat next to him feeding her baby and scanning the distance out the windows. I watched as she told him where to look and what she thought she saw there and he would confirm and announce it. I forgot to mention he had the window seat, too. She spotted caribou, dall sheep and even some marmots at far off distances. The marmots were so far away, I couldn't get a clear picture even with the 400 mm lens. The young mother did say she has lived in Alaska for 20 years and that is how she explained her extraordinary ability.

Sandy stopped the bus for a grizzly sow and her 2 cubs in the road. I wasn't able to get a picture of them because we were toward the back and I didn't get to the front in time before they were across the road and over the bank.  That was another sad moment, but still we moved on.

This is our third trip to Denali, but the first time we've seen so much snow on the ground. Everyone tells us it was a big snow winter, 40 feet. No wonder there are still piles on the ground. Folks who live in Alaska have said the weather is running 2 weeks behind. I hope it catches up soon.

There were stops for caribou and dall sheep, yes the young mother was the first to see them on the mountainside. We had a short break at Eilson Visitor Center for the lunches we packed and a quick trip to the only real flush toilets after you leave the front country. There were small piles of snow there over 2 feet deep.

At Wonder Lake there were too many clouds to see Denali, just as it had been all day. Pam and Bill don't get to join the 30% club of people who get to see Denali. We were off the bus for a short time to take pictures and walk around the area before boarding the bus for the return trip.

On the way back the excitement was another grizzly and her two cubs beside the road digging for roots and ground squirrels. We watched them for several minutes and I was able to take some good pictures. Many of the passengers settled in and took a nap on the journey back to the Wilderness Access Center rousing only if we stopped for the wildlife.