Denali National Park - the small creatures

Having arrived back from Alaska just this morning it seems a long way away already.  The photos and memories will stay - both of the big sightings - majestic glaciers and Grizzly bears - but also the small creatures and details.

This is a Snowshoe Hare in Denali - looking more like a rabbit in the first photo but much more hare-like in the second.

This seemed like strange behavior but is apparently quite normal as a bit of grit nibbling stops the teeth from overgrowing!

The rather endearing ground squirrel is also a member of the hare family.  Although these animals are very small, they are also very numerous and play an important part in sustaining some of the larger mammals

These rather difficult to spot birds are Ptarmigan - state bird of Alaska and quite prolific.  If you zoom in you may be able to see their white feather covered legs and feet.  In winter they are equally well camouflaged by turning as white as their snowy surroundings.

We bought a little book for Theo to tell him about everything we have seen and I am looking forward to sharing it with him very soon!

Log Cabins Large & Small (Friday 18th)

During our travels in Alaska we have seen many variations on traditional log cabins. Some, like the Kantishna Roadhouse, at the end of the Denali Park Road and hence deep in the National Park, are quite substantial.

It is possible to stay here during the summer - there are a series of small cabins alongside - and take walks in the surrounding Tundra  and around Wonder Lake with mountain guides.

There are some substantial timbers supporting the roof.  No doubt necessary when the the snow comes.

Many of the log buildings have 'mini cabins' next to them, on stilts.. this one is at Kantishna, the next at Talkeetna and the final one amongst the timber lodges at Windsong Lodge in Seward.

Initially we were confused by these, even thinking at one point that they might be dog kennels (but how would they get in and out).

They are in fact known as 'caches' for the very good reason that this is bear country and it was necessary to securely hide and store food off the ground and out of reach.  Now they are there for decoration and historical reasons.

The idea of a 'growing' roof - presumably for insulation - can be seen in this much older and quite small cabin dating to 1915.  Kantishna was originally a gold-mining community and it is still possible to pan for gold in Moose Creek next to the Lodge.

This old cabin was the Recorder's Office for the Kantishna Mining District.

It has been restored to show how it would have looked when in use.  

Suitable for the current 'tiny house' trend perhaps. I am not sure whether it would have been lived in year-round - although the snow-shoes would suggest that it was. Cosy!

Denali to Anchorage

Today it was time to catch the Alaska Railroad train back to Anchorage from Denali - a journey of 8 hours. 

 But first a few photos of the mountains surrounding the Denali Bluffs Hotel where we have been staying.

Several mountain tops were showing signs of 'termination dust' - the name that the Alaskans give to the first signs of snow - because it marks the beginning of the end of summer and hence of the season.

Denali railway station is quite basic but very charming.  We were early for our train and so we walked over to the National Park visitor centre to look around and had coffee on the outside terrace..

I found a beautiful feather - a Horned Owl I think, very downy and with quite a distinctive pattern.  Not so easy to photograph in the breeze!

Then the train came in and it was time to leave - rather reluctantly on such a beautiful morning..

Here are a few of the views from the train during our journey..

Some very dramatic scenery to end our Alaskan travels.

Denali National Park

Our adventure today was a 13 hour bus trip deep into Denali National Park on a converted school bus.

Not luxury transport but we had a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide and we were all encouraged to keep our eyes peeled for wildlife sightings and to shout 'STOP' when we saw something good!  This resulted in a variety of sightings..

Here is a female Caribou (reindeer) with her calf.

This female Moose was enjoying a dip..here is the long view..

One of our smaller acquaintances was this Arctic Ground Squirrel..

The most exciting was of course the Grizzly Bears.  Here a female with two yearling cubs..

These photos were taken at very long distance but it was great to see them.

Here a male and female Moose.  Those antlers!  At one of the visitor centers we had the opportunity to see how it felt to have something that size on your head..

(Heavy, I am told - and this is only half a rack!)

The reindeer antlers were pretty heavy too..

Denali National Park comprises six million acres of wilderness - accessible only by special park buses, on foot or with a permit (only issued to those on park business), it has about 100 vehicles a day on its single 93 mile gravel road.  

The views are spectacular and the road, in many places, quite treacherous - very steep drops and single track with rules as to who must give way in each section.

In the heart of the park, the terrain is Tundra, the ground only defrosting for a few months of the year.  The terrain consists of wide glacial valleys, with only relative trickles of water at this time of year.

The star attraction of the park - apart from the wildlife - is the great mountain itself, but unfortunately it did not emerge from the clouds for us today.

The best impression we had of Mount Denali today came at the visitor centre, in the form of a hand-made quilt depicting the mountain..

We had a good day - the sitting down was interspersed with lots of stops to look at wildlife, photograph the view or visit a very eco-friendly rest room! This was one of the chillier stops.