August 17th, 2024 Riley Campground Shuttle Loop

We had a slow start today and didn't get moving until after lunch.  

The park has a number of free shuttles that take you to various places.  So today, we decided to check out those places.  First stop was the bus depot for shuttle tickets to take us deeper into the park.

The Denali Park Road goes 92 miles into the park.  Near the end is Wonder Lake and at the end is Kantishna.  Sadly, there was a landslide at MP 45 and nothing is allowed past MP 43 (East Fork).  Private vehicles can only go to MP 15 so a bus is needed to go beyond that.

There are three buses that go to MP 43: two are tour buses ($$) and one is the shuttle bus ($).  We had good times on the shuttle bus in 2007 and 2009 so we decided to do that again.

That will be tomorrow.

From there we picked up another shuttle to take us to the Visitor Center Complex.  Our first stop was the theater to watch two movies: "Heartbeats of Denali," and "Dog Sledding in the Park"    (I just LOVE the national park movies.)

You can find videos here:   https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/videos.htm

The park has an Artist-in-Residence Program:

"The Artist-in-Residence program is dedicated to exploring new ways for visitors to experience Denali. From hundreds of competitive applications each year, about a half-dozen accomplished artists, writers, and composers are invited to spend time at a historic cabin in Denali at their own expense the following summer. 

During their residency, each participant is required to lead a public outreach activity with visitors. Visitors enjoy sharing hands on activities and time with our artists, and in turn find unique ways to connect with Denali on a more personal level.

Artists may choose to donate finished work to the park. However, due to lack of appropriate storage and display locations, the park prefers digital and performance-based donations. Artists are challenged to create artwork or activities for visitors that offer a fresh and innovative perspective drawn from their own experience."

One of those works was in the theater:

Outside the theater, there were many other types of works - nice to see.

From there we  headed downstairs to the museum. 

This guy is their centerpiece - he is huge:

If you look at the above picture on the right, there is a replica of a mountain.  Dall Sheep were on that mountain:

And a bird of prey also:

This section of the museum talked about the ecosystem in the park.

Some interesting tidbits:

There was an area called "Sounds of the Park"  where the sounds in various seasons were recorded.  It was interesting to know they are trying to keep the wilderness as it should be.

There were two short videos in this area about the park's beginnings and about the Native Peoples of Denali. 

Fannie Quigley's cabin:

The native people used all parts of the moose:

More information can be found here:

https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/native-heritage-dena.htm#:~:text=The%20Denali%20region%20is%20home,wildlife%20and%20other%20wild%20resources.

Our last stop before heading to the shuttle was the book store / gift shop where I picked up a great jacket!

The shuttle driver was the same one we had for the other two buses and since it wasn't busy, we spent some time talking with him and his story.  (I love to hear stories.)

We had planned to have a campfire tonight but lots of wind and rain.  Hopefully we will be able to have one before we leave.

Tomorrow we are heading deeper into the park so stay tuned and enjoy today.