August 18th, 2024 The End of the Road in Denali

Today's adventure...The shuttle bus to East Fork!

From yesterday:

"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 14 so a bus is needed to go beyond that."

We were blessed..In 2007 we made the shuttle bus trip to Wonder Lake.  Those iconic pictures that you see of Denali and the reflection on a lake is done on a clear day at Wonder Lake.  That trip is here: 

https://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2007/07/july-19-2007-denali-and-wildlife.html

In 2009, we were able to take the trip to Kantishna.  That trip is here:

https://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-25-2009-kantishna-experience.html

Sadly, we can only go to MP 43 because of the landslide.  BUT!!  That is okay since we saw wildlife.

They have a saying that everyone should see the Big 5 Wildlife in Denali: Caribou, Moose, Wolf, Bear, and Dall Sheep.  Well, we were blessed to see all but the Wolf!

-------------

The nice thing about taking the shuttle is that you can see a lot.

The not so nice is that you are taking pictures thru the bus windows OR the siting is on the side that you are not sitting on.. LOL

-----------

Our bus stop pickup... (Side note. If you come here in 2027, go to Eielson.  Great visitor center, great trails, and if the weather Gods are good.. great view of Denali!).  Roaming around the Eielson Center is still on my bucket list!

The mountains are in the clouds:

Our first sighting... CARIBOU!   Just losing the velvet from his antlers which is why it is so bloody.

Not too far away, we saw this guy (Sorry the pictures are a little blurry - he was far away1):

Scenes along the way!:

We made a stop at the Teklanika Rest Area.  WOW! What a difference from 2009!  This is the Teklanika River - a braided river.  So what is a braided river?:

"A braided river is a river with a network of channels that branch and merge to create a braided pattern. The channels are separated by small islands called braid bars, aits, or eyots, which are often temporary. The bars form, are consumed, and re-form continuously, making braided channels very dynamic. "

The bridge across the river into the wilderness of Denali:

The Teklanika River:

The Road:

The views and those white spots are Dall Sheep:

If you look close, there are caribou on the ridge:

We made our way to the end of this road at the East Fork of the Toklat River:

Fall is coming!:

So... we were able to get off the bus and take pictures.  The shuttle bus is a hop on, hop off bus, meaning that if you want to hike, you can hop off the bus and when you are done, you can hop on another shuttle bus. (Depending on the time of day, they come thru every 20 - 30 minutes.)  A few folks left our bus and a few got a ride back.

Heading back:

It is raining out there:

Incredible country - the pictures do not show how grand it is.  That "hill" on the left is over five miles away (and look how huge it looks - WOW!)

Dall Sheep:

This caribou came down in front of the bus and then walked up the road - too funny.  This is the best picture I could get - LOL!:

Love the fireweed color!  As we get into the fall, the fireweed leaves turn a beautiful shade of mauve/red:

Another view along the way:

How beautiful!  Look at those antlers!:

And our last treat of the day!:

Isn't he beautiful!

Moose rutting season is starting so hopefully we will see more of these guys before we leave.

Another great day!  (But I really want some sun and no rain - LOL!)

Enjoy today!

July 17 - 18, 2024 Captain Cook State Recreation Area

July 17th, 2024

It rained hard overnight but when we shut down and hooked up, the sky was clear.  Our first stop was Walmart to pick up a few supplies and who did we run into - Peggy and Larry, doing their shopping.  How fun!

We continued our travels to the end of the road:

We passed many oil rigs and refineries such as Chevron and Marathon.  There were others but I did not catch the name.

We continued north - lots of greenery:

One of the amazing things about Alaska is how quickly everything grows.  Plus there are wildflowers everywhere.

We are heading to Discovery Campground in the Captain Cook State Recreation Area.  We were here before and I have to say, it is one of my favorite campgrounds.  I always called it the "End of the Road" Campground because the road ends and there is the campground.

A beautiful creek before we hit the end!:

But it really isn't the end - anymore:

We found a spot - BTW - same as 2009 - set up, had lunch, and then a road trip...

When I said above that it wasn't the end of the road ... well, in 2009, any road past this point was really just an ATV road.  It was rough and narrow and muddy..etc. - You know what I mean!

BUT!  This road was very much improved for about 10 miles so away we went.

Out of the corner of my eye - movement - A MOOSE!:

And her baby - AWWW!

We watched for a while and then continued on:

There are folks who live out here and we passed quite a few cabins.  Some road signs but the gravel road ends and goes to a dirt trail:

Cool bridge:

Another road that ends in a path:

This bridge will hold 40 ton!  Hmmm, wonder what else goes back here:

Now we have reached the end of the gravel road - the dirt road goes off to the right:

This cross was there also - built out of logs with the American flag and solar lights hanging from it:

Heading back we saw fields of these white puff flowers - Beautiful:

Pipeline equipment:

More flowers - the purple are fireweed:

"Fireweed season is something locals look forward to every year with bittersweet emotions. Fireweed season is perhaps the most beautiful time of the year in the region, but it also marks the end of summer, and the slow decline of daylight. The fireweed blooms from the bottom up, and any good Alaskan can tell you that you can tell how soon fall will arrive by how far up the stalk the fireweed has bloomed. When the flowers turn from its traditional bold purple-pink color to a reddish-brown, you know fall is near. When it turns to a wispy white, you know fall has arrived. Eventually the white will fade and the fireweed will be turn brown until it wilts and dies. Alaska native legend has it that when the top of the fireweed blooms, winter will arrive in 6 weeks."

We also saw fields of wild iris but I couldn't get a good picture.

Another road that goes thru lots of mud:

We came around a corner and look who we found - not sure if there are same ones we saw earlier:

Mama and if you look real close, her baby is behind her:

Mama:

Baby and Mama:

We sat and watched them for quite a while until they moved into the woods - What a treat!:

Cow Parsnip:

Here we are back home - how about all that greenery:

Some of these plants are over six foot high:

And the size of those leaves - oh my:

The path behind our site:

The end of the path ends on a bluff above the Cook Inlet:

The side path:

I was heading that way to the beach when Andy called - my cat, Gray, got out.  Gray was acting strange earlier - I think he sees all the foliage and probably some creature smells and he wants out.

Once we got him, I put the harness on him and took him out.  He is not happy with the harness so we are going to need to be diligent when opening up the door.  

He keeps meowing at the door to go out..  Very strange.  He has not been like this since two years ago in Texas.

Stats for today:
Miles Traveled: 37 Miles
Routes Traveled:
Alaska: Suthard Blvd.; Delta Avenue; Kenai Spur Highway

July 18th, 2024

It rained most of the night and most of the day today so we did some things around the motorhome and hung out.  (And watched Gray sit at the door and cry - not sure what is happening here.)

Tomorrow's weather is Sun and no rain - YEA!  I hope to get to the beach to check for agates and maybe a campfire tomorrow evening: 

Enjoy today.