Denali National Park Day 2

~ May 16, 2019 ~

Hello hello,

This morning we woke up in the snow again, but it wasn't quite as cold. So we made our way back to Denali National Park, as we wanted to spend another day there. I must say, this part of the highway was really uneven. But it was definitely worth driving back for another hour. Because even before the national park, we saw a moose on the side of the road. He was standing in a lake, drinking, and the water was up to his belly. He wasn't bothered by the many people who stopped to take photos.

Arriving at Denali National Park, we walked a trail to Horseshoe Lake. The path was very diverse. First, we went through the forest, then a little piece along Horseshoe Lake until we reached a river. On the way back, we walked through a 'beaver area', where there were chewed trees everywhere, which had been built into two large dams by the beavers. Unfortunately, we didn't see a beaver in action, but their dams were also interesting to look at.

After watching a few short films at the tourist information, we wanted to drive a bit further into the park. The first 15 miles are accessible for private cars, after that, only shuttle buses are allowed. And we were really lucky! Just as we arrived at mile 15, a grizzly bear suddenly appeared on the road. He walked past our car, not even three meters away, before crossing the road behind us and going down the hill to a river. Truly an incredible experience!!! We watched him for at least another 15 minutes from another spot, where we could observe him right by the water. And that wouldn't be our only wildlife encounter today. We were actually allowed to drive another 14 miles into the park. I have no idea why it was allowed for drivers to go that far today, but it was definitely cool. We continued on a gravel road, past reindeer herds, until we reached a parking lot. There, we turned around and some time later, we had to stop again. The reason this time were two moose standing right by the road and crossing it. One of them was less than two meters away from my car window! And when we reached mile 15 again, we could hardly believe our eyes. The same grizzly bear was still there and just as we stopped, he crossed the road again. So we were able to observe him again as he walked up the hill.

I've never seen so much wildlife in one day! And that's why it was already late afternoon when we started making our way towards Anchorage. We still had four hours of driving ahead of us. And so we arrived at a Walmart in Wasilla north of Anchorage at 9 p.m., where we wanted to spend the night.