Today we got up early to take a 91 mile drive into the interior of Denali National Park. Yesterday we had rain and clouds all day long and even some rain last night. When we got up, the sky was clear and the sun was bright in the eastern sky. We had high hopes that we might be lucky and get to see "The Mountain". On average it's only visible about 35% of the time.
When an Alaskan says, "The Mountain is out", there is no doubt which mountain is filling the horizon, it's Mount McKinley or "Denali" s most Alaskans call it. The 20,320 foot massif is the tallest mountain in North America. It is often covered by clouds but when visible, it is a magnificent sight.
The mountain is not the reason Denali National Park and Preserve was created, however. In 1917 the park was created to protect the wildlife. Eventually expanded to six million acres, the park is home to moose, caribou, Dall sheep,wolves and bears.
More than 650 species of flowering plants eke out a living here, along with a variety of mosses and lichens. In addition, Denali is home to 39 species of mammals, 167 species of birds, 10 species of fish and one amphibian, the wood frog. There are no reptiles recorded in Denali National Park.
We saw some of the most beautiful scenery that I've seen in a long. long time. Denali was out and we were able to see it in all it's beauty. I know some of you will ask "why did Bob take so many pictures of Denali"? As I said before, the mountain is only visible about 35% of the time and I knew we probably would not be back again so I wanted to record as much of its beauty as I could.
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Those were amazing. I am glad ya'll were on a bus tour and not driving all that!! Loved the wildlife too! Was is cold? I love you both! Billie
ReplyDeleteDad, these were breath taking pictures. Thru your stories and pictures I feel like I am there with you seeing the sites. Thanks for a job well done.
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