Denali National Park Day 2

This morning Charlie and I survived our first moose attack. I hope it’s my last. From five feet away they are HUGE – and even bigger when you are on the ground and she is standing over you!

We went for our morning walk so Charlie could do his chores. I was watching the woods for them knowing they’re in the area. She came out of the woods so fast we did not see her until she was in our face. I turned to run and tripped, falling to the pavement. She stood over me and was so close her eyes were the size of silver dollars. The ranger had warned us about moose and said to run away zigzagging if they charged you but I found it is hard to zigzag when you are on the ground. Fortunately, the moose decided to back off at the last minute and we scrambled to get as far away as possible. Charlie’s poop bag is still on the roadside near my dirty underwear. My only thought was “those hoofs are going to hurt”. Another camper suggested the moose may have thought Charlie was a wolf. I’m glad Charlie didn’t act aggressive. That may have saved us from injury. An elbow scrap I can survive. That’s a great way to get the blood pumping early in the morning. We will be doing our walks closer to the campsite and leave the moose to the other end of the loop.

After that much excitement we opted for a real day off. We took a short drive into the park to see if the clouds had lifted. They had not so Denali is still a mystery to us. We gassed up, dumped the tanks, filled the fresh water tanks and returned to our site for a restful day. Karen thinks this is one of our best days so far. No TV, music, errands, shopping, chores, or laundry. The day was just a sit around, lounge around kind of day. We napped in the sun and Karen did some reading while I tinkered with small repairs and adjustments to the motor-home. We discussed our plans for the return trip. Tomorrow we reach Fairbanks and then turn south toward home. From the map it looks like it is all downhill from there. 

Too close

Safe distance - enlarge to see moose

   

Denali National Park - Day 1

We are finding it easier every day to get a late start on our travels. Today we decided to eat breakfast at the Latitude 62 in Talkeetna. The Breakfast Burrito was a wise choice for me and I have half left for tomorrow. Karen’s omelet must have been good. None was left on her plate when we left.

We had a few stops planned on the way back to the Parks Highway. The Denali Brewery at 10:30 am didn’t appear to be a good stop so the only “must stop” was the shop producing Alaska Pure Birch Syrup. It’s produced with the same process as maple syrup. We bought a small bottle and some Raspberry Rhubarb Syrup also. They sell a BBQ Sauce that Karen could not pass up. We made their day a bit more profitable I’m sure.  

The road to Denali was a bit rougher than the roads we have traveled in the last week. Not as bad as the Alcan, but it still could use some work. Denali National Park is a popular destination. This road also leads to Fairbanks so the traffic was a little denser today. Karen wanted to stay in the park at the Riley Creek Campground but I was sure it would be more expensive than I had planned. I should always listen to Karen (her words). She either knows what she is talking about or is very lucky. The campground was beautiful, isolated, semi empty and with senor discount, only $11.00 per night. Our one-night stop here quickly turned to two. 

After finding our site, we loaded Charlie back in the RV (against his wishes) and set off on the fifteen-mile drive into the park. Most of the park is open only to shuttle buses but some of it can be driven by private vehicles. We hoped to see moose, bear, caribou, and elk. That didn’t happen. One moose spotted away from the road in the brush was the best we could do. We drove back to the campground disappointed in our wildlife viewing and almost ran into a huge mother moose with two newborn calves standing in the entrance to our campground loop. Thirty feet away was a second mother with a set of twins and then a third one with only one baby. Turns out our campground is full of moose and we also found some bear scat nearby. The ranger told us to avoid the moose as much as possible. They are extremely protective of the young ones and will attack if they feel threatened. “Run fast and zigzag” was his best advice. This could be a very interesting night. To be continued tomorrow!  

Our campsite in Denali National Park

No hope of seeing Denali

Long drive - few animals (the brown spot is a moose)

These were waiting for us when we got back to our campground.