Before we delve into the Denali wildlife I want to share with you a quote that I found our first night in Denali when we went to ‘The Spike’.
‘Trying to record Denali in photographs is like going to a party, through a keyhole’
- John S. Allen
We are glad that we can share these photos with you so that you can digitally experience Denali. That being said, remember that you are looking through the keyhole. If you truly want to experience the park you have to go there. You have to take the bus to Wonder Lake, you have to see it for yourself. The best photograph ever taken of Denali pales in comparison to the foggiest and rainiest day in the park. Go there, see it and until then use these photos as your desktop photo as daily reminder of where your travels will take you next.
Also, I learned about John S. Allen. He used to be a Denali bus driver who started his day by picking up a plastic bag full of trash. Every year they have a John Allen day, where employees go pick up trash and celebrate Denali, talk about a cool dude!
I will warn you that it can be a bit hectic when you are on a full bus. There are dozens of people who want to snap photos of the exact same thing. You can enjoy some of those pictures here as well.
The wildlife is supposed to be the spectacle, sometimes we make quite a spectacle ourselves though!
The first time I heard the Big Five, it talked about the five animals that visitors want to see on an African safari, lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and water buffalo. Denali’s Big Five are no less dangerous, but much smaller, they are the grizzly bear, wolf, Dall sheep, moose and caribou. We saw four of the five, but missed out on seeing a wolf, we did get the rare opportunity to see a lynx, and the bus driver we were riding with said it was the only one he had seen the entire season, and with that I’ll leave you with some photos and a reminder, this is only the keyhole!
Grizzly Bear:
Moose:
One of the few times that the animal sign looks almost EXACTLY like the actual animal
Caribou:
Lynx:
This is where the lynx crossed the road
This is the lynx!