Denali National Park

I really shouldn’t be on here right now, I should be dusting, cooking, doing laundry, etc…the turn around time at “the Cracked Pot Inn” is pretty slim and I have more company arriving today, but I just couldn’t resist the blog. And after all, what a nightmare it would be if I didn’t tell you about our last adventures before we have new adventures, everything would be so messed up, right?! – The Queen of Excuses wins again…

One of the highlights of our trip last week was camping in Denali National Park. We had a great time, but when it comes to wildlife, our ‘back yard’ seems to be our best shot! While Rachel and Cain were visiting we got a quick glimpse of our friendly neighborhood bear, and later that night took a drive and saw more animals… I have talked to several people who have lived in Alaska for years and years and have yet to see a bear let alone a pack of wolves! It was pretty incredible! If you look close, all three wolves are in this picture.

We enjoyed our wildlife excursion in Denali as well. We mostly saw birds, rabbits and some caribou (reindeer) but were amazed at the vastness of God’s creation all around us! We also got some great shots of a Grizzly. They are massive and I’d hate to have a run in with one of them, however, the more I see the wildlife the more I see God’s handy work. God’s plan and provision is that they eat berries, fish, etc… they’re not interested in me, and as long as I keep to God’s plan and keep my distance His plan works beautifully and I don’t end up as bear stew. By the way, the tour guide in Denali mentioned this neat little fact-oid… Do you know the difference between Caribou and Reindeer? Drum roll please… Reindeer can fly of course!

We also got a glimpse of “Denali” aka, Mount McKinley… wow… you can’t even grasp the enormity of it after you see it, other than to note that it is twice as high as all the other mountains you’re seeing – which are huge…. Amazing! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures that do it justice...

The other notable thing about our trip to Denali is that we were there during the summer solstice – i.e. we had daylight “24/7” while we were there… imagine a camping trip where you NEVER had to use a flashlight or lantern! The first morning I was awake early, as usual. I could hear the chirping birds and see the sunlight coming through the tent, but the campsite was absolutely quiet… I waited and listened thinking surely someone is up and around…. After quite sometime I decided I should see what time it was as we didn’t want to waste our time while we were there by sleeping, right?! Well, to my surprise it was 3:30…crazy. I rolled over and tried to sleep but it wasn’t very easy! The next night I slept much better as I realized I could pull my hood down over my eyes and get a little darkness, but I kept wondering when the birds slept…

The last night we were there we decided to go for a drive… so at about 11:00 p.m. we were hiking around, being attacked by mosquitoes (although this was the only time we had any problems with them!) and took this family photo at midnight…

Well, I best get my house in order, not that Chris will care, but when you can literally write on the coffee table… it’s time!