Tour into Denali

     The day started very early since we had to get to the McKinley Chalet in the park for pickup by 6:10 am.  The tour bus wasn't an old school bus as some reviews had suggested, but it was very full.  We went 65 miles into the park, way past the point where cars are prohibited.  On our way we saw a golden eagle, show shoe hares, caribou, a red fox, and at the end of the road we saw a mother grizzly with her cub.  They were about 30 yards from the road, eating some grass, and were very unconcerned about the bus.  The rules for the buses are to keep everyone inside the bus so that they animals get used to the buses and ignore them.  The bus stopped for picture taking when we saw any animals.
     The ride took us into wonderful country with big open plains and high mountains on either side.  It was great to share the beauty of this park with my family.  At the end of the road we stopped to eat the bag lunches that we brought along and have some hot cocoa.  It was pretty chilly.  The ride back was over the same road so we dozed a bit until some mountain sheep were spotted on the hills near the road.  What a great day.

      In the evening a couple and two kids tried to back into the site next to us.  They were having trouble backing because the son didn't stay in view of the driver as they were trying to get it up on blocks to level it.  It was fun to be able to give them some pointers on how to make the task easier.