Exciting trip

Thursday night we gather our cameras and headed out back again in hopes of seeing some moose. The sun was out and it was beautiful. It is now their rutting season and they will come up front from the backcountry and gather. We can usually see 2 or 3 moose and never together. You might see one here and there. We got a very thrilling experience. We seen a total of 11 moose, 4 males, 6 females, and 1 calf. The most thrilling part was seeing this guy. This is one of the biggest racks we have seen and he was right by the road eating. He was grunting and snorting and we were close enough to hear him. This guy was all by himself but in one other spot we seen 2 females, a calf, and a bull and in another spot still we seen a bull and 2 females. FYI on Friday we drove out back again and seen 4 females and 2 calves but no bulls. Of course it was raining again on Friday.

Coyote

Went for a ride outback to see if we could spot any moose (and to try Dennis new lens) when we spotted this coyote. Now being from Texas we seen coyotes but this is the first one in Denali National Park. They stay hidden, but this one was hunting. He was moving fast and jumping in the air and pounceing on something. Sorry the pictures not that good as it was getting dark but atleast you can see him. We also seen a bull moose side the road with two cow with him eating willows. It was a very good trip.

Moose

Drove out back tonight and seen this bull moose. He was standing side the road eating and was not paying much attention to anyone. Then he crossed in front of this bus and stopped and seem to look right at the driver. This is a good size bull but we have seen bigger.

1915 Model

This is a 1915 Model T Speedster. This couple brought it to Alaska on the boat from Washington. They are going to tour Alaska and then drive it back to Washington. They are spending a couple of days in Riley Creek and we sure did enjoy seeing it.

Winter on the way

The temperature dropped the other day therefore it snowed on the mountain tops. We have less then 30 days to go and then we can head south. This season has gone fast and am really looking forward to heading south.

Moose

Went for a ride out to Savage River and seen this female moose. We were looking for the male moose but only saw her.

Afraid of bears

This guest came and stayed at Riley Creek campground and was worried that there was bears in the campground, so he put up this fence to protect his tent and him while he slept. It is electrified and runs on batteries.

RV at Tek

These Motor Home was camping at Teklanika at the same time as us. It had been fire damage and when they got it the only thing good was the frame. They rebuild it from there and this is how it looks now.

Walking

While we were at Teklanika we went for a walk down by the river. It was beautiful and we enjoyed being on our walk until we can cross this pile. It was left by a grizzle bear that had been eating soap berries. We decided to go back toward the Motor Home as we really did not want to see the bear.

Signs

On the way back from Eielson to the Tek campground, we seen these signs. You can see the nails that have been placed on the edges of the signs. This is to prevent the bears from chewing on the signs. They like to chew and had done some damage before the nails where put into place.

Quilt

This quilt hangs in the Eielson Vistor Center. It is beautiful. The Denali summer Times (a Denali magazine) did an article and it states " Here's a story of the seasons in Denali National Park-as told in a 7x12 foot quilt, made by local artist Ree Nancarrow. The quilt is made with paint, stencils, dye, oils and silkscreens. "Seasons of Denali" shows Mt. McKinley, Mt. Brroks and Mt. Silverthrone. It features dozens of plants, animals, birds, and even mosquitoes and is on display at Eielson Vistor Center." These pictures can not even begin to show you how beautiful it is or all the detail that has gone into it. I only wish that you all could see it in person.

Strange behavior

You never know what the animals in Denali will do but ususally they stay as far away from humans as possible. The neat part of seeing the foxes was when they left the bank they started down the road. One went into the brush and the other travel right up to these people who were standing in the road taking pictures. The fox got very close before it decided to go around them. It was so cool to see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Bus trip to Eielson Vistor Center

We took a bus ride out to Eielson Vistor Center on Thursday Aug 6th. It was rainy and foggy so we could not see MT. McKinley even tho the vistor center has the best view for this. We did see a Caribou, a male grizzle and a female grizzly with two cubs eating blueberries (the driver said they can eat up to 200,00 berries a day). We also seen this artic ground squirrel (who pose so pretty for this picture). But best of all we got to see these foxes at play and trying to get something to eat. These are Red foxes.

Eielson Vistor Center

This is the Eielson Vistor Center. They build this one right where the old one was. This was done in 2008 and they open the doors in June. It has a beautiful view of MT. McKinley but on the day we took our bus trip out it was so foggy that you could not even tell there was a mountain or any thing else.

Our site at Teklanika

We stayed on site #2 at the campground and it was a nice lot.

Trip to Telanika Campground

We decided to run away from Riley Creek for a few days. We wanted to get away from guest and all their questions. We get this even when we are on a day off. So we packed down the Motor Home and went out to the Telanika campground which is at mile post 29.1. It is out past the guard station so we had to stop and report to the ranger at the station and then went back to the campground. We stopped and talk to the host for a few minutes and then went and set up camp. The host here has water and sewer hook ups but no electric hook ups, that why they have solar panels on top of their 5th wheel. These host work for the National Park service and get $11 a day and their propane furnished to them. They also get uniforms to wear when on duty. This is a very quiet campground and only has 53 lots. Once you drive your rig in and set up you are not allowed to drive out again till you leave (this included cars and trucks). If you want to see any more of the park you can walk or take one of the buses.

Fall is here

These is a Wild Celery plant, it is growing on our lot and it is the first one I have ever seen in the 3 seasons we have work here. This morning there was frost on everything and it was 34 degress this morning when we got up. Guess that means that fall has arrived and before you know it the fireweed will be cottoning out.

Grizzle bear

We have had a couple of case where there has been a grizzle bear in Riley Creek but we have not had the chance to see one yet. That can not be said of the host at Savage River. They get to see them more often then they care to, as you can see by this picture taken at Savage River campground. THANKS VAL for letting me borrow your picture to share.