ALASKA; Day 9; July 23, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Carl, who turned 59 today!

We left the Cedar Lodge this morning at 8:15 and rode 6 miles north to the entrance to Denali National Park.  It was mostly cloudy and 55 degrees.  After stopping at the visitor center and paying our fees we rode into the park as far as we could in/on privately owned vehicles.  They said it was 15 miles but it was less than that from the visitor center.  We stopped at the Savage Cabin and walked the short interpretive trail.  We saw NO wildlife while in Denali National Park until we stopped at the gift shop, where we saw a chipmunk foraging for food.the only wildlife we saw in Denali National ParkLater, at a gas station nearby, an older couple who had been on a park bus tour of Denali National Park (they go deeper into the park) told us they saw bear, caribou, moose and Dall sheep. I guess that’s the price we pay for refusing to give up our rides for a park bus.

From the park we rode south on Hwy 3 back to Anchorage.  Mt. McKinley was in full view again today, which was very fortunate for us.  Some folks come to Alaska and never get to see it because of cloud cover.Mt. McKinley

We rode 295 miles today.  It turned into a mostly clear day and our high temperature was in the low 80’s.  On the way back to Anchorage we enjoyed another moose sighting along the road just north of the Talkeetna turn-off.  Another beautiful day of riding.

After arriving back at the Dimond Center Hotel in Anchorage we all went to the Olive Garden for dinner to celebrate Carl’s and Marge’s birthdays.  Marge’s birthday was July 15th, the day we took off on this trip.  She’s much younger than Carl.

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/5904061437171060945?authkey=CLjd1fXTyvjZ5gE

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