Denali, AK - Tundra Wilderness Tour and Black Diamond ATV Adventure
My first experience in Alaska did not disappoint. I spent 7 nights cruising northbound from Vancouver to Whittier on Holland America’s Noordam followed by 3 nights at Denali National Park. Here is what I did at one of the many stops along the way:
After disembarking the Noordam, I stepped on a train up to Denali National Park. The train ride is about 9-10 hours through the Alaskan country side. I had a guide with me to share interesting tidbits along the way. I had two excursions planned for my days spent in Denali, a Tundra Wilderness Park tour and an ATV adventure.
The Tundra Wilderness tour is a bus tour that takes you about 40 miles into the park. Farther in then you can get on your own. The bus driver picked us up at the hotel and had snacks and water for the 5 hour adventure. She provided commentary along the way and even had a cool camera lens that she could share on the tv screens in the bus if you were having a hard time spotting an animal. I was lucky enough to have some great animal sightings right along the road.
I spotted four of the Alaska Big Five (no gray wolf):
Caribou- This was my first animal sighting.
Moose (and twin babies)
Grizzly bear- Two- one of which was a very lazy bear
Dall Sheep - I promise I saw these sheep but the pictures look like little white dots or snow piles. Since they hang out on the sides of mountains they were quite a distance away.
Other then the big five the other must see items is Denali mountain. Only 30% of the people that visit Alaska get to see her. Because of it's size, it has it’s own weather system, which while I was there was cloudy. I tired to will it. Even thought I saw it. But I did not. Another reason to return.
The second day in Denali was spent on ATV’s. This was a totally new adventure for me. Having traveled all over the place, I couldn’t believe I have never been on an ATV before this trip.
The adventure took us through some old coal mining trails and through the Dry Creek River Bed where Athabascan Indian artifacts have been found in archaeological digs. The River bed was my favorite area as I drove through the crystal clear streams and beautiful rocks. After a few hours of adventure I returned to our starting point covered in mud.
There are a number of other adventures to go on in Denali:
Black Dimond Covered Wagon Adventure
Black Dimond Tundra Mountain Golfing
Denali Fly Fishing
Denali Peak Flightseeing
Music of Denali
