Last week we finally made it into the Park proper! Yahoo! Not very far, I have to admit, only 17 miles, which is how far you can go in with your own vehicle, but I think it's far enough for us.

Actually, we've been listening to the guests that came back from the bus rides into the Park and a lot of them found them way too long, very uncomfortable and off course it kind of depends on luck if you'll see any animals or not.
For bears and wolves we do need to go in farther but honestly we've seen so many bears on the way up through Canada that we're fine with missing a few.

The landscape is stunning wherever you are:

 

This is a typical tundra 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wide river bed of the Savage River

 

 

 

Caribou like to hang out around the rivers where it's cooler and windier so they have a little reprieve from the mosquitoes and black flies. 

Which is exactly where we spotted this beautiful male. Look  at  that  RACK!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, go ahead, show it off a little better...! 

 

 

 

 

 

  Did you know ... ... that Alaska has almost twice as many caribou as people? Alaska's human population numbers around 600,000, while there are over one million caribou in the state. ........that caribou are almost constantly on the move? Some caribou migrate more than 3,000 miles each year—farther than any other land animal.  ......and that their large, concave hooves hold them up like snowshoes—both on winter snow and on the soggy summer tundra. In water, those hooves become enormous paddles and the hollow hairs of their coat help keep them afloat. 

 

 

 

We parked the truck in the parking lot at the beginning of the Savage River Loop trail and hiked the beautiful, easy 0.6 mile along the winding river.

  

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful quiet evening and although we didn't come across any other wildlife we spotted these whitish gentians that I still haven't found the name of. Anybody? 

 

 

The bridge halfway the loop brings you to the other side where the trail continues.






On the way back the sun started to set:

The end of another beautiful day here in Denali Park Alaska!