A 6 hour bus ride into Denali

Our lodging, the Kantishna Roadhouse, is located 91 miles inside Denali.  The bus trip in totals 6 hours; on the way out, only 4.  Why? Because on the way up to Kantishna, the bus stops to observe wildlife.  You cannot exit the bus, but can photograph from the windows so long as body parts don't extend out of them.  The park rangers are very strict in their rules and permitting and the bus drivers are fined for infractions.

The bus driver, Gary Whittemore, is struggling with an end-of-the-season sore throat and spoke in a low, gravely voice, barely a whisper at times.  It was effective, however, as you quieted to listen to him. He has driven bus there for 37 years.  Gary is also an experienced musher, and ran the Iditarod 9 times beginning in 1991. He was the subject of an article about one of his experiences: link to article about Gary Whittemore in 1991 Iditarod.  His son, Dusty, won the Junior Iditarod and actually had a book written about him called "Iditarod Dream: Dusty and His Sled Dogs Compete in Alaska's Jr. Iditarod" by Ted Wood. What I enjoyed about Gary is his reverance of the land around us, and his spoken respect for the people who live there.

On the ride in, we saw moose, grizzly, fox, wolf, caribou, Dall sheep and ground squirrel.  This is quite amazing when you consider we are not in a zoo or wild animal park where animals are fed, restricted or coaxed into viewing areas. There are hundreds of thousands of acres that these animals could potentially be in, and yet we were fortunate enough to see them from our bus.  Some were closer than others and required binoculars to view, while some were very nearby.  We were instructed to be quiet and to do nothing to startle or interact with the animals for a better photo op.  The wildlife is to be left WILD.  We watched as the fox jumped into the bushes; a covy of ptarmigan was flushed and fox did not come out. We assumed the hunt was successful.

We made a number of rest stops, including one at a visitors center with a scenic overlook and walking paths. As I was bent over a lovely flower, taking a photograph a man walking past advised "that's monkshood."  I appreciated knowing the name.  Later I learned that lovely plant is highly poisonous, and was used to create a toxin to place on spear tips!  Inside the center a local artist, Ree Nancarrow, had a quilt on display that was a work of art.  It celebrated Alaska and was not only a huge wall covering, but had detailed applique work. Layout of the Alaska Quilt.  If you google her you will also find other incredibly beautiful quilts celebrating Alaska.

The narrow road snaked along the side of the mountains, dropping into deep canyons.  The bus drivers would alternately pull over to allow another to pass as two vehicles could not move side by side.  They also used a set of hand signals to communicate what species was being viewed ahead, which was quite humorous to watch but very effective!  Gary lectured us about Denali, "the Great One".  He disagrees that it should be referred to as McKinley. President McKinley never set foot there. He convinced an entire busload of people to become Denali advocates!