A Glimpse of Denali

On Monday August 25th, we had ambitious plans lined up. At 8:50 am we boarded Bus 13 for the Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour.

So far on our Alaska trip, we'd managed to avoid crowds. Today, we shared the bus with 46 other tourists. Most were from a cruise ship, while half a dozen folks were lone travelers like us.

My husband Leonard was obsessed with seeing a moose. I'm not sure why. We have moose in Colorado. We've seen a cow and calf up close and personal in the wilderness. But his goal was to see the creatures Alaskans claim are as plentiful as squirrels.

​Denali National Park and Preserve is remarkably undeveloped. I was thrilled to see rough gravel roads and a lack of touristy amenities.  On a rest stop along the way (basic National Park outhouses), I discovered mushrooms. Everywhere. An amazing variety of types. This would not be the end of my interaction with the fungi. No, I didn't sample them. I have far too much respect and trepidation about consuming wild mushrooms.

​Back on the bus, and on to the interior. Or as far into the park as we could go. A bridge was out somewhere ahead. There was only so far you could travel by motorized vehicle on the gravel road. The bus driver kept us informed about the history of the park. It was created mostly to preserve the Dall sheep. 

A word about tours: I was glad we opted for guided tours. This was our first trip to Alaska. Potentially our only - who knows? The guides were informative, and gave us context to understand the scenery, history, and animals. If we go again, we might go even more freeform. But for this trip, I was glad to receive the on-going tutorials on all things Alaska.

Our first animal sighting was caribou. Then Dall sheep. And finally, bear! A mama and her cub eating berries on a hillside. I was shocked to learn only 15% of visitors see bears at Denali. My phone camera was inadequate to capture decent photos, but I share some blurry snapshots below.

We also caught a glimpse of the side of Denali through the clouds. This is rare. One Alaskan called Denali the "shady lady" because she hides behind the clouds. I was happy to verify the mountain did exist, even if I didn't get a full-on view.

And then, as we're almost leaving the park, we see a moose. Yep, it looks pretty much like a Colorado moose. But it's in Alaska!

The tour was over five hours. I was getting a little tired of being crammed in a sardine can bus with dozens of other people. Especially the geezer sitting behind me who sounded like he was hacking up a lung. Spoiler alert: he was contagious. Or was it the mushrooms? Part two of August 25 coming next week.

This Alaska adventure is providing inspiration for book three in the Tapestry Tales series, written with co-author Merida Bass under the pen name Ann Belice, coming in 2026. Books one and two are available now in e-book and paperback. Audiobooks are currently in production!
Broken Strands: book two
​Frayed Dreams: book one