Alaska Day 10 - Denali National Park

This morning we took an interpretive tour of the first 17 miles of the park.  On the ride we saw a lot of caribou and this moose eating plants growing in a small pond.

On the trip out we stopped at the Savage Cabin.  This cabin was built by the railroad as a cook's house.  It was later moved to the current spot.  Ranger McIntyre gave an interpretive presentation as a 1941 park ranger.  

Also note the "bear protectors" on the window shutters.  If you can't see them, the protectors are nails sticking out of the wood.  Ouch!

Next we drove to Primrose Point and met Carol, an Athabascan native.  She shared the history of her people in this area and several cultural aspects of the Athabascan people.  She also sang an Athabascan song for us.

The view from Primrose Point was really nice.

Here's Rosie with Carol.

We had a sack lunch with us today - which we ate in stages on the bus.  After lunch we went to see the dog sled demonstration presented by park rangers and the actual sled dogs they use in the winter.  The dogs were very friendly and comfortable around strangers.

Aren't these puppies cute? 

Here I am on the sled.  Luckily there are no dogs attached.

Here comes the team with the sled and ranger.  This sled has small wheels so the dogs can pull it on dry ground.

Back at the Lodge, Rosie and I met a very friendly moose.  We even had the opportunity to get a picture.

 

Tomorrow we have lectures about the park and a guided walk on the Horseshoe Lake trail.