A Hoover Visit - Part II: Denali

After showing the Hoovers around the Anchorage/Wasilla area a little, we set off to see one of the most distinctive and touristy sights that Alaska has to offer.  However, it is so popular for good reason.  After all, even though Montana, which is a place that we both love, is known for its "big sky" (which Ben finds funny because with those mountains sticking up the sky is actually smaller than it would be in, say, Nebraska), Alaska is the true state of "largeness"; it is the largest state, has the largest wilderness areas, and of course has the largest peak in all of North America, Denali (by the way, if you are in Alaska, don't call it Mount McKinley, it's Denali).  Denali National Park was the next target on the Hoover marathon vacation.  In the afternoon we made the three-hour drive to stay in a small cabin, and by the time we got there we were a little apprehensive about the fact that there was no way we were going to get a full night's sleep before we spent the whole day touring the park, and then make the drive back to Wasilla.  However, we were also energized by the incredible view of the mountain that we were greeted with on the way to the park.  Ben actually thought that he was seeing huge clouds over the mountains, but they turned out to be Denali itself!  After a mere four and a half hours of sleep, we got up and headed down to catch the shuttle because a reliable source (Dan Trice) told us that if we wanted to see the wildlife, then we wanted to be on the first shuttle.  He was right about that.  However, we were also told that in all likelihood we would see either the mountain, or wildlife, but not both.  Well, we definitely saw both!  Although we were definitely exhausted by the end of the day, and were sick and tired of sitting on a bus (the tour ended up lasting 12+ hours), we were satisfied in the knowledge that we received a very thorough initiation into what the park has to offer.  However, Ben also spent a fair amount of time staring at the peak with eyes envious of all of the climbers making the summit that day...

Yup, totally thought that white mass above the mountains on the right was a bunch of clouds...

Such a happy tree!

Lookin' pretty good considering we were all incredibly sleep
deprived and it was about 5:00 AM!

Doll sheep on the mountain!

Doll sheep in the valley!

Ptarmigan!  That's Alaskan for "chicken" and "delicious"!

Fox!  (And a pretty one, too.)

And the mountain looms ever in the background.

Caribou!  Alaskan ungulates are so goofy lookin'...

Big Mama Moose!  Hidin' in the willows!

Still in their finest Spring felt!

These skulls were found in this position.
Apparently one moose, as it was fighting with
another over the fine lady moosies, not only
stabbed the other in the eye, but got tangled with
him and was unable to get away.  So, they both
died.  Bummer for them, but I bet there were some
happy bears that Fall!

Everyone likes a bear!

He was a little guy!

And lazy too!

"I'm just a bear, lookin' for food..."

As close as we got, but still oh so far.  Ben looked on with envy as more than 200 hundred climbers attempted to make the summit that day.  The day before was considered a 4-star day for viewing the mountain, and today was definitely a 5-star day.  We just got really lucky!  Oh, and the next day the mountain was socked in and completely hidden...

A parting view that same day.  That's it!  Denali!  At 20,322 feet, the tallest peak in North America (and still growing)!