North to Alaska - Full Version - Day 29 (June 14)

Monday - Up at 5:30 AM and, after a quick sponge bath and light breakfast, we hurried to catch the early bus. Unfortunately, we hadn't noticed that our bus passes were timed to start at 9 AM on the first day of use, so since we were there too early to board, we returned to camp and did household chores for a while. Later, under a few puffy clouds, we gazed out the bus windows and took pictures of beautifully rugged mountains; a gorgeous tapestry of greenery, wildflowers and winding glacial streams. There were occasional caribou and several Dall Sheep who were so used to the busses that they didn't bother to get out of the way as we approached. As the bus whined along we listened to our driver/tour leader explain the history and geology of the area in an entertaining, "good old boy" drawl. At Eielson Visitor Center, 66 miles into the park, we looked at Denali (and a couple of grizzlies) through telescopes as we ate the picnic lunch we brought with us. Back at camp that evening we wrote a few postcards and rested.