We were greeted at the downtown Denali RV Park by a jolly, black lady from the Bahamas. She and her husband have run the park for 12 summers but spend their winters in Anchorage. We stayed one night in this small, busy, gravel pit behind the boardwalk because our first choice place was closed. The conversation during checkin immediately turned to wildlife sightings. The night before, the manager and a friend had been out at 10:30 and seen a lynx and bear. We made a decision to drive the 13 miles into the park at least twice.
All eyes were straining to spot a living creature as we made the first trip into the park. Nothing! We turned around somewhat soberly and began the journey back. Once again everyone got eye strain peering into the foliage. "An eagle!" Joan cried. Many yards off, at the very top of a lonely spruce, we could just make out the white top of the eagle's head. Not much, but it seemed huge at the time. A few minutes later we came upon a moose feeding at the edge of the road. "We'll come again early tomorrow," someone suggested. And there it was, our second safari began at 5:30 am! The highlight that early was wonderful views of McKinley that most people don't get to see because of cloud cover. It was enough. We were happy.
The next day we had an unplanned separation from Bob and Helen. We had been investigating potential rest stops for a lunch break and thought they were behind us. We pulled into a small park that was off the main highway and suddenly they were no longer following. Oops! About two stressful hours later we pulled in to the Wasilla park we'd agreed on the night before and found them waiting. Happy reunion. We puzzled over Sarah Palin's hometown while we enjoyed happy hour.
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