The Denali Park Road is finally open after being closed for a few weeks due to COVID-19. We took an afternoon drive to search for some wildlife, and well? ...get out of the house!
Denali, The Great One, is the center mountain in this range.Earlier in April, the National Park Service closed the Denali Park Road to public access due to the COVID19 Coronavirus. We are glad folks are staying safe, but were really disappointed that as locals we couldn't visit our local park! Well, that changed this week and the road is open!!
On a spring Saturday afternoon, I loaded up my kiddos and we headed off for a drive. The weather is slowly turning more and more pleasant, but it's not warm by any means. The park road still has lots of snow, and I was surprised how many other travelers were on the road!
My kids fell asleep and I was listening to a podcast, focused on trying to see if there was any wildlife. Even though she's bigger than any mountain in North America, Denali caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting her to be out, and yet there she was. She's just so beautiful!!!
This display shows exactly which peak is Denali! It is pointed in the exact right direction to help you know if what you're looking at is really THE Mountain. It is!!
It was time to head home, but we hadn't seen any wildlife. While I was a little disappointed, I knew that's just part of the game. BUT, while heading home, we were surprised with a mama and baby moose!!
The mama is on the left and the baby is on the right. The baby is likely a yearling - last year's calf. In just a few weeks, mom will kick the baby moose out on their own. My kids were extremely happy to see the moose. It was a lovely wrap up to our day in the park!