NTA Day 34

Up early this morning for a date with a tour at Denali.  The tour should have taken us 66 miles into the park, but extensive and persistent rains over the past several days have washed out the road in numerous places beyond the 30 mile marker, so the eight hour tour was trimmed to a little over four.  Never mind, the views are special, there was wildlife to view, and the bus driver was a superb docent, sharing lots of information and great stories.  He, like many of the workers in Alaska, comes here each year for three or four months.  In September, before the first snow, they sensibly evacuate.  In his case home is Arizona, where he claims to play golf all winter long.  Getting back to the main visitor center, we boarded a shuttle bus to the sled dog area, where we got to see a demo with a wheeled sled.  Afterward, we got to get up close and personal with several of the dogs (no treats allowed).  No snow mobiles are permitted in the  Wilderness areas, so the park maintains three teams of sled dogs for transportation of people and equipment into interior areas of the wintertime park.  These dogs have a sled culture in their pack, with the younger dogs learning to pull the sled by watching the older members in action.  Neat trick.

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