The Great One

On Saturday the 16th, we drove in to the park. We left around 9 am (or so) and drove into mile 66 (what used to be the Eielson visitor center). We took this picture after a long day in the car - nobody looks especially pleased. Maybe next time we'll take the family photo in the morning when we're awake and happy and ready to get the day started. :)


This bear was AWESOME!!!! Jeremy and I climbed up on the roof of the car and set the tripod up there. She was massive and beautiful and we were glad to be off the ground. She was foraging very close to the road and she drew in quite a large crowd of spectators. Everyone was standing around outside thier vehicle while this bear roamed well within the 50 yard park implemented limit. When she decided to cross the road, she walked in between the cars to do so and came within 3-5 feet of many of the people. I'm sure the park animals are very used to humans.....but still! All I could do was repeat, oh my god! Oh my god! I missed many good shots because I leaned in through the window to alert Jeremy.

I think this was the baby....on the way out we saw a baby and mama moose eating alongside the road. When they crossed the road Jeremy got some really great shots. :)

OK, most of the park road is great - BUT, there is a HORRIBLE section where the very narrow road is set between a mountain and a sheer drop-off, with several sharp curves thrown in for fun. I refused to let Jeremy stop for pictures until we reached a relatively safe section. This is nothing.

Dall Sheep. We scored when it came to animals this trip....in addition to the moose, bear, and dall sheep, we saw wolves and a red fox - oh and ptarmigan and squirrels woo hoo.

What a long day! Time for a nap! Jillian was a trooper through the whole day. We took plenty of breaks and had lots of snacks to munch on. She took 2 naps in the car. She was to ready to get out and run around that night!