Headed back to AK-3 to drive to Denali National Park. We could see that this was going to be a good day when we spotted a Black Bear in the woods on the edge a work equipment storage area just off the highway. I pulled into the storage area and Dot got a shot of him through the windshield. By the time I had gotten my camera out, he was retreating into the forest so I didn't get a decent shot.

We stopped to photograph a scenic stream with a large snow bank along side. We were fascinated by the amount of snow this late - remember, we're from Florida (grin).

A bit farther along the highway, we saw this peculiar animal strolling along the shoulder. It turned out to be a Porcupine. First one we have ever seen. I hurridly got my camera, went to where he had just crossed the road and followed him down into the edge of the woods. He stopped running and switched to his defensive posture. He would point his business end at me, then turn around and face me. I think he had difficulty deciding whether or not I meant to eat him - grin.

We got to Denali around noon. Denali has one road that runs 90 miles into the park to a privately owned lodge. Visitors are prohibited from taking their private autos on the park road except, as we learned later, for the first 10 miles. The park runs busses that go varying distances into the park via the single road. These busses are the only way to access the interior. The busses stop for wildlife along the route but you can't get off the bus except a mile away from where the animal was seen. You can, however, get off and hike, then catch a later bus (or yours coming back) - if there is room! Private autos are encouraged to stop, on the limited section of the road they can access, for wildlife and you can pull over, get out and take photographs to your heart's content - or until the animal decides you've had enough and wanders or runs off. We decided to drive in as far as we could to get an idea of the "lay of the land" and, hopefully, see some wildlife. We saw some of the park's premier animals on this short drive, Moose, Dall Sheep and Caribou. We also saw Artic Ground Squirrels as well as a lot of Snowshoe Hares and Willow Ptarmigans. The large animals were too far away to get acceptable photos while the small ones generally scurried away before one could get a camera and get out of the car. Two exceptions were the Snowshoe Hare who was on a bank and couldn't run and the Willow Ptarmigan who didn't seem to pay much attention to us. The Ptarmigan is resplendent in his colorful "breeding brows" which will regress when he finds a mate.

We turned around when we saw the Savage River Permit Station where there was an imposing sign saying we couldn't go any farther without a permit. So, we decided to check in at our motel, even though it was a little early. There is a fairly large tourist service area just outside the park entrance. Locals refer to it as "Glitter Gulch" and the prices are exorbitant. So when making online reservations, we looked at places several miles up the road, finding this motel. I looked at some pictures of the rooms and facility, then made reservations for May 16-23. I noticed that the price of the rooms was noticeably higher for the first couple of days then dropped for the last five but shrugged it off. The next day, we got a phone call from the motel indicating that there were "irregularities" with our reservations. When I asked what the problems were, the lady on the phone asked if I had read their website before making the reservations. I told her that I had looked at some pictures of the rooms, decided they looked OK and went directly to the reservations page. She then said "Well, we don't open until May 19th" - but then went on to say that they could accommodate us anyway - they'd have a room ready early but we'd have to be guinea pigs in the training of some new Bulgarian staff they had hired. She then said the second problem was the price of the rooms (Oh-oh I thought), the web site had charged the 'in-season' rate for the first two days instead of the out of season rates it should have charged so the rooms would be $50 cheaper for each of the first two nights. You can understand why we were a bit anxious to get checked in and see the facility (grin).

We found the motel delightful, by the way, and the management consisted of two couples from the lower 48 - one from Sarasota FL. We asked about local restaurants and the lady at the desk said there was a very good and very pricey one just down the road, one that served authentic Alaska food in Glitter Gulch and a plain but less expensive one towards Healy. We tried the latter, Rose's Cafe, because it was also the most convenient. Went to a local grocery store for some food and toiletry items, then back to the hotel and bed.