After arriving to Denali NP the previous late afternoon, we got up early (05:45) to get to the bus depot and take the 06:45 bus (busses are required to get deep inside the park). After a night that was a bit shorter than ideal, we parked our car and got in line for our bus. We lucked out with a great driver that had good narration and stories. He also helped us spot a lot of wildlife:

denali

one of our rest stops

We eventually got to Eielson, the far visitor center where we only had a short stop so as not to miss our bus that was continuing on:

they found dinosaurs

nice view from the visitor center

ground squirrels are food for many bigger animals

Jennifer had wanted to go to mirror lake, and we got a partial view of denali in it. We had to be dropped off the side of the road, and walk there. Many things have to align for the picture perfect view, and we only got a partial view:

From there, we figured we'd walk to Wonder Lake, which was a 2.5 mile walk, mostly downhill. It was a pleasant walk but we were rushed for time as we wanted to make the next bus getting out and we made it with just 5mn to spare (the next bus was 1h30 later and it was unclear if it would have space):

some people went to try and pick berries, but they were quite far from the road

We then did the same rest stops in reverse all the way back to the bus depot (around 5H to get back)

We found more wildlife on the way back:

And after 12H in the park, most of them in a bus, it was the end of our long day and time to go back home for dinner and Zzzs

For Day #2, we got a bit more sleep, and went to the Dog and Kenel show. The Alaskan huskies were very eager...

We then went to mile 12 to drop off our car at the end of our planned hike:

the rotor clouds were a clue that wind was hellish

from the parking lot, we got a ride in the back of an SUV, riding on top of their ATV that was in the back. That was fun and weird :)

great views :)

the only wildlife we saw, The rest probably hid from the wind

I enjoyed my huge Alaskan beef jerky

On the way back, we saw a family of moose. The dad was hard to see, but mom and child almost came to the road. Closer than it was arguably safe:

We then went to the visitor center for a couple of hikes:

We then went to beaver lake, and got to see a bunch of beavers in action, that was great:

they were good at diving and swimming under water

I even found a beaver cutting a tree trunk

and this was the dam they made

Two videos of the beavers:

After all this fun, it was time to go home. I had a quick look at the Anchorage-Fairbanks train that happened to stop:

and then we did the 2H drive to fairbanks