Moose at our breakfast - Fairbanks to Denali and then Anchorage (29 May - 31 May)

Yes there was a moose while we had breakfast. We dry camped (no power, sewerage or water available) in Denali National Park on the night of 29 May. The word 'night' refers to the time on the clock. As an experience, there was no night.

The camp located each van in a little nook in the forest. We could see other vans but we were separate. We were breakfasting at our table in the motorhome when Merryn suddenly exclaimed, "Moose!"  Sure enough a moose was in a slow jog across the road and into the forest right in front of our van, followed by another slightly smaller one. They appear to be ungainly creatures  with their shoulders and hips pumping up and down as they run.  It seems possible that they were designed by Dr. Seuss. We only saw them for a few seconds so we didn't have time to take a photo but it was a thrill. Later we saw other moose meander across the road.

Backing up, we got to Denaili on May 29, driving through more spectacular country.  Unfortunately there was cloud cover and haze so we couldn't see Mt. McKinley (also known as Denali), the highest point in the North American continent.


These next pictures show aspects of the boreal forest, primarily conifer, in this case black spruce. We saw a cross section of a 90 year old black spruce that measured less than 10 cm diameter. They manage to grow in the boggy swamp you can see in the photos. Of course, that bog is frozen most of the year, and it will be frozen beneath the surface even during the thaw. Once the land rises a bit and can drain, the black spruce is replaced by white spruce which grows at almost twice the rate.



We are now in Anchorage for three nights while we catch up on laundry, rest, grocery shopping, etc., before heading to Chicken and then Dawson City via the Top of the World Highway.

Birds are starting to arrive as things warm up. This bird is actually a magpie. There are lots of them in our RV park, known as Ship Creek RV Park. No, we don't have a paddle.  There is a notice on the office door advising care as a black bear has been seen in the park.



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