We began our drive to Teklanika at 6 am, hoping to see wildlife. The day surpassed all expectations!

The only easy wildlife siting was our first view of the large grizzly bear walking right down the road.  We stopped and turned off the car, and he just kept getting closer and closer!  About the time we were getting worried about C having his window down (20 yards away), the bear finally veered into the woods.  We were thrilled that we had gotten up early, not knowing that the day was going to get even better.

Today was the lucky day when we finally saw a wolf while together.   The photo  doesn’t do him justice.   When we first saw the large wolf, he was sitting close to the Denali Park Road near MP 26.  He had a thick, glossy coat and he moved easily as he slowly trotted into the trees.  We were able to see him (or them?  may have been 2) moving in and out of the trees for several minutes.  

As we had already seen 2 Dall Sheep earlier, we were now motivated to try for Caribou and Moose, hoping to see the Big Five all in one day. 

While trying to find live Caribou at an overlook, C spotted a shed antler 0.75 mile away.  We decided to hike the tundra to check it out.  It was fun but exhausting! 

In the above photo, I placed a red dot beside where the car is parked.   Somehow, C spotted that antler from so far away!  Impressive! 

Next we saw another grizzly bear and two moose, all in the same area.  As we passed Savage River Bridge without seeing a Caribou, it was looking like the antler was going to have to suffice (4.5 of the 5?).

Somehow, despite the encroaching trees, I glimpsed a horizontal tan line that deserved a second look, and C was able to maneuver the car to see in a gap.  Sure enough,  2 caribou! 

Wow, we had our Big Five!  We also observed 3 large white/gray raptors (one of which was laboriously carrying a Ptarmigan). To complete the count, we must include 52 (live) Ptarmigan, 6 Spruce Grouse,  6 squirrels, 1 Snowshoe Hare, and 0 Pikas.  See C’s Facebook post for additional photos and details on our wonderful day.