We took a tour of the Large Animal Research Center at the University of Alaska. Learned a lot about Muskoxen. First they do not have a musk gland and they are not related to oxen, rather sheep and goats. Since their range is the very north part of the state we aren't likely to see any in the wild. Their under coat makes lovely, soft yarn but it was $85 for a small skein of quiviet. I had to leave the yarn in the gift shop.
They also do research on caribou. We found out there is a small difference between them and reindeer. Caribou are native. Reindeer are from northern Europe and were bred for meat.
On to Denali. We made the 115 mile trip here after the animal tour. After lunch we went into the park to make our plan for the next several days. Garnet is standing here hoping to get a glimpse of Mt. McKinley. Seems it was shy, making its own clouds. We learned that we only have about a 20% chance of seeing the mountain. I am praying God will put us in the right place at the right time to see this magnificent mountain. Today we plan to go into the park and see a sled dog demonstration check out the shops etc. Then tomorrow we are going on a 13 hour bus ride 93 miles into the park.
Should be an awesome day going into the park, enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSteve and Barb