Very early start this morning unfortunately and a bit colder then yesterday. Drizzled with rain most of the morning but better today then yesterday. Had to have our bags out on the porch by 5.20am so they could pack the bus and after breakfast we departed at 6.15am for the park entrance. We had Kirsty again as our driver and Fred was our bus. She advised this would be a quicker drive out as she had to make sure we would make the train but would stop if we saw something worthwhile. After about 5 mins we finally spotted a moose. For a park that is meant to have 2500 of them, they have been very elusive. She was hanging out in one of the kettle ponds (ponds of water that were formed when the glaciers receded) eating pond weed. They have flaps in their ears to stop water from going into their ear drums and they can close their nostril too so they can put their head right under the water.

A little further along we came across a herd of Caribou, easily over 100 of them. We saw some more Ptarmigan birds, ground squirrels and were lucky enough for 2 more sightings of Grizzlies, although further away this time. Just before the end of the road, a Hawk Owl was pointed out to us, hanging out in a tree right by the road's edge. A good morning. We arrived just after 11.30am so about 5.25 hrs of driving, with some toilet stops and one photo stop at the top of one of the mountain passes.

It was totally worth it to stay out there for the night. If you had the time and money, I would recommend 2 nights. Doing it in a day would be tough and I feel would be rushed but a lot of people seem to do it. Glad we got the time we did to enjoy Denali.

After arriving, we checked in for the train, had a quick look at the Visitor's Centre and then it was time to board the train. 7.5hr trip to Anchorage. Although some pretty views out there, 5am start got to much for us and we both slept on and off for the first couple of hours. We had lunch and dinner on the train and the food was pretty good for a train (all included in the first class fare). We were lucky enough to see an Osprey nest atop a power pole with a baby poking it's head out. Mum and I went to the bathroom and went I exited and came back upstairs, mum said the young guide had just seen 2 moose but mum was too slow to see them. A few minutes later, about 5 of us yelled out, "bear, bear". A little black bear was hanging out beside the track. The guide did tell us they had 2 moose at the Anchorage depot this morning.

Happy to reach Anchorage (although an hour late) but sad this is the end of the Alaskan part of our trip, but happy to be catching up with friends and family over the next couple of weeks.