Denali National Park and Otto Lake

Before I begin to tell you about our day, I want to tell you a little about our hosts.  We have spent almost two years working to put this excursion together with the help of a wonderful organization called the Denali Education Center.  I cannot begin to tell you what an amazing job that they have done accommodating and FEEDING us.  I think they have been pretty overwhelmed by how much food teenagers can consume.  The kids are giving rave reviews to the food!  The program directors have adapted their standard programs to fit our needs and we couldn't be more pleased!!  Hats off to this wonderful organization!

Now back to what we've gotten into!  Wednesday we ate breakfast, gathered our lunches and headed off to Denali National Park.  The day was postcard perfect and we were hoping to get a glimpse of the crown jewel of Alaska, Mount McKinley. (aka Denali)  Since the mountain at 20,000+ feet creates it's own weather systems, even on beautiful days, Denali might be covered in clouds.  Once we were in the park, we began our visual hunt for wildlife.  The first animal spotted was a grizzly bear.  We watched as he foraged and disappeared.  While there wasn't an abundance of wildlife, we did spot another bear, a moose in the distance and a fox.  After a long drive and much anticipation, there is was!  The mountain in all of its splendor.  Majestic is the adjective that best describes it.  We had a perfect view of this giant. Once we got to the Eielson center, the cameras started clicking. We were told that only 30% of the visitors to the park actually get to see the mountain so we were very lucky. The best part of the drive on the way back was when our bus driver slammed on the brakes and yelled "caribou"!  Of course, everyone headed to the windows and saw nothing.  He then whispered that the caribou was headed toward us and that we needed to be silent.  At that point we realized that the massive animal was in full gait and by us, just inches away.  Can we say amazing?  Everyone agreed that that was one of the best parts of the park visit.  

Mount McKinley aka Denali

Seniors!

Once we returned to the campus, we ate dinner, got into our vans and headed off to Otto Lake.  We rented canoes, kayaks, and bikes for everyone to ride.  While the bike riders scoped out the trails, the water lovers took to the lake.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  This was to be short-lived as Chris decided that some swimming needed to happen.  Under the guise of taking a picture, the first victims hit the water. By the end of the evening, few had been spared.  Even Dawn, our guide, was tossed in.  We all expended a lot of energy laughing; it was so much fun.  We then headed out to find a hidden waterfall which was spectacular.  The night ended with a surprise stop for ice cream.  Another great day in Alaska!!  

Eliot "Lance Armstrong" Davenport

All we!

Trekking