Real Travel Adventures
International
NEW Articles
Adventure Travels
Stories & Photos
January 1, 2011
New Photos and Features
by Bonnie and Bill Neely
by Fyllis Hockman
photos by Bruce Genderson
by Patty Burness
by Nancy and Dean Hoch
Enjoy our past features below:
Some of the trips described in RealTravelAdventures.com were free "fam" trips. However, as professional writers, we never write what, in our opinion, is not a true evaluation of a place. If we do not like a place we visit we say so, or we simply do not write about it.
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
Enjoy our past features below:
Some of the trips described in RealTravelAdventures.com were free "fam" trips. However, as professional writers, we never write what, in our opinion, is not a true evaluation of a place. If we do not like a place we visit we say so, or we simply do not write about it.
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
International
Travel Adventures
Stories & Photos
Advertise on our site. We have the best rates on the Internet!
We average over 800 unique visitors a DAY, nearly half a million a year.
If you travel for more that just a look-see, visit the excellent new Philosophical Traveller for indepth perspectives on places around the world. Click here . You'll find our podcasts there also to listen while you do other work on your computer.
Fab Placez is Designed
with the over 50
traveler in mind
Your FREE online travel magazine e-zine of exciting travel adventures, travel reviews, travel photos from all ages and lifestyles of real travel in US and the world. International travel adventure - travel adventure magazine - travel reviews - trip planner - road trip planner - travel news - Real Travel Adventures Ezine with Book Review and Travel Guides for good reads and good listens on your trips and international travel adventures.
Sharing Travel Adventures & Adventure Travel
Discover Great get-aways, budget stays, and luxury travel to Dream About .Choose from Hundreds of Travel Reviews and and book reviews Outdoor and Nature Photos
Get Your Travel Review Published here!
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
International Magazine
Custom Search
Flag of Alaska
Wildlife, Wild Scenery and Wild Stories
©2011 by Fyllis Hockman, photos by Bruce Genderson
Forty pairs of eyes scan the countryside looking for movement, any movement. With binoculars and cameras at the ready, we hoped for a bear or a moose but were willing to settle for some Dall sheep high up the mountain. Not a passenger aboard the bus maintained a semblance of composure. We scurried like kids from one side to the other, eager to be the first to announce the next sighting. Such was my introduction to the Tundra Wilderness Tour, a 6-8 hour excursion into Denali National Park, one of the highlights of my Gray Line Adventure Tour through southern Alaska. Denali National Park is larger than the state of Massachusetts and tenderly watched over by Mt. McKinley (called Mt. Denali -- “the high one” -- by the locals), at over 20,000 feet the highest mountain in North America.
On an African safari, the goal is to spot the Big Five -- lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, cape buffalo. In Alaska, the concept is the same -- just the names are different: moose, bear, wolf, caribou and Dall sheep. But when we initially stopped to see a rabbit -- okay, our guide called it a Snoeshoe Hare -- I thought, “This is not a good sign.” And in truth, you can't always accurately decipher what you see in the distance: snow fills are mistaken for sheep; large boulders for bears. Hopes rise and are dashed and the guide takes refuge in another Snowshoe Hare.
But this is a tour for the long haul -- and you're not likely to be disappointed. And even more impressive, our driver/guide John Miller, with infectious enthusiasm, kept up a constant patter covering vegetation, history, animal lore, Alaskan peccadilloes, personal experiences and other tantalizing tidbits for almost seven hours. The fact that it was still interesting by that seventh hour is even more of a phenomenal accomplishment. The running commentary that accompanied John's driving along narrow, winding roads clutching the mountainside while he rapidly gazed right and left for any movement that might indicate animal activity was an heroic act of multi-tasking I didn't want to think too much about.
And there was always something to see -- over the course of the tour, we saw numerous Dall sheep, occasional moose, caribou (AKA reindeer), the ubiquitous Snowshoe hares, of course, and other native wildlife. And should the animals play hard to get for a period of time, just lifting your eyes to the proverbial snow-capped mountains in the distance is enough to keep you enthralled until the next native creature reveals itself.
Because the bus is so big, the sound of recognition travels like a wave from front to back -- and there's always a risk the animal the front has viewed is gone by the time the back of the bus catches up. But never fear. On the off-chance you miss the mama moose and her calf or the Dall sheep straddling a steep slope, it will magically appear on the TV screens lowered above the seats in the bus. Close-up images from the driver's video camera are reflected on the drop-down screens. I was torn between resenting seeing my ”in the wild” Alaskan wildlife resembling a Discovery Channel documentary and feeling grateful I could see them at all -- and close up at that.
But, in truth, I was in it for the bears. Earlier in the trip, I had discovered that we were there too early in the year (June instead of July) for the running of the salmon and, therefore, too early for the bears to gather around the streams just waiting for those happily spawning salmon to fly into their mouths. My own mouth had been watering at the very thought of watching such a spectacle.
So once in Denali, I hoped at least to finally get my chance to see bears. John kept re-assuring us we would certainly see grizzlies, but by hour number six, when only a glimpse of brown had been seen once in the far distance, he finally, guiltily, sorrowfully, very apologetically acknowledged that maybe we wouldn't this trip.
And then suddenly, the cry went out -- waves of wows traveled along the bus -- as a momma and two bear cubs came into view. “Hallelujah,” cried one excited passenger; “Thank goodness, we paid $5000 to see that critter,” noted another. John admitted he was getting quite nervous -- only 20 times in 18 seasons had he not seen a bear. It was far away and it clearly wasn't catching any fish, but I did feel some sense of vindication.
At the end of the trip, John played back the video that captured the highlights of our bus trip from hare to bear and all the other denizens of Denali in between: the many Dall sheep, mama moose with twins, caribou, golden eagle, ground squirrels, ptarmigans (the state bird) and, of course, the bears. We just missed Alaska's Big Five by one wolf. Not surprisingly, like the ubiquitous gift shop at the end of every museum tour, the video was for sale.
But Denali was only one stop on the Gray Line Escorted Alaska Explorer Tour. There were also glaciers and mountains and gold mining history and native cultures and whale watching tours and frontier towns and back country plus a myriad of experiences I've had nowhere else. In the process, I learned to appreciate not only America's Last Frontier but the hardy, independent-minded people who inhabit it. Still next time, I want to see more bears.
For more information, visit www.graylinealaska.com
or call 888-452-1737.88-452-1737
888-452-1737
Whether you wish to see Europe, Russia, Asia, or Egypt, the most relaxing way to travel is on Viking
River Cruises . You unpack once and then enjoy daily shore excursions to visit both modern and historic places. Viking River Cruises will give you the trip of your dreams with luxurious accommodations, delicious food, exciting entertainment, and fascinating scenery.
You just can't find a real travel adventure while trying to donate timeshare properties. Thankfully at Transfer America you can get out without having to even go through a sell timeshare strategy.
Find the best cheap cruise deal along with cruise reviews, news and opinions at cruiselinefans.com
Wherever you plan to go on your travel adventures, be sure to purchase
the right travel insurance If you plan to be away for a few months then you will need a backpacker travel insurance policy, most of which now include up to two weeks ski or winter sports cover.
_____________________________________________________
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Book & Audio Reviews For Your Travels
Subscribers:So that your free subscription is not mistaken for spam,
Please copy & paste our E-mail address into your address book: mail@realtraveladventures.com
It's that simple!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Adventure Travels in your Free Ezine
If any links don't work
Thanks for visiting us!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Real and Armchair Travelers: Enjoy best trip reviews, travel features, and excellent travel photos in RealTravelAdventures.com, your FREE on-line international magazine. Send your funny or outrageous travel experiences & photos and get published!
Visit or dream of fascintating places with Real Travel Adventures e-zine! This site offers travel humor, photos, stories, helpful guidebooks, and more. Visit for fun or to seek tips for your next travel adventure...and then share your own stories with us here at
realtraveladventures.com, your free online travel magazine, where you'll find great book reviews, international travel adventures magazine, airline tickets, real travel adventures, camping, RV travel, RV's, Cruises, restaurant reviews, RVing, FamilyTrips, traveling with kids and children, Nature and eco trips, ecology, international travel, Ski Trips, Spas, Spiritual Retreats, interviews with Special People, Travel Humor, Travel News, Unbelievable, WeddingTrips, restaurant reviews and advisor, traveling adventures, adventure travels, travel, virtual and armchair travel, Back Roads, off the beaten path, where to go Camping and enjoy RV trips, where to Dine and Sleep, fun Family Trips, our Favorite Finds, Arts and Crafts, cruises and cruise vacations, romantic trips, traveling tips, travel stories, audio book reviews for your travels, books reviews, good books for a trip, wedding trip planner, wedding Trips, Honeymoons, Unbelievable adventures, Travel News, humorous travel stories, spas and retreats, spiritual retreats, meditation retreats, ski trips, week-end trips Near You, nature's Best places, ecology trips, travel guide books, traveling with children, e-zines, FREE Ezines, Free travel magazines, magazine, free online magazines, internet magazines, free magazine subscriptions, web magazines, true stories, humorous articles, funny features, human interest features, nature photos, environment photographs, photos, adventurous stories, real true stories, true adventrues, camping gear, vacation, holidays, safaris, Caribbean vacations, cheap hotels, great places to go, nature hikes, nature photography, family vacations, family holidays, trip planner, great trips, scenic photos, holiday vacations, holidays, holiday stories, foreign destinations, International travel trips. And you can Get published here too! Send us your travel stories and pictures.
© 2011 Bonita Productions Inc.