We purchased a Denali 4×4 excursion from Princess, and it started at 6:00 PM. There are almost 24 hours of daylight, so this is no problem. The guides took us by bus to their facility where the vehicles were sparkly clean and ready to go.
The first wildlife sighting was at the facility itself. A rabbit jumped out from behind the porta-potty. “This must be a good sign,” I thought, ready for flights of eagles, herds of caribou, scurrying porcupines and maybe a moose on the loose. 
We divided into groups of 4, each in a different color jeep equipped with a nice pair of binoculars and a CB radio. “Breaker, breaker good buddy”….. (Pardon my flashback to the 70’s.) After a safety briefing which included signing a waver, how to correctly use the radio channels, and how to change the fan on the car from outside air to “recirculate,” we were ready to be in the caravan. Beautiful scenery was everywhere, but the great Mt. Denali was hiding amid the clouds, “Somewhere over there.”
We did not see much wildlife. Our guide explained that the caribou had already migrated and that it was calving season for the moose, so they stay pretty well-hidden. We remained diligent in the search, sometimes spotting tracks or droppings. So the wildlife had to be somewhere.
We saw a beaver.
If you look closely, you might see a little white dot. It’s a swan. You will have to take my word for it. Someone else saw a moose. My binoculars and I never found it.
We all stopped to take a picture of an odd Christmas tree along the side of the road, and our guide told us the conspiracy theories of how it got there. I guess this proves that people will take pictures of anything.
We were next-to-last in the caravan. The lead vehicle spotted a porcupine. It was gone when we got there. Then they saw a moose. The cry came over the radio, “Everybody, slow down. It’s a moose!” We slowed to a crawl. Then came the cry,
“Hurry up, hurry up,…..oh, she’s gone.” Seriously?
Parts of the road were gravel. Actually, most of the road was gravel. In fact, most of what we saw when driving was dust from the vehicle in front of us. “Recirculate!” became our battle cry.
To be fair, our guides were knowledgeable, the scenery was beautiful and the vehicles were in perfect condition. We had a 4×4 experience in Alaska. How many people can say they’ve done that?
Next on our agenda: Riding the Rails in Alaska.