Day-by-day look at Alaska

I got great photos of snowshoe hare, willow ptarmigan and a bull caribou, and decent shots of the wolf. The other animals were too far away to make good photos. After our bus tour, we drove back into the park as far as we could go on our own (which is to the Savage River), seeing even more wildlife. We picked up a porcupine, two bull moose hanging out together and more caribou. One big male silhouetted majestically on a ridge in the distance.

We stopped at Savage Interpretive Cabin, a surprisingly wonderful visit. After a short hike, we came across the old log cabin, which had smoke rising from the chimney. Vic hailed, “Hello the house!” Out came Barefoot Jack Webster, or more properly, an interpreter who plays the role of historic Barefoot Jack.

Visiting with him and hearing the history of the cabin -- which had been an old cookhouse for the trail crew that built the first road through Denali -- was the best part of our visit to the park. He stayed in character and spoke with an old backwoods dialect used by early prospectors and trappers. We finished our day at rustic Salmon Bake, where Vic had seafood chowder and I had some yummy halibut tacos.

The light in Alaska is very strange and foreign-looking. We'd been told that the sun sets late and rises early (not that I ever saw the sunrise part), but I wasn't prepared for the long twilight at sunset. It was still light at 10 p.m. with colored clouds that made you think that it would be dark soon, but the twilight lingered for another hour. We kept forgetting to go to sleep because of the long daylight hours, but we were too excited to be tired.

Tomorrow we drive to Fairbanks, a short drive, and stay there two nights. We'll visit Vic's old college dorm mate, Ken Whitten, a retired Fish and Game biologist, and his wife, Mary -- who has just returned from a trip to Southern California and Banning -- to help a relative move. They’ve promised us moose for dinner.

Day 8 — Drive from Denali to Fairbanks