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Mid-summer in Interior Alaska (July check-in)


Up here in the Talkeetna / Denali region of Alaska our summer tourist season usually starts the first week of June give or take just a few days. Our first guests this summer flew in with the helicopter on May 28, just 3 days before the last of the ice melted in the lake. Here is a photo of the guests kayaking in the lake. Most all the ice was gone and it's fun to paddle right up next to the little icebergs as they float around.

The end of June and first half of July were very hot & dry. Some were calling it the great Alaska heatwave, but we rather enjoyed it excluding the forest fire part. Our vegetables and flowers have never done so well and the guests enjoyed hiking and swimming in the heat as we didn't bother packing rain gear for almost 2 weeks. Here is a photo of some of the flowers we planted and put around the front deck.

The warm weather has not been good for wildlife viewing unfortunately, since the animals only want to stay in the shade they have stayed very well hidden in the alder bushes these past few weeks. We have seen moose swimming in the lake, and a few bear wandering around,

A Cow and calf moose swim through the lake at Caribou Lodge Alaska

but due to the predator population and harsh winter of 2017 / 2018 we have almost no caribou left. It will be a few years before those lovable creatures make their way back. Back in 2017 we saw hundreds. Many times little herds of them were visible from the lodge. This year, we've seen 1. Not one herd.... just one caribou period. But now that the wolves have moved out and the bear population has tapered off we hope the caribou will make there way back soon.

One thing that has been so great this year is the birding. We have seen so many types of birds at or near the lodge this year. If you're into birding and might consider caribou Lodge for your birding destination check out this page for bird nerds. https://www.cariboulodgealaska.com/birding

Here are a couple shots we've gotten this summer so far and just a fraction of the species we have seen...

Golden-crowned Sparrow at Caribou Lodge Alaska

GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW

Varied Thrush at Caribou Lodge Alaska near Denali Park

VARIED THRUSH

Northern Shrike at Caribou Lodge Alaska near Denali Park

NORTHERN SHRIKE

Arctic Warbler at Caribou Lodge Alaska near Denali Park

ARCTIC WARBLER

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