Monday, May 28
At the Princess Wilderness Lodge in Denali, you can (and should) sit on the back deck, facing west, and see the majestic, snow-covered mountains as far as the eye can see. We’ll call that the Denali National Park perspective. On the front porch, facing east, you can see a less glorious, touristy strip mall, offering t-shirts for $5.99. We’ll call that the Pigeon Forge on a bad day perspective.
Sometimes, it’s not where you stand, but which direction you face. Your orientation—your perspective—makes all the difference in the world.
That’s how two people, in the same place, might have two very different attitudes about their situation. They are focusing on different things.
If you are bummed about your current life situation, the solution might involve changing places—a new state, a new job, a new vacation spot, a new friend group. More often, I think the solution is about remaining in place, but changing your orientation. You rotate your perspective to see life’s snow-capped mountains—the blessings—rather than the cheesy strip malls.
After a hearty breakfast and cup of java at the Black Bear coffee house, we boarded the bus for a journey into Denali National Park. Crossing into the park, I checked off National Park #29 of 60. I doubt I’ll ever make it to all 60 (unless I commit to do so), but I sure have enjoyed the first 29.
Our bus tour covered just a fraction of the park’s main drive. Another tour, and adventurous back-country campers, go much deeper. But, boy, we sure saw a lot of wildlife in that stretch. The approximate tally was…
– 5 moose, including a calf
– 7 or 8 caribou wandering along and then crossing a river
– 1 arctic squirrel
– several ptarmigans, the state bird. The p is silent, as with pturkey, ptaco, and PTony Romo
– dozens of snow-shoed hares
And…drum roll…
A grizzly bear!!!
There are tour operators who travel in the park daily, over a period of years, and never see a grizzly. So we were thrilled to have one exit some brush and cross the road right next to our bus. Our mostly grey-haired bus riders scrambled over seats and each other, jockeying for the best viewing position.
Our guide said you can tell grizzly bear gender by the presence of offspring/cubs (if cubs, female), visibility of sex organ (if visible, male), and urination (if standing facing tree, male; if politely seated, female). So, in that regard, they’re much like humans.
Our tour including a couple of earnest, if underwhelming, presentations at stops along the way. We learned living history at the Savage Cabin and local native culture at Primrose Ridge. My lack of appreciation was partly due to being distracted by:
1. The presence of snow-shoed hares darting around. Or, as Kyle’s mother-in-law Tami calls them, Fuzzy Hares.
2. The presence of a very juvenile but quite hilarious fart app on my phone, which I may or may not have activated from the back of the crowd, much to my wife’s dismay.
At Primrose Ridge, our guide invited us to face Denali, the mountain formerly known as McKinley. Unfortunately, cloud cover precluded us from seeing the highest mountain peak in North America. Thus, we were staring at a giant cloud. That perspective, had I adopted it, could have been a bummer.
Instead, I chose to change my orientation and focus on my amazing traveling companions, a rare grizzly bear sighting, and the other wildlife and mountains we had seen. God made all these people, these views, and this wildlife, for us to enjoy…and through them, to see Him.
That made me joyful and grateful—the by-products of choosing a better perspective.
