We were very lucky yesterday to get a campsite in the first (closest to the Wilderness Access Center where all the tours leave from) loop of Riley Campground.
We were also able to get seats on the 8 a.m. (they start at 7 a.m.!) six-hour tour up to Talkat. The bus driver was very informative without being too chatty. Right off we started seeing snowshoe hares all over the road and on both sides. The driver, Mark, warned us that it would be too dangerous for us if he tried to brake for them. It didn't take too long to spot our first moose, then 2 caribou. We also spotted two ptarmigans, the Alaska state bird, which according to Mark can't urinate because they have a silent P. Also we saw gulls, a mama horned owl with her two (maybe three) owlets in their nest really close to the bus, a grizzy who was too high up to really get a good look at, then a red fox slowly crossed the road in front of us then took off running. Several times we spotted eagles soaring around the mountain peaks. Dall sheep were everywhere once we got up over 3,000 feet. Just before we got to the turn around point of the tour, it started to snow, light flurries mostly. Right after getting back on the bus to return to the WAC, we saw a very large light brown grizzly meanering along the glacier track. Then later we saw two asleep on a hillside near the road. Then we saw a wolverine booking it across a snow covered field. He had crossed the road in front of us, then turned to look back, then ran some more, turned to look at us, ran some more. We could see him for a long time.
About half way back, a herd of caribou crossed the road in front of us. By this time the snow was getting thicker with fatter flakes. Just about the time we got back to the WAC, it had changed to rain. We decided to walk the 1/4 mile back to the campsite rather than wait half hour for the shuttle. We got back to the RV and the sun came out!!
