On the Road to Fairbanks

Here are a few parting shots from Denali - some of the alpine wildflowers I did not have room to add to previous Denali posts.

After leaving Denali, we headed north to Fairbanks.
Michelle wanted to see the area and the town.
Below are some views of the area taken from the Parks Highway.

At Last - a View of Mount McKinley

We got up at about 5 am on our 4th day in Denali, packed up our tent, and headed down the road to the entrance. It was completely clear and we were hoping Mount McKinley would be visible.
We were thrilled when it came into view!

This was the best view we got of Mount McKinley during our entire time in the area.

Wonder Lake - Denali National Park

One of our bus rides took us all the way to the end of the Denali National Park Road.
Wonder Lake - at mile 85. When planning our trip, we contemplated staying at the Wonder Lake Campground. This is a tent only campground and can be reached
only by riding a camper bus.
The appeal of this campground is that it is right at the base of Mount McKinley.
If we stayed there - we might have a chance of seeing the elusive mountain.
(Above) Along the road to Wonder Lake - this is further down the McKinley River from the Eielson Visitor Center.

(Above) A view of Wonder Lake.
(Below) A view of the Wonder Lake campground. Mount McKinley would be right there if it was not hidden in the clouds. This is where people planning a climb might begin their ascent.

One reason we decided against this campground was the threat of mosquitoes - this place has a reputation for being super buggy.
The other reason was the intense planning and time pressure we would be under to be fully organized and on time for the camper bus ride into the depth of the park - just a day after I had flown in (arriving at 2 am!)

I think we made the right decision. It was nice having the luxury of arriving at our campsite on our own schedule. It allowed us to enjoy our drive from Anchorage and do a few side trips without worrying that we might miss the camper bus.

Denali Park Scenery

We spent a lot of time riding around on the Denali Park Shuttles. They are actually just school buses, and therefore - sized for children. It is cramped if the bus is full.

They stopped for wildlife viewing, as well as rest stops, but otherwise, you are just rumbling along at about 35 mph. (or less).

I was quite enthralled with the scenery and snapped quite a few landscape pictures out the window.

Denali Park Wildlife

Once again I cannot take credit for these photographs. Michelle was using the Canon Rebel with the telephoto lens and she took all the wildlife photos.

The wildlife was quite far from the road. I was glad I had binoculars so I could see them.

This red fox happened to be right beside the road. Otherwise, all the wildlife was off on a hillside and we looked out the window of the bus to view them.

Denali Park Butterflies

I can't take credit for these butterfly photos, however - Michelle was using my camera!

These pictures were all taken down in the McKinley River Basin during our hike.

I am well acquainted with the Fritillary (below) but the black and red butterfly above is new to me. Anyone recognize it?

Mail Art Project - Week Forty

Cottage

Hand dyed, hand painted, and block printed cotton. Fused and machine stitched.

McKinley River Basin - Denali National Park

We rode the bus back to Eielson Visitor Center a second day, hoping for a chance to see Mount McKinley. It was sunny and clear when we left our campground, but the clouds had moved in by the time we reached the Visitor Center. We decided to hike down into the McKinley River basin while we waited for the clouds to move away and give us a peek at the mountain. Above, you can see Michelle looking down into the basin from a trail near the Visitor Center. We knew it would be a steep climb down.

It turned out to be much more of a bushwhack than we expected, and even steeper than the previous day's climb up the ridge. But we arrived at the basin unscathed (well, maybe a few scratches from crawling through the brush)

This braided river basin was all abloom and we enjoyed looking at the wildflowers as well as the glacier carved pebbles strewn across the vast river basin.

After we had wandered around the basin for a while, we headed back for the trail to the visitor center. We could not resist the opportunity to dip our feet in the icy glacier water of the McKinley River before the climb up to the Eielson Visitor Center.

The last few steps (above). One last look at the McKinley River and Mount Eielson (below).

Alpine Ridge Trail - Denali National Park

We rode the shuttle bus from our camp at Teklanika to the Eielson Visitor Center two days in a row, hoping for a glimpse of Mount McKinley. While we waited around for the clouds to move, we did a hike each day. The Alpine Ridge Hike is about 1 mile long and gains about 1000 feet in elevation. It is a steady climb and I was slow. Michelle took this picture of me from above - she stayed way ahead of me. Below me, you can see the only road into the park - a gravel road - and the McKinley River Basin.
After we took this picture together, the sun came out and we found ourselves alone on this ridge for about 1 1/2 hours. We sat and soaked up the view, then we walked further along the ridge for about 1/2 mile. This was a really special time for us.

Mount McKinley would be right above Michelle's head if it was not hidden in the clouds.

Mount McKinley should be right behind me . . . .

More Eielson Visitor Center Art

The Eielson Visitor Center has a nice gallery for artwork from the Artist in Residence program.
I was impressed that this visitor center contains not one, but two stunning art quilts!