Wonder Lake, Denali National Park

I took the Shuttle bus ride into Denali Park, all the way to Wonder Lake. A long 12 hour day going all the way to MP 85 and back, but we picked blueberries, hung out at Wonder Lake, saw the mountain and lots of wildlife, a great trip on a nice day.

Teklanika River.

Teklanika (Take-a-leak-a) Rest stop at MP 29.

 

The views south at Polychrome Pass Overlook.

Denali from the road just past Toklat.

Divide Mountain (5,195') at Toklat.

Our bus at the Eielson Visitor Center.

Our driver stopped so we could pick ripe, juicy blueberries.

We filled whatever containers we had, empty water bottles, sandwich bags, anything.

A Bull Moose just off the road near MP 72.

Wonder Lake.

Wonder Lake.

Wonder Lake.

Wonder Lake.

The nice nurse from Seward,

so excited to see the mountain.

Wonder Lake campground at MP 85.

 

Hurricane Turn, part II

Another Sunday morning drive to Talkeetna for a ride on the Alaska Railroad Hurricane Turn.  The first stop in town is always at the Roadhouse for an awesome breakfast. The next stop is to see Jack at the Alaska Railroad Depot for a ticket and information. A beautiful day and Denali (Mt McKinley) was out and visible all day.  One of the best trips with a great crew and incredible scenery.

The Alaska Railroad.

Denali and the Susitna River

Approaching a bridge (can't remember which one).

The tracks following the Indian River.

Denali looms large over an incredible landscape.

The Hurricane Turn train and the Indian River.

The gang ready for a ride into town on the train.

Loading up their camping and fishing gear.

The baggage car is used for storing all the gear.

The famous Sherman City Hall.  I just read 

Mary Lovell's books about homesteading and raising a

family here, a great read and fascinating story!

Engine driver Steve at the end of the day back in Talkeetna.

The Alaska Railroad.

 

Toklat, Denali National Park

Dave, Kelly, Wendy and I are fortunate to have friends working at Toklat for the Park Service. So we drove out to visit them.  A mini-McMurdo reunion of sorts, as many of us have worked a season or more in Antarctica.  A great trip and lots of fun catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.

The sun and shadows on Mt Fellows.

Dave & Kelly admiring the views.

Igloo mountain and Igloo creek, a favorite of mine.

If you look very carefully you may see a speck of white, a Dall sheep.

Sable Pass, a popular area for grizzly bears.

Amazing views at every turn. This is looking back east from Sable Pass.

The road over Polychrome pass.

Colorful rock formations gave this pass its name.

Sometimes called Poison pass, as one drop will kill you.

Scary, 'cause it's a long way down.

But beautiful, just the same.

Kelly, Dave, Monica and Wendy at Toklat.

Dave, Monica and Wendy

 checking out the bus schedule.

The Toklat river.

Divide Mountain.

Stacey and Bobby checking out the truck.

Dave, Kelly, Marty, Wendy and Anna in the kitchen.

Dave, Kelly, Monica, Marty, Wendy, Georg and Anna.

Georg and Anna are from Austria and awesome folks. 

The rest of us are Antarctica alumni.

Monica and Wendy at Stony Hill.

Luxury accommodations at Toklat.

By that I mean real beds and running water.

The hill to the west of Toklat.

Fireweed along the Park road.

Igloo mountain.

Lunch at Igloo.

Igloo creek.

The trail to Igloo mountain.

The Sanctuary River.

Eielson Visitor's Center, part II

I joined friends, Wendy, Dave & Kelly on a bus trip from Toklat to Eielson last Tuesday.  The mountain was partially out with the north peak most visible. The taller south peak was behind clouds.
We saw a fox on the road, bears eating berries on the hillsides, Dall dots (Dall sheep on the upper slopes of the mountains) and lots of caribou.  A great day and a lot of fun.

The grandeur of Denali from Stony Hill.

A fox on the run.

A grizzly at Eielson, so close they closed the trails.

Denali from Eielson Visitors Center.

Awesome, even in the clouds.

The North Peak is mostly visible but the taller South peak

(to the left) is covered in clouds.

A bus on the way to Wonder Lake.

Dall Sheep on the hillside.

I love the view of Denali from Stony Hill.