Thursday-Sunday 8-11th September.

The changing autumn colours are still happening in Denali, a 6 million acre park that straddles the Alaska range.

We elected to stay only for a couple of days but extended our time because of the abundance of wild life.

It is Mt McKinley the highest mountain in North America at 6,193 metres that draws most of the lower 48 State visitors to this park. Rare it is to see the two peaks on this normally snow covered and clouded monolith. We were lucky.

Denali ( The High One) as it is known to the Athabascan Native People gives the park its name.

For us it was the wild life that takes our attention.

The Caribou have mostly moved south and it was only a couple of late stragglers that we saw as they moved quickly through the scrub.

The Grizzly Bears are stocking up on the last of the high protein berries before winter sets in. Four was our count.

The Dall Sheep stay during the winter and dig through the snow for grasses on the high slopes

It is currently rutting season for the Moose, and we are rewarded with a fine example of the male moose ready to fight for his harem of females

So watch out !

This bull moose already had his quota of three cows and was quite content to just watch over them.

Obviously she was very happy and gives him a big appreciative smile.

Checked out the dogs that do the mushing for the rangers during winter, as no mechanical vehicles are allowed into the park during that time.

Camp 126/7:  Riley Creek and Savage River Camp in Denali

Cost: US$22 each

N63* 43.801  W148* 53.873

Today :  229Kms. 

Trip Total :  56,112  Kms

Sunday 11th September:

Left Denali Nat. Park and headed south towards Anchorage, a visit to the small mountaineering community of Talkeetna is a must. It is here that most of the Mt McKinley climbers leave from to ascend the 20,000Ft Mountain. It was the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and the community was out remembering. In the centre park a group of local musicians were playing, this we enjoyed over an oversized ice-cream.

The view of Mt McKinley was clear and perfect from the river banks at Talkeetna so with the solar activity reportedly high for the last couple of days we drove the 100 kms back towards Denali and camped at the Mt McKinley North View camp site just off the h’way. This was in anticipation of some more great northern lights.

Unfortunately it was also a full moon so the 1am to 2am sky was not perfect but still amazing.

This time a more rainbowed spectrum

Camp 128: Mt McKinley Aurora View Camp

Cost: US$10

N62* 53.196  W149* 47.198

Today :  447 Kms. 

Trip Total :  56,559  Kms

Monday 12th September:

Called into this quaint place at Trapper Creek. This guy has a collection of anything and everything, and all is for sale. Just do not ask for a better price because he is likely to reply “ I hunted it, trapped it, killed it, preserved it, catalogued it, kept it, paid insurance on it etc etc.”

I was very tempted with a pair of old snow shoes but resisted as not quite sure where I could use them in sunny Queensland.

Just south of Anchorage in the Cook Inlet we spotted a pod of Beluga Whales. Spotted is the correct word because it is only the small white dot. Camp was on part of the old road sheltered from the ferocious cold wind.

Camp 128: Beluga Whale Camp on the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet

Cost: Nil

N60* 55.321  W149* 08.051

Today :  365 Kms. 

Trip Total :  56,924  Kms