Done Did Denali

Hi All...We are in Fairbanks and just wanted to write a quick update. We spent much of the last week in Denali National Park where we saw awesome animals, did some amazing hiking, met some interesting people, and wore almost all of our clothes to keep warm. The 6 hour bus ride (the only way to get into the park) took us 85 miles into the park where we camped at Wonder Lake. This campground is the closest that you can get to Mt. McKinley unless you are on the mountain. They say that only 30% of people who come to visit even get to see the whole mountain, and we were incredibly blessed. Despite our very cold and rainy bus ride in, we had two fantastic days of viewing the mountain. There is nothing quite like waking up, sticking your head out of the tent, and seeing a 20,000 foot mountain right in front of you (28 miles away). We were also able to do some great off-trail hiking. Denali is famous for not having many trails in the park, so you are able to just ride the bus and say, "I'd like to get off here please," and they let you just tromp around on the tundra. It is a funny feeling though, because these are the same buses that carry people into the park for the day to do wildlife viewing, so one minute you are scanning for bears and the next you are hopping out to climb every mountains. Surreal, but really wonderful. We were also very fortunate to hit the peak fall season here. Fortunate in that the colors were unbelievable. The camping was also quite an adventure. Because of the nature of the area, all the food is kept in a building surrounded by picnic tables and most people cook and eat there. This leads to getting to know the people around you much more than normal camping, and we had a great time getting to talk to lots of other visitors. Poor Rodney...some nights I think he had cooked, cleaned up, gotten ready for bed, and returned to the cook area only to find me still talking or helping out a new friend with a Scrabble game. This trip also had some great wild life viewing. We saw several bears and moose, birds, a fox, and a coyote. One bear even walked down the road in front of our bus for a few miles. The whole trip was really amazing, and I would have to say that it was a definitely highlight! Although I was at first a bit trepidatious about heading out into the famed Denali, once I was there I spent the entire time being completely captivated by the expansive scenery and fantastic beauty. (Ok, not the entire time...some of that was spent shivering to sleep in the chilly wilderness evenings, but mostly). :) The mountains there are friendly...they seem to just be sitting there waiting for you to climb them, and the joy of heading out across them with no trail is a sort of freedom and adventure that everyone should get to live. Needless to say, we had a great time.
And now we are here in Fairbanks enjoying great food and trying to stay dry. Apparently we have hit a bit of a wet season here in Alaska, but we are heading north yet again and hope to see sunny skies. Tomorrow we head out for the Brooks Range and then back here to Fairbanks. Our heading North is almost done, and I'm not sure what to think...hmmm...until then...it's north for now.