Denali!

Took an early morning bus into the park.  ALL the way into the park.  It was a 6 hour trip on a school bus that left at 7:00 AM.

Thrilled.

We stopped at several lookout spots and dropped off a few hikers along the way to Kantishna (90 miles of dirt road).

stretching our legs

Wonder Lake

We saw all sorts of wildlife on the way in- bears, caribou, dall sheep, and moose... but the trip out was much more fun!  We rode in a small plane that took off from a dirt runway.

From the air, we didn't see much of Mt. McKinley because of the clouds, but we were able to tour the glaciers and mountaintops much better... and it was only an hour back to the park entrance.  Such a beautiful flight.  When we flew over glaciers, the plane would drop because of temperature changes.  It was very cool!

Glaciers beneath us

After our trip back, we took an improvised hike through the woods to find our car, but it didn't work out and we backtracked.  This is bear and moose country and we were unprepared for any encounters... so better safe than sorry.  We hitchhiked back to our car and got dinner at a highly recommended place on a golf course in Healy.  What a fun day!