The Alcan: Denali & Anchorage

One of the reasons to travel to Alaska is to visit relatives never-met. Great aunts and first cousins once removed. Their hospitality is legendary. Bob Gastrock took Alicia and I up in his plane to view the Chugach Mountains and to see Anchorage from the air. We spotted a herd of dall sheep and a black bear sow with four cubs near the Turnagain Arm.

Then, Denali! Land of tundra, tiaga, and grizzly. The autumn colors were putting on their best display. The aspens were yellow while the tundra was a rampant mix of red, orange, and yellow; a vast carpet of color sweeping beneath the Alaska Range. Fortune smiled upon us as we awoke in the backcountry to a clear, blue sky and took the park bus deeper into the park to see Mt. McKinley in all her glory.

Moose Sign	Moose Rutting Sign	Moose	Dog Sled Sign	Driving Through Flooded River	Nenana Ice Breaking
Wal*Mike's	JC with Aunt Margie	Anchorage	Flying with Bob	The Turnagain Arm	South Anchorage
JC & Alicia with Bob's Plane	Cousin Judi & Bob	Denali!	Autumn Colors in Denali	Savage River, Denali	Red Things
Denali Tundra	Alicia on Bear Summit	Arctic Ground Squirrel	Savage Rock, Denali	Rainbow, Denali	Denali Tundra
Denali Tundra	Backcountry Camping	Frozen Tent	Frozen Packs (wrapped in protective garbage bags)	Tolkat River, Denali	JC before Mt. McKinley
Alicia before Mt. McKinley	Mt. McKinley	Grizzly Bear beneath McKinley	Glacial Wash	Dall Sheep