Late Summer in Denali and Kenai Fjords!

Hi friends!  Here are some pictures of Denali in August and some of the things I've been up to lately.  Enjoy!

Mt. McKinley

Caribou on the Plains of Murie

A nice-looking male caribou (sorry for the rear-end shot!)

A young bear running across the tundra

A rainbow veiwed from the front porch of my cabin.  Can you see the little white dots on the hill?  Those are Dall Sheep.

One of my favorite late-summer flowers - the whitish gentian

the view from atop Geode Mountain

While hiking all day high on a ridge in dense fog, the fog finally drifted away to reveal the Toklat River!  I don't recommend hiking around in dense fog high on a mountain.



The beautiful Alaska Range with Wonder Lake in foreground

The Alaska Range with Mt. McKinley on the right (Wonder Lake in foreground).  This is McKinley viewed from the north.

I had a four-day weekend to go down to Kenai Fjords National Park.  Here I am at the Harding Ice Field.

One day I got to go on a boat cruise around the fjords.  (Thanks to my friend Ryan!)  Here are some Harbor Seals I saw on the trip.

And here are some Stellar Sea Lions - they looked like they were lovin' life!

And of course, the sea otter was curious about us!

Some beautiful rock formations in Resurrection Bay



We approached this glacier and got to see and hear it calving!

Another view of the glacier

 



Ice from the glacier zoomed in

These good old friends were very hospitable to me - Peter, me, Ryan, Max.  Thanks for letting me stay, guys!

McKinley viewed from the Reflection Pond

Just another beautiful day at work!

Our caribou antlers at Eielson Visitor Center

Here I am hiking through the Toklat River valley as the fall colors are starting to show.  Stay tuned for fall color pictures later!