Denali Pictures

Wonder Lake is at the end of the Denali park road. We camped at this lake for 2 days. During the day we hiked and generally avoided the mosquitos. Camping here was fun except that the insects drove us crazy and the weather did not cooperate. However, when it was nice, it was spectacularly nice. Our campsite was located in the left side of this picture. This photo was taken very early (around 7 AM) the last day we stayed there. This is the same spot where Ansel Adams took his famous picture.

	Reflection Pond is one of the best kept secrets of Denali. It is located less than 1 mile from the point overlooking Wonder Lake. But it is off the beaten path - so you have to know where to look for it. It is a small pond formed from some early glaciers that perfectly reflects Mt. McKinley. The bus driver was kind enough to stop for us and show us where the pond was located.

This is Nick's favorite picture of Monica. It was taken at Eilson Center, the last major bus stop for tourists. Since we were staying in the park, we were in no hurry to get back on buses. We broke for lunch before embarking on a long hike. The furthest mountains in the background are about 35 miles away. The "closest" mountains are about 3 miles. "Never mistake a clear view for a short distance" - Paul Saffo

	Grizzles were a common sight. But we did get a close glimpse during one of our walks. A concerned bus stopped and picked us up (for which we were grateful). The bear was more interested in eating berries than stopping to check us out.

Nick was in charge of navigation and frequently checked our hiking progress on a map. Since the sun set at about 3:00 AM, darkness was hardly a problem. The temperature was about 50 degrees at the elevation where we hiked. Though we did tend to change elevation quickly and so the temperature would change. Part of the fun of the trip for Nick was the topo maps and the navigation. Nick carried 7 1/2 min series maps of the park. He also had a 20 minute series because the mountains were so distant.

This is the shelter near our campsite where we stored our food (in the bear-proof contains) and prepared our meals. If you look carefully, you can see Mt. McKinley in the background. Our tent isn't visible in this picture, but is located off to the left side a short distance away. The nice thing about these shelters is that there were often other people preparing their meals, and so there was bug coils (which burned a type of incense which kept the mosquitos away. This let us take off our mosquito needs so that we could enjoy the mountain scenery without looking through green mesh. This was the best view we've ever had during a meal.