Denali 2011

We boarded the Alaska Marine ferry,Columbia in Bellingham Wa. the middle of August. Our destination was Denali and the Yukon area.

 After spending three nights on the ferry we got off at Haynes Ak. to start out drive to Denali.
Along the way we camped at Pine lake in Haynes Junction,Eagle campground in Tok than camped at the west end of the Denali  Hwy.

Once in Denali we spent 7 nights,3 of them at Teklanika,2 at Savage River and 2 at the entrance camp,Riley Creek.

From the different camps we used the park shuttle to travel further into the park. As this is the only way. No un permitted vehicles are allowed beyond Savage River.
We were amazed at the fall color of the tundra and the number of animals we saw there and the whole trip.

Leaving Denali we headed to Dawson City and the Dempster Hwy,spending a night at Tombstone camp,about 90 miles out the Dempster. The weather had turned bad so we headed south through Whitehorse and to Watson Lake,where we picked up the Cassiar Hwy.

After a night at Boya Lake we continued south on the Cassiar and about 100 miles along were stopped at Dees Lake . The road was closed by a landslide and no short time for re opening.
We turned north back to Boya for the night and the next morning decided to head to Skagway and travel by ferry to Prince Rupert to catch the BC ferry to Port Hardy then drive home from there.

It's good we can be flexible and change plans in the middle of the trip and also that we didn't get caught between both landslides on the Cassiar,as we would have been stuck there for a long time.

                                           A shot of Denali.The rangers tell you that the mountain is visible about 
                                          30% of the time We saw it every day . What a sight.

                                          Our first sight of a moose near the park. We would get to see many of
                                           these great animals.

                                           Lots of Trumpeter Swans also.

                                          The drive through the Denali Hwy all 130 miles of it are great.
                                          The scenery can't be caught on a picture,near like in person.

                                          All the fall color of the tundra,a patch work of it.

                                          A mom and calf near the entrance to the park.In the fall this area
                                          is the prime place to see them.

                                          Another peek at the "mountain"

                                            Some of the Caribou.

                                          They put on a great show for us.

                                          Mr. Griz just off the road.

                                           These are the white cousins of the Rocky Mt. Big Horn.

                                           Another moose further in the park.

                                          A not so common sighting of a black bear. There aren't
                                          many in the park,mostly grizzly bear.

                                           So many of the animals are right by the road.

                                          The bus had to stop and wait for this guy to move.

                                          More moose. lots.

                                          This is also along the Denali hwy to the north.I think it's the Alaska range.

                                          Dawso City and the river boat graveyard outside the campground.

                                          As we traveled along the Alaska hwy in the Yukon spotted some cranes
                                          overhead.

                                         This is "Robbie" from Watson Lake showing me his rig and the problem
                                          he was having with the lift panel.

                                          The famous signs of Watson Lake.

                                          So many animals along the road.

                                          On our first visit here in 1992,the ice was covering the tree area in
                                          the middle of the picture.It had receded about a mile since then.

                                           Mendenhall Glacier from the NF campground there.

                                          Our last shots of wildlife.A humpback from the BC ferry.

Ebbetts, Monitor,and Sonora Pass

This was a wandering trip,some planing but changes along the way were fitted in.
We started at Big Trees SP. This is a favorite of ours. When we had the cabin we would go there and walk/ski among the  sequoias at both the north and south grove.
I did get some fishing in at Beaver Creek and the trout just looked at me and laughed. I did get a hit but it must have been a small one.

 At our camp spot we had a family of Downy Woodpeckers living in a stump just outside our spot. 
We could hear them as they cried for food from their ever searching parents.

 This was a nice place to start.Very few other campers,almost like we had the place to ourselves.

Next we went to Union Lake and had it all to ourselves and did some kayaking and fishing.
No luck with the fish but the lake was full and the waterfowl were out feeding.

 Our next stop was Grover Hot Springs SP. Again not many people so the time was quiet.
We walked the trails to the falls from Burnside Lk.and ran across this California Rubber Boa.
This is the largest I have seen almost 2 feet long. Don't think you get to see them much.

We had some nice evenings with the thunder storms rolling in. No rain/hail just very loud and rumbling boomers. It was a real treat. We don't get them along the coast so much.

 On Saturday we left to head over Monitor Pass and stopped at Heenen Lake to walk the trail around the back of the lake.We were hoping to see the eagle family at the back of the lake but they must have not raised a family this year.
The wild flowers were nice and the views west toward Ebbetts Pass was nice to see with some snow.

 After checking out several camp places along Sonora Pass we found that the weather had gotten hot and it seemed like everyone from the valley was up there with their trailers/motor homes.
We headed up the Clarks Fork area and found some quiet spot for the night.

We had planned to skirt through Yosemite spent a night than head out to the coast near Cambria but with the temp at the park over 100* and loads of people we headed home to the fog .
This was a nice trip 6 nights out and some fishing along the way. I didn't have much luck but it was nice to be on the water.