Denali National Park, Part 1

June 25th: Many miles of highway through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory are sandwiched between stony hills. The hills are quite inviting to folks wanting to leave their names behind in an eco-friendly manner. We found the same thing on the Parks Highway in Alaska, as we headed toward Denali National Park.


Wildflowers we saw along the way

Pineapple Weed (at first blush, these look like daisies with all the petals removed):




Squirreltail grass:




Our mystery cycling friend again, on the right:




As a base for our jaunts into Denali National Park, we stayed in the McKinley RV Park and Campground in Healy. We were once again pleasantly surprised when Colin called out Barkley's name. What a fabulous reunion!




What looks like snow coming down from the clear blue sky is actually cottony willow seeds. They floated around and coated everything during our stay in Fairbanks, and we enjoyed them again in Healy.


Sue, shining up the grill:


After setting up camp, we headed into the park. Without a special permit, private vehicles are allowed only on the first 15 miles of road in Denali. These are some of the gems we saw in those 15 miles.


Paintbrushes:




Red-tailed Bumblebee:


A large caribou and a few folks watching him:










Possibly a Mew Gull:








Wildflowers in McKinley RV Park and Campground:




Fireweed:


A type of Hawksbeard:




Tall Jacob's Ladder (we'd been seeing the smaller Beautiful Jacob's Ladder, but this is the first tall specimen we've seen):




Probably a Veined White butterfly: