View from my Anchorage hotel room
Waterfall along the Seward Highway
The train running along the highway
Waldo, train, mountains
At Portage Lake
Our first hike of the trip!
The group sets off
AB with Byron Glacier in the distance
View of snowy river
Hiking in the snowfield
A trail of blood tells the tale of Waldo's heroic attempt to save us from a bear...or maybe it's just a bloody nose
A critical pitstop
Cheryl and Mike display their purchases
Welcome to Kenai
Most amazing view of Skilak Lake
Waldo on his throne
AB and Skilak Lake view
More gorgeous view
Jon and Ellen attempt to pitch their tent
First wildlife sighting (other than Waldo): a leech
Around the campfire at 11 PM
Our first hike of the morning, Monday
Lisa, like everyone else, seems a bit itchy
Maybe THAT's why (demonstrating ass provided by Lisa)
Reached the river!
On our second hike, through a former forest fire
Beautiful lupine
Ellen, Jon, and Nicole
On the shore of Skilak Lake
Me and Waldo
Check out the fangs on the salmon!
When skipping rocks is too hard, just toss 'em
What goes up
...must come down
Multicolored water
Holy crap, bear in camp! That's my tent!
Just made it into the frame
Awesome...cubs were in a tree
Mike and I setting out for a little canoe around Hidden Lake
Ellen and Jon on a canoe trip with me and Mike
Canoe canoe?
Ducklings!
Waldo hitches up our trailer for departure on Tuesday
Waldo, Lisa, and Ellen
View from Seward (old docks destroyed by '64 earthquake)
RVs everywhere you look in AK
Our trusty van and trailer
Cute boat in the harbor
Seward marina
Jon and Ellen, about to set off on our tour of the Fjords
Sea lions
You'll have to take my word for it, but that's an orca
Me with glacier in background
Amazing views abound
Oooo, mini icebergs!
They're everywhere!
Aialik Glacier
Harbor seal
Aialik Glacier again
Yum cookies
On the pier with recently returned fishermen and their haul
Nice!
Accidental spill
After our showers, we were ready for a nice dinner in Seward
Now that's an Alaskan vehicle
View of downtown Anchorage
Stopping for fireworks on our way to Denali
A rare clear view of Mt. McKinley
Me with Mt. McKinley in background
The group at dinner
Mike, Jon, and Nicole around the campfire
Lisa roasts a marshmallow
First s'more!
Now it's Nicole's turn
Yuuums!
Ellen and Wild Turkey
View from our campsite
Caribou running along the road in Denali NP
Another caribou
Grizzleys!
Grizzlies at play
View from Polychrome Overlook
Braided river winds into the distance
Destination: Summit of Polychrome Mountain
View of the opposite side of the Polychrome overlook
Lisa leads the way along the Dall sheep trail - Polychrome Mt ahead
Ellen, Jon, and Nicole on the trail
Descending off the overlook hill
Arctic ground squirrels: much better than regular squirrels
From the summit of Polychrome Mountain
View
There's the bus!
Headed back down after lunch
Green buses are the transport of choice/requirement in Denali
In the Toklat River bed, looking in vain for the river
Rocks with oxidized iron litter the river beds
Ice has a powerful influence on even the toughest rock
Ah, now here's the river
Jon is so happy he made it across the turgid waters of the treacherous river
Clear vs. silty
Jon makes a daring leap across the river
A new species of AB caribou
It's a madhouse when disagreements between siblings involve antlers
Ellen takes a swing at the first hole during midnight golf
Waldo tees up
Mike, Lisa, Cheryl, and Waldo chill in the golf carts
Keep in mind this is *midnight*
Jon on the green
All eyes on golf prodigy Jon
Waldo coaches Ellen on her swing
Lovely sunset. That's as dark as it gets.
I attempt to putt
Arms like a pendulum!
Getting back to camp at 1:40 AM
At least Ellen has bear spray
Moose!
Jon on the trail, Mt. Healy ahead
Ellen on her way up Mt. Healy
We've reached the (first) summit!
(Opposite direction from the previous photo)
But the trail continues much farther
As far as we went
We stopped here due to time, but the trail continued for who knows how long
Me on the way down (on the easy part!)
We hiked along that ridge to the second bump from the right
Waldo prepares our fireworks barge
Taking the barge out
Fireworks! Not nearly as dramatic with so much light in the sky
View of boat and fireworks
Waldo and glowing poi balls
The party next door to our campsite
Stupidity should be painful, as this guy demonstrates
Horseshoe Lake, the last hike before the return to Anchorage and the end of the trip
