Falling Away From Summer

"[Denali has] much to offer those who understand the language of the great silent places ..." - Harry Karstens (1st park superintendent)

Yes, it's only the beginning of September, but fall arrives much earlier in Alaska.  And if you're not careful, you might blink and miss it...

We spent a recent weekend hiking and camping in Denali National Park.  It was our second trip this summer. This time we traveled to Denali to see the glorious fall colors we had only heard about.  Our expectations were more than met. I'll let the photos do the talking...

Funny little creatures those Arctic ground squirrels are.  I've titled this one "Get in my mouth!" (of course with a Fat Bastard accent).

Female dall sheep doing what they do best... climbing the rocks and protecting their babies.

Ravens.

Orange lichen.  Each individual lichen can be thousands of years old!

Black bear track.

Sparrow.

Still in heaven.  Denali has easily become one of my favorite places on earth.

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I must mention that the weekend above was the weekend Denali experienced their first fatal bear mauling in the 90 year history of the park. I'm sure you've heard about it, but if not, click here for one of many articles in the Anchorage Daily News. Although extremely unfortunate, in a 6 million acre park home to numerous black and brown bears and that sees millions of visitors every summer, Denali has done very well with minimizing the number of human wildlife conflicts. It just goes to show that being "bear aware" is not something to be taken lightly.  

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With that, summer has sadly come to an end for us.  The grand adventures will be put on hold for another 8ish months.  But until then, the regular routine will begin again, starting with a move back into "the dorms" this weekend. Can't say I'm not a tad bit excited for winter.  I love adventures, but sometimes I need a little routine in my life... To be able to sit still.  Although, I did hear (from multiple sources) Anchorage is expecting MORE snow that last year.  Oh Lordy! How on earth am I going to deal with more than 11 feet of snow? Hibernation, here I come!

Even though my brain and body may be in hibernation mode in the coming the months, don't worry, the blog will not be.  So, stay tuned for what, and how much snow, lies ahead of us...