We've just returned from five blissful days in Denali. The weather was sunny and The Mountain was out our first two days. There was more wildlife than I had expected and the vistas were heavenly.

We had no electricity or internet for those days, but we didn't miss either. Our rolling home easily carries a week's worth of fresh water and we even had the luxury of hot showers. Most nights the temperature dropped into the forties but the furnace kept us cosy. I almost felt guilty.

The campground we stayed in was 30 miles into Denali and we needed a special pass to drive in. We were on the Teklanika river and grizzlies, caribou, moose and wolves used the gravel riverbed as a path. Once we'd parked we could not drive our vehicle again for at least three days, to minimize disturbing the animals. A bus service passed right in front of the campground, driven by very knowledgeable guides. They treated the rides like a safari, stopping for animals and beautiful scenery. Hikers were able to get off the bus at any point and flag down a bus when they were ready to return.

I have gigs and gigs of photos to process. I've posted a few at the beginning of my North to Alaska gallery. I do have several photos of Denali when it was out and will post them later. I've posted this one of the Toklat River because I hoped the bus at the beginning of the bridge would give a sense of the scale of the mountains. We rode a bus like that several times. On yesterday's ride we saw eleven grizzlies, three moose, three wolves eating a downed caribou, a herd of over two dozen caribou, and countless other animals.

Tonight we're in North Pole with electricity and internet and temperatures in the seventies. It's quite a change.