denali, and to sea level

denali was cool. the scenery would have wowed me a week ago, and it was impressive, but honestly i think the top of the world highway was prettier.



it was a little different tho, the alaska range added mountains to the scenery, and there was lots of wildlife. our first spot was an snowshoe hare in our firepit. have no idea what he was looking for in there. on the bus tour we saw caribou, eagles, and lots of grizzly bears - in fact i got closer to one than i ever thought i needed to be, albeit from inside a vehicle. they are so funny when they walk, it's really hard to believe watching them waddle around that they can outrun you!



anyway, we rode the bus to the end of the line at wonder lake. there we got out and hiked around the tundra for an hour or two, which is very strange to walk through - generally kind of springy, sometimes a quite firm step will be followed by one that will sink you up to your knees, with no apparent change in the surface. unfortunately the mountain itself, which is under cloud cover about 2/3 of the time, did not come out for us :(



i also did an unconcious bear impression, wandering around oblivious to the surroundings, eating berries. the wild blueberries are way yummy, and it's a lot easier to understand how they can be such a huge fraction of a bear's diet when you consider they make up at least 80% of the vegetation out there.



leaving denali we took the slightly longer path back to canada rather than retrace our route. (as big as alaska is, it only has 11 highways, and we've hit 6 of them.) was a long day but defintely the right call - just gorgeous. arrived in haines this evening, going to spend a couple days here hiking and kayaking. we will be leaving earlier than planned tho, apparently they broke our ferry and we will have to replace the 1 hour boat trip with 5 hours of driving. at least it's a pretty road, i won't really mind heading back that way.unlike the AK highway from destruction bay to the canadian border - i have two words for any woman taking that road - sports bra!



got a hotel on the fjord in haines. you would not believe the view from where i am sitting right now.

this morning we decided it was about time for a breakfast of something other than cereal, and found a good diner. mark had to celebrate the occasion by spraying the guy at the next table with creamer - he claims it was an accident. the guy didn't bat an eyelash, said "better milk than a bird"; and the source of my brick red complexion was alternately extreme embarassment and repressed laughter as we mopped up his table.