Alaska Journal Part 8

For our last full day in Denali we decided to do two short walks, morning and afternoon. In the morning we followed a trail up and down the Savage River, the starting point was as far into the park as cars are allowed, about 12 miles. In the afternoon, we took the Horseshoe Lake trail which took us to and around, guess what, Horseshoe Lake. What can I say? Another great day and another chance to get into the landscape of Denali. A few photographs from the many I took.

Our walk took us a mile and a half up one side of this river and down the other. It was warm and very, very pleasant.

Another view of the river valley. It's a walk I could do again - and again. Memorable for many things, including the Revenge of the Seafood Chowder. But there's no need to go into the details.

 

A pair of Harlequin Ducks enjoying the sun by the riverside.

Just in case you come across this scat - moose droppings. Each piece is about 2 cm long.

Arctic Ground Squirrel - we only saw the one.

It's a little disconcerting to see a notice like this at the start of a walk. But, armed with our bear spray and singing heartedly, we kept them at bay. If indeed they were there: we like to think they were but our precautions proved effective.

A bird with a mighty fine song, punching far above its weight for the volume it produced. But what is it?

A little bit of post-editing and some Photoshop enhancement and we come up with an answer. It's a male Varied Thrush.

An Alaska Railroad train making its way towards Fairbanks. The whistle on these is just like the sound you heard in the old cowboy films. Every time it blew, we were expecting Casey Jones to be waving at us. But he never did, of course, because he wasn't real.

Wood Avens. Scattered here and there beneath the trees. I can't think of a flower with fewer leaves.