The Denali National Park is serviced by a 91-mile road from the entrance to the mining camp of Kantishna. It runs east to west, north of and roughly parallel to the imposing Alaska Range.  Only a small fraction of the road is paved because permafrost and the freeze-thaw cycle creates an enormous cost for maintaining the road. Only the first 15 miles of the road are available to private vehicles, and beyond this point, visitors must access the interior by park bus. The Wonder Lake campground, our destination for the evening, takes six hours to reach with frequent stops for wildlife sightings (Jeanine spotted the first bear) and rest breaks along the way.

Portions of the road cling to the sides of mountains and are seemingly too narrow to support bi-directional bus traffic. Absent guard rails of any type and sheer cliff drop offs I was happy to be chauffeured by our skilled bus driver who also provided highly informative narrative during our journey.

The view from our campsite was magnificent and our preparations for the infamous mosquitoes (head nets and repellent-treated clothing in additional to normal measures) allowed us to enjoy being outside.

As soon as we established our camp we ventured out for a 6 mile hike on the McKinley Bar trail and later in the day found our way down to Wonder Lake where we relaxed in solitude.