RAIN, WIND, SNOW, AND UNBELIEVABLE BEAUTY

We were in Wasilla last night.  The temps were mild, 45 when we left this morning.  But it was raining, and we figured we'd not see much today.

And here is our view of Denali.  Do you see her?  Isn't she lovely?  What?  You can't see her?  Well, neither did we.  But believe me, she is in the center of the photo on a clear day.

And then we ran into this!  The first snow we've seen this year.  September 18.

But the snow soon stopped, and I spotted the beautiful tundra plants along the road and yelled for Ernie to stop!  Actually, I yelled stop several times today.

I have no idea what these plants are all called, but they were beautiful.

So delicate and tender looking.

Their beauty tugged at my heart.

And I carefully stepped through the ditch, not wanting to crush a single one of them.

They were beyond lovely.

And then came this:

Of course we knew there would be no sight of Denali herself.  And the bus tours into the park have ended for the season, so that was not a possibility for us today.

But we did go into the visitors center and we watched a film on the park and saw the relief map of the mountain.  The glacier on the right of center is the Ruth Glacier.  Son Chris and Amy spent many days camping and skiing there a few years back, so it was fun to see it in relation to the mountain.

Oh, I wish the sun had been out today!  The hillsides would have been blinding. 

All the way to Fairbanks we drove through the yellow forest.  It was beautiful, even in the dreary, cloudy day.

Another place I yelled STOP!

The views were unbelievable.

Did you know there was a city named North Pole?  There is,  Just out of Fairbanks, and right before Eilson AFB, our stop for the evening.

We drove through rain, snow, wind, clouds, and some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen.  Pictures cannot do it justice, you'll just have to believe me.

Tomorrow night is Tok.  We're on the way home.