Here we got a full view of Mt McKinley rising above the colorful fall tundra. There is only one road to access the interior of Denali National Park, and visitors cannot drive their own cars in but must travel on Park buses.  The tourist season is short, only from mid-May to mid-September.  The animals here have adapted to the harsh climate in amazing ways.  When the frogs here hibernate,  they are essentially frozen solid, but somehow they revive in the spring.  The Arctic hare has a heart rate of 110 beats per minute in the summer, but during the winter, it falls to 3 beats a minute!

We took a long weekend between Institute semesters to visit Denali National Park 4 hours north of Anchorage.  The Park's 6,000,000 acres-- almost all wilderness--includes North America's tallest peak, Mount McKinley.  We felt really lucky to see the mountain, "The Great One" (here in the background).  Only about 25% of park visitors get to see any part of it because it is so often shrouded with flog and clouds. 

Fall was at the height of its glory already at this latitude.  The bright yellow aspen and birch looked stunning against the dark green spruce.  The higher elevations in the Park were all tree-less tundra, which put on a brilliant show of its own:  Reds, oranges, and yellows.  We got to see some bears, all busy eating berries in preparation for their 6-month hibernation. 

Saturday we hiked in Eagle River, about a half hour north of Anchorage.  The Nature Center here is on the historic Iditarod Trail which runs from Seward to Nome.  Part of the park was closed to hiking because the salmon run was attracting too many bears.

Besides hiking, we have been busy feeding missionaries and preparing for the Institute Book of Mormon class we will be teaching this fall. Sunday we will be trying to contact all the YSA we can about our fall semester schedule.  

Last Thursday we had our final institute class in Wasilla.  What a joy it has been this summer to teach "Principles of Leadership" to this group of OUTSTANDING YSA kids.  They are faithful, devoted youth who are eagerly seeking to grow in the Gospel, serve the Lord, and bless others. They know and love the scriptures; during our lessons they shared wonderful insights and taught us. As our first real Institute class, they will always be special to us.  You can barely see Elder Hawkins at the very back of the group. 

Just off the Seward Highway, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska