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.