Fairbanks to Denali, 4th of July

On the road again Friday July 4

We had thought about coming to Chena Hot Springs on Wednesday but the Visitors Center said the road was impassable because of 2 - 3 feet of water on the road.

 Logs still floating on the swollen waters.

 Visited the Musk Ox farm but it was closed because of the holiday.

Visited the Botanical Gardens.   

I see this flower a lot.  Don't know the name but find it fascinating.













Onion family.

 Experimental farm.  Another beautiful sunny day.

 On the Parks Hwy. we received the biggest surprise and treat!  Denali in all its glory.

 I have soooo many of this beautiful mountain.  Here you can really see the snow.

 Bridge over Hurricane Gulch.  On a hike we met people from MN.  

They were surprised we knew their hometown of Blue Earth.

 We are 40 miles from Denali (or Mt. McKinley).  It is 20,320 feet tall.

 Sun casting shadows on the Mount.

 It is unbelievable that we are blest with seeing it in all its glory.  

Many people don't because of clouds.

We stayed overnight at the Denali State Park...Southview.  We see 3 vehicles go by with signs "oversize vehicle."  Finally we see a boat going up the road.  I'm sure they had to stop traffic going over that Hurricane Gulch bridge.

 More shadows.

 Maybe the sun will set???!!!!!

 Time 11:30 pm.

I'm going to bed at 11:45 pm and the sun is still visible.

What a day!  Glad we traveled down Parks Hwy. on the 4th of July.  There's road construction and we were warned to expect long delays.  Because of the holiday they weren't working and we could buzz down the road, except for several stops at turnouts to take photos of Denali.