8/2/19 - Denali Hwy, Gettin' Mud on the Tires! (UPDATED)

**Pictures speak a thousand words, but they won't upload on slow internet. I will try to add them the next time I get stronger wifi**

We traveled the Denali Highway as we begin making our way home.  This road connects
the Parks Highway (Anchorage to Fairbanks)  with the Richardson Highway (Fairbanks to Seward) as a "short cut" from Denali to the interior. Well,  like my dad's "short cuts", this was a bit bumpier and dirtier, but very interesting to travel!

The road begins in a mixed forest of spruce, aspen, and willow. There are about 8 miles of pavement before it turns to gravel. We wound along the side of many small lakes and streams before we started to  climb up in altitude.

About 20 miles in we wound to the top of hill covered in low alpine brush. It opened onto a wide glacial basin full of kettle lakes and morraine piles. We wound through, over, and around this wide basin for much of the day.

Then we rounded the foothills of the Alaska range and camped in a sheltered hollow along 7-mile lake. Plentiful wild blueberries meant wild blueberry pancakes for breakfast!

The last 20 miles of the Denali Highway is back to pavement, although that was often bumpier than the gravel. We began to see thcker forests again and giant mountains ahead of us.. Those we'll follow north a ways.

All of these changes in less than 135 miles!

Mud on our tailpipe. We'll be needing an auto detail!