Beautiful Fall Hike

Last Monday, Labor Day, we had amazing, sunny weather. Rob, the kids, Cinder and I all jumped into our truck and drove out of Cantwell just a few miles to the east and stopped at Wolf Point. The 4-wheeler trail there is an easement through Ahtna land (the local native corportation) out to the state-owned mountains. We ended up hiking out down the trail about 2.5 miles through some beautiful tundra-covered land. The leaves of trees, bushes and groundcover have turned to reds, oranges, and yellows. The sky was blue and Mt. McKinley was standing clear and tall. I couldn't get over it. Unfortunately, my camera didn't catch the mountain in the distance (right in the center of this picture).
Cinder had a great time running circles around us, and Samantha's favorite part was splashing in mud puddles. Connor discovered a hidden brook; when he stood quietly over an area that looked like a field of rocks he heard the subtle sound of gurgling water below.

Then we had the pleasant surprise of meeting up with Lance and Dana Williams, their children, and Lance's father. The men were driving out to pick up a 4-wheeler Lance and Dana had left several miles down the trail when they were hunting that morning. The rest of the family was berry picking while they waited for them to return. Dana called my cell phone after they parked having seen our truck at the same turnout and asked, "Where are you?" We ended up hanging out with them for while before we all loaded back up in our trucks. It was a great way to end the afternoon!