Wednesday, after Connor got home from school, we decided to go out and enjoy another beautiful day. We packed a picnic dinner, loaded up in the truck, and drove the Denali Hwy 50 miles east of Cantwell to the Susitna River. It was a gorgeous drive as we passed three glaciers (Nenana, West Fork and Susitna Glaciers) and numerous snow-capped mountains. In the very center of this picture are two peaks. I couldn't determine if they are Mount Deborah (12,339 ft) and Hess Mtn (11,940 ft) or Mt Geist (10,720 ft) and Mt Balchen (10,010 ft) according to our topographical map (or a few other options!).
After parking near the river, Rob loaded his gun, we ate our sandwiches in the bed of the pickup, and then went on a walk along the Susitna. We noticed several game trails to the water, and Rob and I jumped when a robin flew out of a low shrub into a nearby tree. The rustling branches made us wonder if it was a bigger animal...
We witnessed more wildlife on this trip than over the last two months up here! During our adventure, we came upon a cariboo in the middle of the highway. He couldn't figure out how to avoid us, so we followed him at about 3 miles an hour down the road. Finally, we had to speed up and have him run next to us before he would get 
out of the way! We also saw a porcupine that showed us his quills before shuffling into the bushes. Only a few miles from Cantwell, Rob spotted a beaver swimming and gathering twigs for his lodge.
out of the way! We also saw a porcupine that showed us his quills before shuffling into the bushes. Only a few miles from Cantwell, Rob spotted a beaver swimming and gathering twigs for his lodge.
The weather was threatening rain, but it held off until we returned home!
