We go up at 5:00 by alarm so we'd be ready to photograph Mt. McKinley at sunrise. (Sunrise is about 6:00 now.) I peeked out the windows, and the sky was perfectly clear! Had a very quick breakfast (handfuls of trail mix) and made instant coffee to go. It was 30°F (-1°C) outside this morning according to our National Geographic indoor/outdoor thermometer with a wireless remote temperature sensor. We had had two different indoor/outdoor thermometers with wireless remote temperature sensors, and both of the external sensors stopped working, probably because they were being exposed to too much road salt in their under-RV location. The new wireless remote temperature sensor is mounted under the over-cab just in front of the windshield, so maybe this one will last longer. We left at 5:25 in the Jeep and headed east along the Denali Hwy.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky and Mt. McKinley was out in full view!

We stopped around 5:45 at a small lake by the road with Mt. McKinley reflected to the west. There was a light layer of fog on the lake which created a moody environment. The hill between the lake and Mt. McKinley obstructed the lower part of the mountain, and I couldn't find a way to get a nice foreground in the image without wading into the lake, so I was restricted to compositions with: a) the far shore crossing the middle of the image, or b) just Mt. McKinley above the trees. We were treated to some nice alpenglow that really helped make the image to the left interesting, but it's still lackluster without any clouds in the sky at all. However, it is a view that many people never see, because on average, McKinley is only visible for about one (1) of every five (5) days, and that includes just fleeting glimpses through the clouds. I also discovered some blueberries growing along the shore, and had a nice snack after I finished photographing. We left around 7:00.
We continued heading east to see what we could see. We came upon a cow moose on the road, but she disappeared into the trees while we were still approaching in the car. We turned around and headed back towards the RV.

We stopped at a different pond to photograph the mountains reflected to the south, and there was a pair of trumpeter swans on the pond too. When we had driven by earlier this morning, I had seen what I thought might be a swan hunkered down, but I had dismissed it as just a rock. After photographing the mountains, we turned our attention to the swans. They were very cooperative and even swam towards us as we were approaching them.

By the time we left to head back to the RV, some high thin clouds had started moving in from the south, but McKinley was still in the clear.

We returned to the RV around 9:15. I downloaded images and started editing them while J made us a big breakfast of cheese, bell pepper, and onion omelets and potatoes. After I did the dishes, I showered and trimmed my hair. (You may read about my last, not-so-good haircut on August 8, 2009.) Did some computer work, then worked up the blog for yesterday.

Had a late lunch around 1:15 of two Clif Bars because J had started to nap and I didn't want to disturb her by making my normal lunch. I took a nap too from 2:30 to 3:00. I got notified that our photography club entry for the 2009 Windland Smith Rice International Awards was selected to be a semi-finalist too. :) You can view the club's entry which includes two images from each of us.

I started to make chili for dinner around 4:30. J's son J called her, and after they talked for a while, I spoke with him too. Did some computer work.

Dinner around 6:35 of chili and salad. J loved it, I think mainly because I cooked, but also because it was rather tasty — if I may say so myself. We left at 7:53 in the Jeep and headed east on the Denali Hwy.

We stopped at the swan pond, but the swans were no longer there.
We stopped at a different pond with a beaver. It was working on a dam at the culvert entrance that workers had cleaned out earlier today. We must have arrived at the end of the beaver's work day, because after he took a branch over to the culvert, he swam close by us on his way to the other side of the pond and out of sight. We waited and waited, then decided to pack it up. I explored the area a bit, and discovered the beaver's main pond, where its lodge is located, just upstream around a small rise. The area surrounding the main pond was too marshy, so I didn't explore very much.

We started heading back towards the RV. The clouds to the south were still there and the small band of clouds that had been just above McKinley, and could have made for an interesting sunset image, had moved off to the north leaving just plain old Mt. McKinley in the clear for a very boring backlit image so we didn't wait around to photograph sunset.

We returned to the RV at 9:35. I downloaded images and did a quick edit before going to bed around 10:10, just a few minutes after sunset.