Denali National Park is an incredibly huge expanse of wilderness in the heart of Alaska, mostly consisting of sub-arctic tundra. A single 90-mile road winds through just a small fraction of the park, leaving the rest largely untouched by humans. Travelling in the park, I was struck by the wide expanses, the harsh conditions for plants and animals, and a feeling of truly being in the wild.

Mid-May is still a bit cold, and it even snowed a bit during our three day visit. But, the days are already quite long (16+ hours of daylight) and the nights never get quite dark (a bit disconcerting going to bed in broad daylight). Travelling during this "shoulder season" had a number of benefits, including few crowds and a rare opportunity to drive through the park with our own rental car. Normally, road access is restricted to park busses, though the downside was that the road had not yet opened beyond the 30-mile mark.