Dee Ann says: My fifteenth year in Denali National Park and it was beyond magical. As if the brilliant fall colors are not enough, we had three days of snow in August shutting down the park road, so being on road permit and already out at Wonder Lake before the road was closed gave way to silence and calm at the back of the park. And with the elevation near Wonder Lake being much lower, there were only traces of snow. Yet there was a different energy in the air with the sense of a change of season.

For a good part of four days I spent time out on the tundra photographing a substantial bull caribou and this young bull who was never far from the commanding presence of the big guy. Frisky and a little too curious from time to time, the young bull followed the big bull towards Wonder Lake, where it appeared they were stopping to graze on reindeer lichen woven into the carpet of the tundra. I stepped into the lake for a better angle on the light and within seconds the young bull pranced into the lake kicking and splashing and splashing. Then, as if someone turned on the music he was standing and dancing.  Mother Nature’s magic presented another “awe” moment for me in the wilderness of Alaska.