Dall Sheep, Denali National Park, Alaska – Image # 2909

During the fall road lottery opening in Denali National Park, visitors line up to photograph two Dall sheep. The road running through the park is 92-miles long and during most of the season is closed to the general public except for the first 15 miles to Savage River. Each year the Park Service opens the road to the general public during a four day window at the end of the season around mid-September. The 2015 dates are set for September 18-21. Four hundred cars will be allowed into the park per day, so 1,600 cars in the four-day opening, and road permits are issued through a lottery system. The lottery is open during the month of May, and around 10,000 applicants register. My wife and I got a permit in 2011 and enjoyed driving the park road at our leisure. We ate dinner at the Wonder Lake campground at sunset and left the park around 11pm. The park road hours run from 6am until midnight.  Thank you for visiting. Camera: Nikon D700,  Lens: 80-200mm f/2.8 zoom,  Digital capture – Copyright Mark Kelley 2012