I lived in SE Alaska last summer working as a raft guide. I am having shoulder surgery tomorrow and if it goes well I am going back. Denali is pretty much closed down by the middle of September. All the bus shuttles stop around the 15th or 20th. There are a lot of nice B&B's. One option you may want to look at is the Alaska Marine Highway. You could take a ferry from Washington and cruise the Inside Passage without a cruise ship price tag. Haines has a Bald Eagle preserve with upwards of 1000 birds around that time of year. Lots of possibilities.