posted: July 31st, 2016 |
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This page begins with the continuation of our adventure on Wickersham Dome on July 13th at about 2:15 PM. Then we show you the place where we camped that night and on the following day, July 14th, we take you to Angel Rocks on the Chena Hot Springs Road. After that we had no more adventures, so this page and this month ends.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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July 13th Continues From Page 4 |
  Now it's about 2:15 PM on July 13th and we are coming down Wickersham Dome. On Page 4 in Rows 12 and 13 we showed you a different mushroom which was growing in a patch of moss and here is another one. Isn't it weird how these two large mushrooms chose a patch of moss to grow in?! Maybe not, I don't really know. |
July13_95_Wickersham Dome_MushroomRC |
July13_96_Wickersham Dome_MushroomRC |
  Here is a beautifully full blueberry bush - and they were delicious! In second position is a shot of a Moneses uniflora - Single Delight, Shy Maiden or One-flowered Wintergreen. And now we have finished at Wickersham Dome. |
July13th_271_Wickersham Dome_VacciniumUliginosumRC |
July13th_272_Wickersham Dome_MonesesUnifloraRC |
July 13th Ends and July 14th Begins |
  Our plan upon finishing at Wickersham Dome was to go to the parking lot of "Grapefruit Rocks" and climb in that area tomorrow, but we went and found the parking lot of Grapefruit Rocks, climbed a little bit of the way up and we were not impressed by what we saw and decided to go and find an alternate place to stay and make an alternate plan for tomorrow. So, we went all the way back to the Olnes Pond Campground, only about 15 miles from home, found a campsite, prepared our canopy, paid our fee, cooked our supper, ate and relaxed there. The Olnes Pond water was warm and we washed up a bit and also waded around in the shallows. There were a lot of motor-homes scattered about the campground, but they were quite and we were pleased to stay here. The first shot in this row was taken with my iPhone on the evening of July 13th and the remaining two shots were taken on the morning of the 14th before we headed for home.
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July13_6_iPhone _OlnesPondRC |
July14_01_Olnes PondCampgroundRC |
July14_08_Olnes PondCampgroundRC |
  We then went home, arriving at the house at about 9:30 AM, left behind the stuff which we would not need, got more food and water, different gear and headed out the Chena Hot Springs Road to climb in the Angel Rocks Area. So, after re-preparing, we left the house at about 10:20 AM. The Angel Rocks Trailhead begins in a parking lot, which is maintained by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation, and it costs $5 to park there for the day. For $5 you get a parking spot, a well with a hand pump from which you can get good cold water, a few picnic tables and a fairly well maintained trail. The first shot in this row shows the start of the trail - we hiked the 3.5 mile Angel Rocks Loop Trail. The second and third shots show an Orchid - the first orchid we have seen in Alaska. It is Goodyera repens (Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain or Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain). |
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July14_11_AngelRocks_Orchid _Goodyear_repensRC |
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  The first image in this row shows parts of two photos of the Goodyera repens Orchid (Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain or Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain). The upper portion shows the flower stalk and the lower portion shows the leaves. The second and third shots show Boschniakia rossica (Northern Groundcone), which is well known in Chinese Medicine (Google it). |
July14th_007Part__July14_11Part_ AngelRocks_Orchid_Goodyear_repensRC |
July14_14_Angel Rocks_UnknownPlantRC |
July14th_011_AngelRocks _BoschniakiaRossicaRC |
  Here is a shot of the North Fork of the Chena River from the trail. The temperature on this date reached 88° F (31° C) while we were hiking and this looked very inviting when we were descending! The second and third shots in this row show some of our first views of Angel Rocks. The third shot is, of course, greatly zoomed in. If you study the center shot closely you can see find these two hikers on top of the upper rock!
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  Here is another shot of Angel Rocks from the trail. In center position is a shot of Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus - (Lingonberry) and in third position is a shot of Geocaulon lividum - (Northern Bastard Toadflax or Pumpkin Berry). |
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July14_29_AngelRocks _Geocaulon_lividumRC |
  Here are three images of Geocaulon lividum - (Northern Bastard Toadflax or Pumpkin Berry). The center image is a portion of the third shot to show the beauty of these berries and also to show just why it might be referred to as Pumpkin Berry. By the way, despite being beautiful, they are not worth eating, although they are considered edible. |
July14_30_AngelRocks _Geocaulon_lividumRC |
July14_31Part_Angel Rocks_Geocaulon_lividumRC |
July14_31_AngelRocks _Geocaulon_lividumRC |
  Here are three shots which all show various ones of the Angel Rocks. The center shot also shows me on the trail. |
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  Here are three two-shot panoramic images of Angel Rocks. The difference in height of the rightmost one (from this viewpoint) is large enough so that they cannot all be shown in one panorama. |
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July14_46_47_AngelRocks _Rocks_ReposPanoRC |
  Here is a shot of me which was taken while I was shooting the previous three images and also the next one. The center image is another two-shot panorama. The third shot is another Angel Rock. |
July14th_058_ AngelRocksRC |
July14_48_49_AngelRocks _Rocks_ReposPanoRC |
July14_50_Angel Rocks_RocksRC |
  In first position in this row is a nice scenic shot looking down. The center shot is a weird one of the "Rocks" and the rightmost shot is another one of the Angel Rocks and some scenery. |
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  Another shot of one of the Angel Rocks and then two shots of an albino form of Aconitum delphiniifolium (Larkspurleaf Monkshood). There were two of these albino flowered plants growing in close proximity to each other. |
July14_54_Angel Rocks_RocksRC |
July14th_072_AngelRocks_ AconitumDelphiniifoliumAlbinoRC |
July14_57_AngelRocks _AlbinoMonkshoodRC |
  Here is another shot of one of the albino forms of Aconitum delphiniifolium (Larkspurleaf Monkshood). The second shot shows Apocynum androsaemifolium (Fly-trap Dogbane or Spreading Dogbane). The third shot shows more rocky scenery. |
July14_58_AngelRocks _AlbinoMonkshoodRC |
July14th_083_AngelRocks _ApocynumAndrosaemifoliumRC |
July14_61_AngelRocks _Scenery_RocksRC |
  While we were sitting on top of one of the rocks eating the lunch which we took with us we saw this youngster on a rock across the valley from us. The center shot shows the area where the youngster was as an outlined rectangle. You can also see two other people up on the center rock. The third shot is zoomed-in to show the rock with the two people in the center photo. |
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July14th_107_ AngelRocksRC |
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  The first shot in this row shows the largest four of the rocks on the opposite area from where we were. That is followed by a shot of Papaver macounii and then a shot of Campanula lasiocarpa with a very nice background. |
July14_74_Angel Rocks_RocksRC |
July14th_116_AngelRocks _PapaverMacouniiRC |
July14th_122_AngelRocks _CampanulaLasiocarpaRC |
  Here is a shot of me on a rock and that is followed by two shots of Kazuya on a rock across from me. Some of these rocks were easy to reach the top of, some were difficult and some were just not possible without equipment. |
July14th_131_ AngelRocksRC |
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  Here are more rocky shots. The outlined area in the second shot shows the area that is included in the third shot. |
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  As we were coming down the loop we found an amazing amount of Blueberries (Vaccinium uliginosum) and stopped to harvest some of them. We filled a 32 ounce yogurt container in about 20 minutes without using any special harvesting tools, just our hands. The center shot shows Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus (Lingonberry). There were a great deal of these here too, not yet ripe though. |
July14th_135_AngelRocks _VacciniumUliginosumRC |
July14th_141_AngelRocks_Vaccinium Vitis-idaeaVarMinusRC |
July14th_142_AngelRocks _VacciniumUliginosumRC |
  As we descended the loop we also found several more of the Goodyera repens Orchids. By this time we were very hot on this 88° F day (31° C) day and when we arrived back at the parking lot the first thing we did was to go to the well and pump ourselves some cold water. We had canteens of water with us, but this cold well water was wonderful for cooling our heads off and also for drinking. Right then it started to rain lightly and by the time we got back to our rig, got our stuff thrown in and got ourselves in, it was raining a full-fledged thunderstorm! We drove back to the Granite Tors Trailhead and Campground at 39.5 mile on the Chena Hot Springs Road and before we arrived there we had driven right out of the thunderstorm. We camped in our canopy at the Granite Tors Campground and the storm never did come to that area. While staying at the Granite Tors Campground we had two weird things happen to us. First of all, as we were walking around and exploring the area a car load of Asian tourists asked us where they could find the master of the campground. We responded that there was not one so they asked us where the electricity was located as they had to charge their cell phones. Well, this is the middle of nowhere, there is no electricity, which we told them, but told them that if they REALLY needed to charge their phones then their only hope was to continue on to Chena Hot Springs Resort and spend the night there. They let us know that they wanted to camp and we left them to figure it out. After a couple of minutes we heard their car leave. (There is no cell-phone service this far out the Chena Hot Springs Road anyway.) The second weird thing that happened was while we were eating the supper that we cooked. A lady from a country which I will not give the name of, but the northern neighbor of the USA, came up to us and told us that they had locked themselves out of their camper, could we please call somebody for them, it was a rental, so the agent should have a spare key. We told them that there was no cell-phone service here and the lady said "oh, that's right" (so apparently she already knew that fact). Then she asked if we had a ladder because one of the upper windows on the camper was open and that if they could get into that window then they would be okay. We did not have a ladder, but there was a large motor-home close by so we suggested that maybe that person had a ladder. She told us that person was already trying to help, but did not have a ladder. After we finished our supper we walked down to see if we could help in any way. The open window was quite obviously too small for the people who were there, even if they could have reached its height, but Kazuya is small and we set up a piece of firewood and he was able to get in that window. He unlocked their camper for them and what did they say? "Sorry, we don't have any beer or sodas." I mean, without us their alternative was to break a large window in their rental camper and then pay through the nose to have it replaced! But, did they even offer Kazuya $20 so that he could say "no, I don't need anything for doing that for you", NO, THEY DID NOT! I mean, it was just "Sorry, we don't have any beer or sodas". We walked down to the end of the campground and when we walked back they did not even "know us"!!! This experience totally shocked us. Oh, and by the way, Kazuya tore his $60 hiking pants squeezing through the tiny window of their camper! |
July14th_155_AngelRocks _GoodyeraRepensRC |
July14_85_AngelRocks_Orchid _Goodyear_repensRC |
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End July 14th, End July 2016's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous Links |