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posted: August 2nd, 2021 |
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As stated at the bottom of Page 1, this page continues July 13th at 11:44 AM - day #2 of our vacation. We are still at the Alaska/Canada Border on the Top Of The World Highway and we are enjoying ourselves immensely. In Row 4 we change highways and are on the Tok-Cutoff, stopped for the night. In Row 5 we start vacation day #3 - July 14th - and soon after that, we start showing photos which we took in Thompson Pass, on the Richardson Highway. Beginning in Row 16 we are in Valdez, Alaska and we stayed at the Valdez Glacier Campground for the night. Row #21 begins the day of July 15th - vacation day #4, and this page ends soon after that. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| July 13th Continues From Page 1 (at 11:44 AM) |
As we said at the bottom of Page 1, this page continues July 13th. It's now 11:44 AM and we are sitting at the Canada/Alaska border on the Top Of The World Highway. The third photo in this row is a scenery shot from the border area.
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 July13th_111_ TopOfTheWorldHWYRC |
 July13th_113_ TopOfTheWorldHWYRC |
 July13th_117_ TopOfTheWorldHWYRC |
We drove back from the Canada/Alaska border about a mile or so and hiked up one of the hills which looked interesting. We found the Alaska Harebell (Campanula lasiocarpa), but that was about all. The third shot shows scenery with Daniel overlooking the world.
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 July13th_119_TopOfTheWorldHWY _CampanulaLasiocarpaRC |
 July13th_120_TopOfTheWorldHWY _CampanulaLasiocarpaRC |
 July13th_125_Top OfTheWorldHWYRC |
Here are three scenery shots which were taken from the hill we climbed up. In all three of them you can see the border, but the clouds and shadows are different enough so that each shot is quite unique. In all three shots, that is our rig parked down there.
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 Jul13_63_Top WorldHighwayRC |
 July13th_134_135_AutoPanoAT75_ TopOfTheWorldHWYRC |
 Jul13_66_Top WorldHighwayRC |
Now we are very far away from where the previous shots were taken. We are now driving the Tok Cutoff Highway and we have stopped for the night and are taking a walk along the Slana River. Note the bird flying past in the second photo.
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 Jul13_72_TokCutOff_ SlanaRiverAreaRC |
 July13th_202_ SlanaRiverSideRC |
| End July 13th, Begin July 14th |
A new day has dawned and, though it rained during the night and continued to rain lightly after we got up and started driving again, it soon stopped and turned into a pretty nice day. The first two shots show an immature eagle, but is it a Bald Eagle or a Golden Eagle, something doesn't look right for it to be an immature Bald Eagle. The third shot shows the Copper River from an overlook where we stopped to eat our lunch.
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 July14th_004_ TokCutoff_EagleRC |
 July14th_011_ TokCutoff_EagleRC |
 July14th_017_ GakonaRC |
In the first shot in this row we are approaching Thompson Pass. When we arrived at the pass we stopped and took a short hike for an hour or so. We found Woolly Geranium (Geranium erianthum) and White Marsh Marigold (Caltha leptosepala) within just a few steps of the rig.
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 July14th_025_On TheWayToThompsonPassRC |
 July14th_030_ThompsonPass _GeraniumErianthumRC |
 July14th_031_ThompsonPass _CalthaLeptosepalaRC |
The first shot here shows scenery and Kazuya as we hiked in Thompson Pass. As you can see, we were in the clouds. The second shot shows Fireleaf Leptarrhena (Leptarrhena pyrolifolia) in bloom. Please try to remember this plant, as later on we'll be showing you some shots after it has finished blooming. The third shot shows Daniel and from the fact that he is wearing his down jacket, you can deduce that it is chilly, but not raining.
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 Jul14_08_ ThompsonPassRC |
 July14th_033_ThompsonPass _LeptarrhenaPyrolifoliaRC |
 July14th_039_ThompsonPass _LupinusNootkatensisRC |
Snow is still quite abundant here. The second and third shots show the Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia), a flower which we specifically were hoping/expecting to find here.
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 Jul14_09_ ThompsonPassRC |
 July14th_050_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
 July14th_055_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
Here are three more shots of the Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia) - this plant and flower are so tiny as to be easily missed if one does not walk around with their eyes wide open.
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 Jul14_13_ ThompsonPassRC |
 July14th_056_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
 July14th_064_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
Here is an Inky (Pale) Gentian (Gentiana glauca) in first position, and then there are two shots of Kazuya shooting the flowers
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 July14th_066_ThompsonPass _GentianaGlaucaRC |
 Jul14_21_ ThompsonPassRC |
 Jul14_22_ ThompsonPassRC |
Here are three more shots of the Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia). The center shot is an overview and the third shot shows Kazuya's finger so that you can appreciate just how tiny this plant and flower are.
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 July14th_070_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
 July14th_067_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
 July14th_077_ThompsonPass_ PrimulaCuneifoliaSspSaxifragifoliaRC |
Here are two shots which show Langsdorf's lousewort (Pedicularis langsdorfii) and then a shot of Aleutian Mountainheath (Phyllodoce aleutica).
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 Jul14_28_ ThompsonPassRC |
 July14th_081_ThompsonPass_ PedicularisLangsdorfiiRC |
 Jul14_30_ ThompsonPassRC |
This little Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus parryii) studies Kazuya, who is sitting at its front door waiting for it to come out. Cute, eh! The third shot shows more Aleutian Mountainheath (Phyllodoce aleutica).
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 July14th_084_ThompsonPass_ ArcticGroundSquirrelRC |
 July14th_085_ThompsonPass_ ArcticGroundSquirrelRC |
 Jul14_32_ ThompsonPassRC |
Here is another shot of Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia) and then a Wandering Fleabane (Erigeron peregrinus) and then in third position is Aleutian Mountainheath (Phyllodoce aleutica) and Daniel.
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 Jul14_43_ ThompsonPassRC |
 July14th_090_ThompsonPass _ErigeronPeregrinusRC |
 July14th_091_ThompsonPass _PhyllodoceAleuticaRC |
In this row you see Ledge Stonecrop (Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. integrifolia), Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia), and Capitate Lousewort (Pedicularis capitata).
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 July14th_108_ThompsonPass_Rhodiola IntegrifoliaSspIntegrifoliaRC |
 Jul14_44_ ThompsonPassRC |
 Jul14_48_ ThompsonPassRC |
Here you see a blooming Blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) and an Alaska Violet (Viola langsdorffii). The third shot shows the flats as one enters Valdez.
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 July14th_115_ThompsonPass _VacciniumUliginosumRC |
 July14th_112_ThompsonPass _ViolaLangsdorffiiRC |
 July14th_124_ ValdezRC |
We decided to spend the night in Valdez, so we stayed in our Topper Motel at the Valdez Glacier Campground. It is a huge campground, more than 100 sites and very few of them were occupied on this Wednesday night. The second and third shots show Valdez Glacier Lake, complete with icebergs.
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 July14th_125_ ValdezGlacierRC |
 Jul14_52_ ValdezGlacierLakeRC |
 Jul14_53_ ValdezGlacierLakeRC |
Here are three more shots which show Valdez Glacier Lake and icebergs floating around.
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 July14th_173_ ValdezGlacierRC |
 July14th_182_ ValdezGlacierRC |
 July14th_191_ ValdezGlacierRC |
After we went to the Valdez Glacier Lake, we returned to the campground and walked around. We found Common Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris) and this small waterfall, plus more (keep looking).
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 Jul14_62_Valdez GlacierCampgroundRC |
 Jul14_64_Valdez GlacierCampgroundRC |
 July14th_204_ValdezGlacier _PrunellaVulgarisRC |
In first and third position are photos of Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) and in the center is a shot of Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora).
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 July14th_215_ValdezGlacier _RubusSpectabilisRC |
 July14th_207_ValdezGlacier _TellimaGrandifloraRC |
 July14th_216_ValdezGlacier _RubusSpectabilisRC |
| End July 14th, Begin July 15th |
Now it's the morning of July 15th and we were camped maybe 100 feet from an Eagle Nest Tree, so as we drove out of the campground we caught this beautiful sight. Then we drove down to the Small Boat Harbor to look around.
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 Jul15_003_EagleTree _ValdezGlacierCGRC |
 Jul15_004_EagleTree _ValdezGlacierCGRC |
 Jul15_006_Valdez SmallBoatHarborRC |
Here is another shot of the Valdez Small Boat Harbor. The second shot is a scenery shot and the third shot shows a pair of bicyclists riding a bicycle built for two, with a small trailer in which they were carrying two dogs and their gear. We stopped for a while at an information stop to ask about Chocolate Lilies, so while we were stopped they passed us and we caught them again (next row).
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 July15th_041_ ValdezRC |
 Jul15_009_ SceneryLeavingValdezRC |
 Jul15_023_Leaving Valdez_SceneryRC |
Here are two scenery shots and then these bicyclists again. We honked in a specific way every time we saw them, and with our going back and forth and stopping to hike and so on, we ended up passing them at least 3 more times after this. By the final time, they had learned to recognize our honk and just started waving as soon as we gave our honk. We wondered where they were going, as the final time we saw them was along the Tok Cutoff Highway 2 days later.
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 Jul15_025_Leaving Valdez_SceneryRC |
 Jul15_026_Leaving Valdez_SceneryRC |
 July15th_094_ ValdezRC |
Now we are driving back up towards Thompson Pass and are in Keystone Canyon again.
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 Jul15_031_Leaving Valdez_SceneryRC |
 Jul15_037_Keystone CanyonValdezRC |
 Jul15_038_Keystone CanyonValdezRC |
In the first two shots we are still in Keystone Canyon, but in the third shot, it appears that we have cleared the canyon and are getting closer to Thompson Pass.
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 Jul15_032_Leaving Valdez_SceneryRC |
 Jul15_039_Keystone CanyonValdezRC |
 Jul15_049_Driving TowardsThompsonPassFromValdezRC |
| End Page 2, but July 15th continues on Page 3 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the continuation of our vacation adventures, beginning at 10:34 AM on July 15th. |
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