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posted: August 2nd, 2021 |
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As stated on Page 2, this page continues July 15th at 10:34 AM as we drive up towards Thompson Pass from Valdez. On this day we spent several hours and hiked a few miles up into the mountains above Thompson Pass. It ended up being a sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky - a regular bluebird day - the kind of day which seldom happens here. The day started out in the mountains with terrible bugs, but as it warmed up and got more sunny they tended to disappear, thankfully. Please also note how our clothes changed over the course of the day - from starting out with three layers of clothing on our upper bodies, to late afternoon and only a sleeveless T-shirt. What a wonderful day to be alive. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| July 15th Continues From Page 2 (at 10:34 AM) |
Now it's 10:34 AM and we are still driving up towards Thompson Pass, though at this point we are very close. The first two shots are scenery shots. In the third shot we've stopped at Blueberry Lake Campground, just to see what it looks like. There is Blueberry Lake.
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The first shot is zoomed in to Blueberry Lake, the second shot was taken for the scenery, as was the third. These were all shot from the Blueberry Lake Campground.
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The first shot here is zoomed in a bit more than the previous shot and also taken from a bit of a different angle. The second and third shots were taken from where we stopped to go for a hike, but we did not hike in that direction, we hiked up. The third shot shows a hiker on the top of a rock - this spot is visible in the center shot. Please also note the mosquito in the center shot. They were vicious here this morning.
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Now we are hiking and we're going to be doing so until the third shot in Row 21. The first and second shots in this row show Alaska Violet (Viola langsdorffii) and the third shot again shows Woolly Geranium (Geranium erianthum).
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Here is another photo which shows Blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) flowers. Is it even possible that the fruits can ripen before the new snows come? The center shot again shows Alaska Violet (Viola langsdorffii) and the third shot shows Mosquitoes on Kazuya's Hood, along with a red fly - those things take a bite of skin.
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Here are three great shots of Inky (Pale) Gentian (Gentiana glauca).
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In first position here is a photo which shows many flowers of the Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia). In second position you can see Daniel and Yellow Thimbleweed (Anemone richardsonii) and in third position is a scenery shot in which you can see the many years old snow fencing which was erected along this route. It is now falling down and doesn't seem to be so important any longer. Note that Daniel is dressed quite heavily and is wearing light weight gloves. Also note how he sheds his clothing as the day warms up. It's now 11:46 AM on the clock, but it's Daylight Saving Time now, and the sun and the clocks are 2 hours different in Alaska when we are on Saving Time, so that means the sun time is only about 9:46 AM.
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Here are two shots of Pixie Eye Primrose (Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia) and a shot of Kazuya shooting the scenery. Note that he is still heavily dressed too. The time now is 11:55 AM (about 9:55 AM sun time).
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Here are three scenery shots which are quite nice. The first shot shows a glacier, the second shot shows Kazuya and green and the third shot is long distance - note the mosquito flying by.
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Here are three scenic photos. That's Daniel in the first shot, and he is saying "Nice day, eh." The second shot certainly shows some rugged terrain. The third shot shows Kazuya coming through a field of Aleutian Mountainheath (Phyllodoce aleutica).
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The first two shots here show two different snow melt ponds. The third shot shows Daniel walking towards another pond. Note that he has removed one layer of clothing here at 12:20 PM (about 10:20 AM sun time).
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Here is another shot which shows Alaska Violet (Viola langsdorffii) and then two scenic photos with ponds in them. Of course the third photo is merely a zoomed in presentation of the second shot.
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The first photo in this row is an even more zoomed in version of the previous two shots. The center shot shows another pond, though it is a different one. The third shot shows an overview of how the Woolly Geranium (Geranium erianthum) grows.
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Here is another example of Alaska Violet (Viola langsdorffii) and that is followed by two shots of the Alaska State Flower - the Alpine Forget-me-not (Myosotis asiatica).
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The first photo is a scenic shot and it also shows Kazuya with one layer of clothing removed at 1:23 PM (about 11:23 AM sun time). The center photo is of White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata) and the third shot is basically a zoomed in version of the first one.
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Here are two overview photos of Alaska Violet (Viola langsdorffii) and then we stumbled upon a small patch of Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) which was in such a spot that it was easy to get blue sky and green mountains and even some white clouds. WOW!
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Here is another blue sky shot with Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa). The center shot shows Daniel and he's saying "let's eat lunch here, it's 1:30 PM." In the third shot all of those white flowers that are standing up are White Bog Orchids (Platanthera dilatata).
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Now we are in that area we showed you just previous - we've died and gone to heaven and are surrounded by White Bog Orchids (Platanthera dilatata). The air smells SO WONDERFUL.
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Daniel takes a deep breath of the heavenly smell of the White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata); note that he has removed another layer of clothing at 2:29 PM (about 12:29 PM sun time). In the second shot, we are on our way back towards the rig now and so far we have NOT come to a rock wall which we had to backtrack from. We just had to come through that small alley which is snow free. There was a slight movement in the low brush, and what was it? It was Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) - a mom with at least six chicks.
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We are slowly working our way back towards where the rig is parked, there is the snow fence - we have to cross that and then we'll be within one-quarter mile or so. Oh heavens, the scenery!
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Here are two final scenery shots taken during our descent back to the rig. The third shot was taken as we drove towards Worthington Glacier - it shows Worthington Lake.
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Seeing as this is such a clear blue sky day - a bluebird day - we have driven back to the scenic view spot where everybody stops to take photos of Worthington Glacier. Need I say - WOW?
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Here are three more photos which show Worthington Glacier. That's Daniel in the third shot.
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We stumbled upon a patch of the White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata) right beside the highway and stopped to take a few more shots. Finding them beside the highway was so much less rewarding than finding them in the mountains. Do you understand?
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 July15th_745_ThompsonPass _PlatantheraDilatataRC |
| End July 15th, End Page 3 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Please continue on to page 4 for the continuation of our vacation, beginning on the morning of July 16th! |
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