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This is Page 4 of 5 - the best of July 2021!
posted: August 2nd, 2021
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Well, this may amaze you, but this page actually includes all of the best photos from both July 16th and 17th.  On the 16th we drove from Thompson Pass down to Valdez to eat a special breakfast, and then we drove back up to Thompson Pass.  We hiked in Thompson Pass for a couple of hours but found nothing new.  Then we drove to the Lake Louise Road, drove up it about a mile and camped at a wide spot near what they refer to as Crater Lake.  On the 17th we drove from there to Thompson Pass and then continued to the Craigie Creek Valley, where we hiked about four miles and had great success in finding flowers.  We camped in our Topper Motel beside Craigie Creek that night.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin July 16th
  Do you recall the blooming Fireleaf Leptarrhena (Leptarrhena pyrolifolia) from Page 2, Row 7, which we asked you to try and remember? Maybe not. Well, this is the same plant after it has finished blooming and the seedheads are developing. There is one which is at an even later stage of development shown on Page 5, Row 9. In second and third position are shots of Wandering Fleabane (Erigeron peregrinus).
July16th_007_ThompsonPass_LeptarrhenaPyrolifoliaRC
July16th_007_ThompsonPass
_LeptarrhenaPyrolifoliaRC
Jul16_07_ThompsonPass_MorningAsterRC
Jul16_07_Thompson
Pass_MorningAsterRC
Jul16_09_ThompsonPass_MorningAsterRC
Jul16_09_Thompson
Pass_MorningAsterRC

  After waking up and doing our morning routine we decided to drive the 26 miles down to Valdez again - for a nice breakfast burrito at the Small Boat Harbor. Here is the place - "The Potato". Dang, do they make an excellent breakfast burrito. We realized that this was probably a good place to eat after we saw the locals eating here yesterday. We followed their "advice" and ate here yesterday and we were SO IMPRESSED. That was why we decided to drive down here today just for this. The second shot shows another Wandering Fleabane (Erigeron peregrinus). In third position is another shot from very close to Thompson Pass. Today we are going to hike downhill from here before we finally leave the area.
Jul16_10_Valdez_ThePotatoRC
Jul16_10_Valdez
_ThePotatoRC
July16th_029_ThompsonPass_ErigeronPeregrinusRC
July16th_029_ThompsonPass
_ErigeronPeregrinusRC
July16th_032_ThompsonPassRC
July16th_032_
ThompsonPassRC

  All three of these shots show a pair of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) and their cygnets. WOW! Thank you for showing us your young ones.
Jul16_27_SwansCygnetsNearValdezRC
Jul16_27_Swans
CygnetsNearValdezRC
Jul16_28_SwansCygnetsNearValdezRC
Jul16_28_Swans
CygnetsNearValdezRC
Jul16_33_SwansCygnetsNearValdezRC
Jul16_33_Swans
CygnetsNearValdezRC

  Here is one additional shot of the Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) and their cygnets. That is followed by two shots of the Thompson Pass Area as we were headed back north to continue our adventure at a different location.
July16th_077_Valdez_CygnusBuccinatorRC
July16th_077_Valdez_
CygnusBuccinatorRC
July16th_096_ThompsonPassRC
July16th_096_
ThompsonPassRC
July16th_098_ThompsonPassRC
July16th_098_
ThompsonPassRC

  Now we are getting close to Glennallen and we have the best views of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains Area which we have had to date. This is our fourth trip through this area, and though it is not 100% clear blue sky, it is the most clear sky we have seen. There are actually four huge mountains over in that direction, but we cannot see all of them.
Jul16_35_Wrangell_StEliasAreaRC
Jul16_35_Wrangell_
StEliasAreaRC
Jul16_36_Wrangell_StEliasAreaRC
Jul16_36_Wrangell
_StEliasAreaRC

  Here are three more shots of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains.
July16th_120_OnTheWayToGlennallenRC
July16th_120_On
TheWayToGlennallenRC
July16th_121_OnTheWayToGlennallenRC
July16th_121_On
TheWayToGlennallenRC
July16th_135_OnTheWayToGlennallenRC
July16th_135_On
TheWayToGlennallenRC

  Here are a pair of Two-Shot Panoramic images of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains. Can you now get an idea that there are four huge mountains here?
Jul16_42_43_AutoPanoAT_Wrangell_StEliasAreaRC
Jul16_42_43_AutoPano
AT_Wrangell_StEliasAreaRC
Jul16_44_45_AutoPanoAT_Wrangell_StEliasAreaRC
Jul16_44_45_AutoPano
AT_Wrangell_StEliasAreaRC

End July 16th, Begin July 17th
  It's a new day now! We are driving from the Lake Louise Road to the Palmer Area and Hatcher Pass today. Here is a Bald Eagle which showed itself to us. The second and third shots are of what is called Gunsight Mountain due to the notch in the summit ridge.
Jul17_001_DrivingToPalmer_EagleRC
Jul17_001_Driving
ToPalmer_EagleRC
July17th_005_GlennHWYRC
July17th_005_
GlennHWYRC
Jul17_006_DrivetoPalmer_GunsightMtnRC
Jul17_006_DrivetoPalmer
_GunsightMtnRC

  Now we have already arrived at the Hatcher Pass area - the first two shots show the Independence Gold Mine Area - a State Park. The third shot was taken as we approached the place where we plan to hike today - the old mining road which ascends the Craigie Creek Valley.
July17th_024_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_024_
CraigieCreekRC
July17th_026_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_026_
CraigieCreekRC
Jul17_017_CraigieCreekAreaRC
Jul17_017_
CraigieCreekAreaRC

  Now we are hiking the Craigie Creek Valley. The first and third shots are of Star Gentian (Swertia perennis), while the center shot shows a Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala) flower.
July17th_038_CraigieCreek_SwertiaPerennisRC
July17th_038_CraigieCreek
_SwertiaPerennisRC
Jul17_019_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_019_CraigieCrk
_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_040_CraigieCreek_SwertiaPerennisRC
July17th_040_CraigieCreek
_SwertiaPerennisRC

  Here are two more photos of the Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala) and sandwiched between them is another photo of the White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata). Last year when we were here we found a single Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala) plant and the flower was not yet open, so we consider ourselves very fortunate to find these.
Jul17_020RotateAT85_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_020RotateAT85_Craigie
Crk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_046_CraigieCreek_PlatantheraDilatataRC
July17th_046_CraigieCreek
_PlatantheraDilatataRC
Jul17_022_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_022_CraigieCrk_
GentianaPlatypetalaRC

  Here is a repeat of the previous row, though the center photo in this row is a Little Weaselsnout (Lagotis minor) instead of an orchid. The Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala) is very rare. It is found only in Alaska and British Columbia, Canada and has been reported from only 138 locations in the entire world, including plants which are in private collections at various places in the world. After we found this information, you can imagine just how privileged we we felt to be able to even see this plant, let alone plants with fully open flowers.
Jul17_030Rotate_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_030Rotate_CraigieCrk_
GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_048_CraigieCreek_LagotisMinorRC
July17th_048_CraigieCreek_
LagotisMinorRC
Jul17_032RotateATSIP_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_032RotateATSIP_Craigie
Crk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC

  Here is another repeat of a previous row, but again, with different photos. We have included nearly every good shot of the Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala) we have, due to its rarity. We hope you appreciate what you are seeing here.
July17th_051_CraigieCreek_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_051_CraigieCreek
_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_034_CraigieCrk_OrchidRC
Jul17_034_CraigieCrk
_OrchidRC
July17th_057_CraigieCreek_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_057_CraigieCreek
_GentianaPlatypetalaRC

  Here are three more photos of the Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala). We found several plants with buds which were not open yet.
July17th_072_CraigieCreek_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_072_CraigieCreek
_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_076_CraigieCreek_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_076_CraigieCreek
_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_026RotCropAT_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_026RotCropAT_Craigie
Crk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC

  Here is one more photo and a collage of the Broad-petaled Gentian (Gentiana platypetala) flowers (most of which have already been shown separately) and sandwiched between them is another shot of Star Gentian (Swertia perennis).
July17th_079_CraigieCreek_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_079_CraigieCreek
_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
July17th_087_CraigieCreek_SwertiaPerennisRC
July17th_087_CraigieCreek
_SwertiaPerennisRC
Jul17_030RotateATSIP_026RotCropAT_032RotateATSIP_022_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC
Jul17_030RotateATSIP_026RotCropAT_032Rotate
ATSIP_022_CraigieCrk_GentianaPlatypetalaRC

  In first position here is a scenic shot of the Craigie Creek Valley. In the center is a photo of Whorled Lousewort (Pedicularis verticillata) and in third position is a shot of Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis).
July17th_160_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_160_
CraigieCreekRC
July17th_123_CraigieCreek_PedicularisVerticillataRC
July17th_123_CraigieCreek
_PedicularisVerticillataRC
Jul17_083_CraigieCrk_ChocolateLilyRC
Jul17_083_CraigieCrk
_ChocolateLilyRC

  Here are two additional shots of Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis) and a scenic shot.
Jul17_087_CraigieCrk_ChocolateLilyRC
Jul17_087_CraigieCrk
_ChocolateLilyRC
July17th_171_CraigieCreek_FritillariaCamschatcensisRC
July17th_171_Craigie
Creek_FritillariaCamschatcensisRC
Jul17_090_CraigieCrk_SceneryRC
Jul17_090_Craigie
Crk_SceneryRC

  These three shots are all intended to be scenic shots. That is Daniel in the first photo.
July17th_173_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_173_
CraigieCreekRC
Jul17_091_CraigieCrk_SceneryRC
Jul17_091_Craigie
Crk_SceneryRC
July17th_182_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_182_
CraigieCreekRC

  This row consists of three more photos of Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis). You may recall that when we came here last year we found thousands of Chocolate Lily. This year the competing vegetation was much taller than last year and it was much more difficult to find the flowers - they were hiding very well in the tall grass and other weeds.
July17th_191_CraigieCreek_FritillariaCamschatcensisRC
July17th_191_CraigieCreek
_FritillariaCamschatcensisRC
Jul17_095_CraigieCrk_ChocolateLilyRC
Jul17_095_CraigieCrk
_ChocolateLilyRC
July17th_201_CraigieCreek_FritillariaCamschatcensisRC
July17th_201_CraigieCreek
_FritillariaCamschatcensisRC

  Here is the final photo of Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis) (for today). The remaining two photos are scenery shots. Of course the third shot is a zoomed version of the center shot.
Jul17_109_CraigieCrk_ChocolateLilyRC
Jul17_109_CraigieCrk
_ChocolateLilyRC
July17th_284_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_284_
CraigieCreekRC
July17th_285_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_285_
CraigieCreekRC

  All three of these photos were taken for the scenery. It's pretty country isn't it.
Jul17_118_CraigieCrk_SceneryRC
Jul17_118_Craigie
Crk_SceneryRC
July17th_290_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_290_
CraigieCreekRC
Jul17_119_CraigieCrk_SceneryRC
Jul17_119_Craigie
Crk_SceneryRC

  Two more scenery shots.
July17th_292_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_292_
CraigieCreekRC
July17th_293_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_293_
CraigieCreekRC

  And now it's the end of the day - we have the Topper Motel prepared and Kazuya looked up the valley and spotted the paragliders or whatever the correct name is. What an amazing day. I was very close to heat exhaustion by the time we finished our hike today. It was a hot day and there was not a tree for protection from the sun during the entire hike.
July17th_303_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_303_
CraigieCreekRC
July17th_310_CraigieCreekRC
July17th_310_
CraigieCreekRC

End July 17th, End Page 4
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Please continue on to page 5 for the conclusion of our vacation and also the conclusion of this month's adventures and photos! Go To Page:

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