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posted: August 2nd, 2021 |
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Well, here it is, the conclusion of this month's best photos out of approximately 4,150 photos which we kept this month. When you finish looking at this page you'll have seen about 345 of those photos - we certainly hope you found something which you said "WOW! about. On this page you'll find our best photos from July 18th, 19th, and 20th - the final three days of our vacation. The 18th was a day of climbing and flower hunting, the 19th was mostly a day of driving, and the 20th was just coming the final 150 miles to get home. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin July 18th |
Another day, with more travel later on today, but first of all - there is a small pond on a mountain which we want to climb to and see what grows along its shores. The first shot was taken where we spent the night, the second shot was taken as we drove to the spot we were going to start climbing from and the third shot was taken as we began the climb.
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 July18th_001_ HatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_001_Hatcher PassArea_SceneryRC |
 Jul18_002_Hatcher PassArea_SceneryRC |
Now we are climbing to the pond area and the first thing we find is this beautiful Dwarf Fireweed (Chamerion latifolium). Then, we were surprised to again find Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis). Great!
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 Jul18_014_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_DwarfFireweedRC |
 Jul18_018_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_DwarfFireweedRC |
 Jul18_026_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_ChocolateLilyRC |
We found one more Albino Form of Woolly Geranium (Geranium erianthum) along with lots of Sitka Valerian (Valeriana sitchensis). The third shot shows Kazuya on the climb.
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 Jul18_048_HatcherPassArea_ ClimbToPond_AlbinoGeraniumRC |
 July18th_071_HatcherPass_ ValerianaSitchensisRC |
 Jul18_052_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_SceneryRC |
Here is another shot of the Albino Form of Woolly Geranium (Geranium erianthum), and behind it are non-albino forms for contrast. The second and third shots show the amazing scenery we had the good fortune to be able to see.
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 July18th_114_HatcherPass_ GeraniumErianthumRC |
 July18th_143_ HatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_055_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_SceneryRC |
The first shot in this row is a zoomed version of the photo which is immediately previous to this one. The second and third photos show some late blooming specimens of Twinflower (Linnaea borealis).
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 Jul18_056_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_SceneryRC |
 Jul18_060_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_LinnaeaBorealisRC |
 Jul18_062_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_LinnaeaBorealisRC |
The first shot here looks at Hatcher Pass and the road which leads up there from this side of it. The second shot shows scenery and Daniel and the third shot shows the pond we are searching for - there is no trail, we just went UP. We overshot the pond and are now above it, no problem though.
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 Jul18_071_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_SceneryRC |
 July18th_186_ HatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_079_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_PondRC |
There is the pond - we're getting closer now. The center shot shows Kazuya and the pond and the third shot shows Kazuya wandering on the mountainside searching for flowers.
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 Jul18_081_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_PondRC |
 Jul18_085_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_PondRC |
 Jul18_089_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPondRC |
As you can see, we have finally arrived at the shore of the pond. Here is an Alpine Forget-me-not (Myosotis asiatica) up here.
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 July18th_221_ HatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_091_HatcherPass Area_ClimbToPond_PondRC |
 Jul18_104_HatcherPassArea _ClimbToPond_MyosotisAsiaticaRC |
Oh my heavens, we've found Fivestamen Miterwort (Mitella pentandra). We used to find a different species of Mitella in Japan near Mt. Takao. What a shock to find this here. In third position is another example of Fireleaf Leptarrhena (Leptarrhena pyrolifolia) - this one gas really brilliant red seedheads.
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 July18th_225_HatcherPass _MitellaPentandraRC |
 July18th_226_HatcherPass _MitellaPentandraRC |
 Jul18_101_HatcherPassArea_ ClimbToPond_LeptarrhenaPyrolifoliaRC |
Here is a beautiful patch of Woolly Geranium (Geranium erianthum) and Dwarf Fireweed. In center position is Sitka Burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis) and more Dwarf Fireweed, and in third position is Daniel walking on the road back to the rig. We made it up to the pond and back down without incident, though the descent was a challenge.
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 July18th_233_HatcherPass_ GeraniumErianthumRC |
 July18th_260_HatcherPass_ SanguisorbaCanadensisRC |
 July18th_268_ HatcherPassRC |
Here is another scenic shot, and then in center position, we are up at Hatcher Pass, Summit Lake area to be specific, and are looking at the pond we just finished climbing to and descending from. The third shot again shows the pond we climbed to.
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 July18th_275_ HatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_109_110_AutoPanoATAnnotated _HatcherPassArea_ThePondWeClimbedToRC |
 Jul18_113_HatcherPassArea _ThePondWeClimbedToRC |
Daniel walks along looking for the prime spot to take the photo he is after, and then he finds it and shoots the two-shots to make up the panorama of Summit Lake shown in the center. The third shot shows a better angle on the pond we climbed to. If you study this photo you can find two more people who climbed to this pond today, though they are on the opposite side from where we were.
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 July18th_287_ HatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_119_120_AutoPano_ HatcherPassArea_SummitLakeRC |
 Jul18_114_HatcherPassArea _ThePondWeClimbedToRC |
We left the Hatcher Pass area and headed back east on the Glenn Highway, back towards Glennallen. The weather forecast predicted thunderstorms this afternoon and after we drove for a while and looked back at the Hatcher Pass area, we saw that the forecast was correct. WOW! We were glad we left when we did. The third shot shows Matanuska Glacier from the Glenn Highway.
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 Jul18_134_GlennHwyBack TowardsHatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_135_GlennHwyBack TowardsHatcherPassRC |
 Jul18_136_GlennHwy_ MatanuskaGlacierRC |
Here are the final two shots we'll show you from today - Matanuska Glacier. We stopped for the night on the Lake Louise Road at the same place where we camped a couple of nights ago. The thunderstorm caught up with us later on after we were in our Topper Motel. We heard a Common Loon call before the storm came.
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 Jul18_138_GlennHwy _MatanuskaGlacierRC |
 July18th_336_ GlennHWYRC |
| End July 18th, Begin July 19th & 20th |
Well, seeing as we camped in our Topper Motel on the Lake Louise Road, and it was only an additional 20 miles to drive to Lake Louise, and the end of the road, we did. When we arrived at the end of the road look what was showing itself off to us not very far from shore. It's a Common Loon (Gavia immer). We had heard the calls of one where we were camped last night, and we had seen one at a different spot too - it was a fortunate trip for us and loons - had never seen nor heard one before in our Alaska travels. This one never called for us, but it stayed close enough for photos for several minutes.
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 Jul19_003_LakeLouise _CommonLoonRC |
 July19th_028_Lake Louise_GaviaImmerRC |
 July19th_030_Lake Louise_GaviaImmerRC |
Here are two final shots of the Common Loon and then a photo of a part of Lake Louise from up on a hill. We had no idea the area was so civilized. We knew there are fishing lodes there, and had assumed that there was probably at least one pretty fancy one. We did not expect lodges on islands and the need to be picked up at the parking lot with a boat.
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 July19th_036_Lake Louise_GaviaImmerRC |
 Jul19_020_LakeLouise _CommonLoonRC |
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How much are those folks paying right now to be taken out on a boat for some pike fishing (I am not at all sure if they were fishing for pike, just speculating)?
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 July19th_054_ LakeLouiseRC |
 Jul19_037_Lake Louise_AlaskaRC |
Now we are driving back through country we have been through just a few days ago, though we were going in the opposite direction and did not see the views from this way. The first shot was taken along the Tok Cutoff Highway and the second shot was taken very near to Moon Lake Campground on the Alaska Highway, it is a two-shot panorama. The third shot shows Moon Lake, where we stayed in the Moon Lake Campground - one of two vehicles that stayed the night, and the other one was all the way at the extreme other end of the campground.
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 July19th_067_ TokCutoffRC |
 Jul19_046_047_AutoPanoAT_ AlaskaHighway_NearMoonLakeRC |
 Jul19_048_ MoonLakeCG_MooseRC |
While walking the length of the campground, one end was this view when we were there. The first two shots show two moose which were quite a distance away down towards the end of Moon Lake. After a while the third shot was possible as a different moose and calf walked out of the woods and started eating lake vegetation just maybe 200 feet away from us. We were sitting and relaxing at a picnic table in the campground and just kept sitting there quietly and shooting photos.
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 Jul19_049_Moon LakeCG_MooseRC |
 Jul19_058_Moon LakeCG_MooseRC |
 Jul19_104_Moon LakeCG_MooseRC |
Here are two more shots of the cow and calf which were eating only a couple hundred feet away from us. The third shot was taken near sunset time, it was 10:34 PM.
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 July19th_157_MoonLake Campground_MooseRC |
 July19th_183_MoonLake Campground_MooseRC |
 July19th_268_Moon LakeCampgroundRC |
Here is a morning shot of Moon Lake from close to our campsite. The second shot was taken in Delta Junction and shows a small portion of the Delta Barley Project.
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 Jul20_1_ MoonLakeCGRC |
 July20th_007_ DeltaJCTRC |
| End July 19th & 20th, End July 2021's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links |
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| End Our Publications Links, End Page 5 of 5, July 2021 |
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