 |
posted: August 15, 2025 |
Go To Page:
|
This page continues from Page 1 on July 31st, which ends with Row 3. Row 4 begins August 1st and a clear blue sky of Denali at 6:15 AM. Denali is very rarely seen in a totally cloudless state - WOW! The page continues with our August 1st adventures, and then jumps to our 10th Wedding Anniversary on August 10th. After that is a trip to US Creek Road and some blueberry picking. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
|
| July 31 Continues From Page 1 |
As you know, we are continuing our hike of the Savage River Loop Trail in Denali National Park, on August 31. Here are three more shots of the rare and uncommon Pygmy Gentian (Gentiana prostrata). In the third shot you can see more flowers than we had ever seen before today. This species is in our second Wildflowers book - "Wildflowers of Alaska" on Page 35.
|
 073125_53Crop_SavageRiver _GentianaProstrataRC |
 073125_57Crop_SavageRiver _GentianaProstrataRC |
 IMG_ 7965RC |
Here are three final shots of Pygmy Gentian (Gentiana prostrata), please appreciate them, as this is probably the final time you'll ever see this species in your life.
|
 073125_60Crop_SavageRiver _GentianaProstrataRC |
 073125_62_SavageRiver _GentianaProstrataRC |
 073125_67_SavageRiver _GentianaProstrataRC |
This shot is the final one of the Arctic Gentian (Gentiana algida), which is also considered rare and uncommon. This species can be found in our first Wildflowers book - "Wildflowers of Interior Alaska" on Page 72. The second shot shows the bridge on the Savage River Loop Trail, we have already crossed the bridge and are on the return side of the trail now. The third shot shows a rock pinnacle near the beginning of the trail which is the start of the Savage Alpine Trail. If you study the photo a bit you can make out a trail, which we'll climb tomorrow and go about 1.5 miles up into the mountains there.
|
 073125_73_SavageRiver _GentianaAlgidaRC |
 073125_74_75_ReposPano_ SavageRiver_SceneryRC |
 073125_85_Savage River_SceneryRC |
| End July 31, Begin August 1 |
HOLY COW!! Of all of the times we have visited Denali National Park, this is the very first time we have ever seen Denali totally cloudless. We have seen it "relatively" cloud free in the past, but totally cloudless is so rare that it is barely worth considering one's chances of seeing it like this. What more can be said?
|
 080125_003Curves_SIP_ Denali_CloudlessRC |
 080125_005Curves_SIP_Denali_Cloudless SavageAlpineTrail_DenaliRC |
 080125_004Curves_SIP_ Denali_CloudlessRC |
Here are three more shots of a totally cloudless Denali.
|
 080125_006Curves_Denali_Cloudless SavageAlpineTrail_DenaliRC |
 080125_008_009_010_AutoPano_Curves_ Denali_CloudlessRC |
 080125_011_Denali _CloudlessRC |
Here is a final shot of a totally cloudless Denali, and that is followed by two shots of Collared Pikas (Ochotona collaris) along the Savage Alpine Trail on this beautiful morning.
|
 IMG_ 8075RC |
 080125_015CropLevels_ SavageAlpineTrail_PikaRC |
 080125_024Curves_SIP_ SavageAlpineTrail_PikaRC |
Here are two more shots of Collared Pikas (Ochotona collaris) and then a shot of a still cloudless Denali from the first high spot of the Savage Alpine Trail.
|
 080125_033Curves_ SavageAlpineTrail_PikaRC |
 080125_039Curves_ SavageAlpineTrail_PikaRC |
 080125_042_SavageAlpine Trail_DenaliRC |
Here are two more shots of Collared Pikas (Ochotona collaris). This was our first time to ever see this animal. We were in kind of a rush to get into the high country today, so we did not take the time we should have taken to get really good shots of them. We returned here tomorrow morning (August 2) and brought the tripod. Our intention was to get shots of only the pikas, but we did not see a single one. They must move about depending on the weather - today was clear and sunny, but tomorrow was partly cloudy and colder.
|
 080125_069Curves_ SavageAlpineTrail_PikaRC |
 IMG_ 8182RC |
In first position in this row is a shot looking downstream on the Savage River. The Savage River Loop Trail, that we hiked yesterday, runs along this area. In second and third positions are shots of Kazuya ascending and then on top of the rock pinnacle shown in the third shot in Row 3.
|
 080125_048_SavageAlpine Trail_SceneryRC |
 080125_057_SavageAlpineTrail _Scenery_KazuyaRC |
 080125_060_SavageAlpineTrail _Scenery_KazuyaRC |
Here are the final two shots of the Collared Pikas (Ochotona collaris).
|
 IMG_ 8232RC |
 IMG_ 8294RC |
In this row are two shots of Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) along the Savage Alpine Trail.
|
 IMG_ 8304RC |
 080125_063_SavageAlpine Trail_PtarmiganRC |
Here is a final shot of a totally cloudless Denali, and it is followed by a shot of an Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus parryii).
|
 080125_070_SavageAlpine Trail_DenaliRC |
 080125_080_SavageAlpine Trail_GroundSquirrelRC |
Here is the final shot of an Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus parryii). The second shot shows Daniel climbing the Savage Alpine Trail; note that Denali is starting to cloud up, by 2:00 PM it was no longer visible at all. The third shot shows two Dall Sheep (Ovis dalli) - a long ways away.
|
 IMG_ 8452RC |
 IMG_ 8372RC |
 IMG_ 8474RC |
Here are two more shots of Dall Sheep (Ovis dalli), very far away and zoomed in to the maximum extent. These two shots, as well as the previous one were actually taken on August 2 after our unsuccessful hunt for Pikas with the camera tripod. The final shot in this row was taken at 2:03 PM on August 1 from a place along the park road where Denali should have been visible - a mere 8 hours after we had taken cloudless photos of it.
|
 080225_04_SavageRiver _DallSheepRC |
 080225_13_SavageRiver _DallSheepRC |
 080125_113_SavageAlpine Trail_SceneryWebRC |
| End August 1, Begin August 10 |
August 10th was our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We spoke about going to one of several nice local restaurants, but when we looked at their menus and prices online, we decided to go to Costco and get some fresh Ahi Tuna and have a super special dinner at home, and that was what we did. Kazuya seared it and we had this amazing meal of Tuna Medallions with veggies from our garden plus other locally grown vegetables, along with a bowl of rice. It was a meal fit for kings! The third shot shows the arrangement that Sunrise Farms created for our 10th Anniversary at Farmers Market for an unbelievably reasonable price. An added bonus to eating at home was that it was not noisy, there were no children running around, no irritating music, no distractions, and we didn't have to leave a tip.
|
 081025_6Vib_ 10thAnniversaryDinnerAtHomeRC |
 IMG_ 7300RC |
 IMG_ 7221RC |
| End August 10, Begin August 12 |
August 12th dawned a beautiful sunny day so we decided to go blueberry picking up along US Creek Road (57 mile Steese Highway). Here are three photos.
|
 081225_01_USCreekRd _BlueberryPicking |
 081225_03_USCreekRd _BlueberryPicking |
 081225_05_USCreekRd _BlueberryPicking |
There were hundreds or maybe thousands of these huge mushrooms growing in the area too. We have no idea what they are. Our final reward was 4.4 pounds of Alaska Blueberries.
|
 081225_07_USCreekRd _BlueberryPicking |
 081225_10_USCreekRd _BlueberryPicking |
| End August 12, End mid-July to mid-August 2025 Photos, Begin Our Publications Links |
|
We'd be thrilled to have you buy one of our books. For additional information regarding any title please click the "General Information" tab on the "Our Books" button down at the bottom of this page. Click on any thumbnail to go to its Amazon.com webpage. |
|
| End Our Publications Links, End Page 2 of 2, August 2025 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. We hope that you found something which you enjoyed. You can use the e-mail link below to respond with any feedback you might have. |
Go To Page:
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Link to Amazon.com (new window).
We get 2% of whatever you spend if you go to Amazon from this link!! Please shop on Amazon from here.
| If you would like to donate to our hiking & traveling fund or show your appreciation for our efforts you can donate through PayPal. A single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.) |