danwiz.com
This is Page 5 of 5 - the best of June 2017!
posted: July 1st, 2017
Go To Page:

As it says at the bottom of Page 4, this page continues on June 19th at 2:07 PM at Eagle Summit.  We were hiking the Pinnell Mountain Trail and made it a bit past mile marker 2 before hearing thunder and realizing that a storm was coming our way.  We headed back, but got caught in the storm when we were only about 10 minutes from our rig.  Such is life!  In Row 8 we jump to June 20th and some photos from farther out the Steese Highway beyond Central, Alaska, where we found a Lady Slipper Orchid.  Then, in Row 16 we briefly take you to Wickersham Dome and in Row 18 we proceed to the Grapefruit Rocks Area, where we found a second species of Lady Slipper Orchid.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.

June 19th Continues from Page 4 (at 2:07 PM)
  Okay, we are continuing our hike of the Pinnell Mountain Trail from the Eagle Summit end and the time here for the first photo in Row 1 is 2:07 PM. This first photo shows a nice patch of Lagotis minor. The second photo shows a single flower of it and the third photo is once again, a shot of Gentiana glauca.
June19_193_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_193_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_209_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_209_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_214_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_214_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

  The first image in this row is cropped out of the previous photo of Gentiana glauca. The second shot is another example of it and the third shot is the same species, but a yellow/white - albino - form of it.
June19_214Part_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_214Part_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_223_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_223_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_226_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_226_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

  The first shot in this row is another of the albino form of Gentiana glauca. The second and third shots show a Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus). We saw several of this bird, but never very close. Both of these shots are quite zoomed.
June19_225_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_225_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_221_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_221_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_227_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_227_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

  Here are three scenery shots taken from the Pinnell Mountain Trail. The first two of them show Kazuya. The second one is a 170° iPhone panorama.
June19_230_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_230_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_2_PinnellMountainTrail_EagleSummitRC
June19_2_PinnellMountain
Trail_EagleSummitRC
June19_241_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_241_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

  Here are three more shots taken along the trail. The second shot shows that we have reached Mile 2 of the Pinnell Mountain Trail. The third shot shows a distant rainstorm which may be coming toward us.
June19_242_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_242_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_244_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_244_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_258_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_258_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

  In first and third position are shots of Pedicularis capitata. The center shot was taken to show the general ground cover at this spot. I shot it using the Vivid Mode on my camera so that it would show up as colors other than merely shades of brown. It really was amazing to see, even if not as Vivid as this shot seems.
June19_272_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_272_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_263_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_263_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_273_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_273_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

  We found a large patch of Shooting Star (Dodecatheon frigidum) and stopped to take several photos. We had heard thunder and noted that clouds seemed to be headed our way more or less from the north. We were headed back to our rig, but we just could not pass by this patch of Shooting Stars without getting some photos. Well, we got caught by the storm when we were only about 10 minutes from the safety of our rig. We were fairly well prepared and at the first drops of rain we had stopped and put on our rain jackets, but we did not have rain pants. When the storm came it was accompanied by hail about 1/8th - 1/4th inch in diameter and that stung when it hit. Of course the wind was strong. We were going really fast at that point, but our legs got soaked. We got back to the rig and sat inside with the heater going until the storm passed, which happened in about 15 minutes. Then we changed our clothes, cooked our supper and went about our normal activities. We slept in the canopy on our pickup and it did not rain again. We had been hoping for clear skies so that we could watch the sun NOT set from this location, but it was cloudy. If you want to see the sun NOT set then please go to our June 23rd and 24th trip to this place last year and scroll down to about Row 10 to watch the sun NOT set.
June19_278_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_278_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_290_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_290_
PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_291_PinnellMtnTrailRC
June19_291_
PinnellMtnTrailRC

End June 19th, Begin June 20th
  Now it is June 20th. It's sunny again and we have driven another few miles up the Steese Highway. We passed through Central, Alaska and kept going a few more miles because Kazuya had read on the internet that we might find a Lady Slipper Orchid here. Well, we stopped several places and walked into the woods for some distance. We hunted and hunted and finally just when we were ready to give up and were approaching the rig for the final time to get in and leave, Kazuya found one of them right beside the rig! We walked up and down the highway and found several of them. So, the first and third shots in this row show the Northern Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium passerinum). The center shot shows a nice example of Epilobium angustifolium - Fireweed.
June20_05_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_05_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_03_NearCentralRC
June20_03_
NearCentralRC
June20_10_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_10_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC

  Here are three more images which show the Northern Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium passerinum).
June20_10Part_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_10Part_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20th_CypripediumPasserinum_6951PartRC
June20th_Cypripedium
Passerinum_6951PartRC
June20th_CypripediumPasserinum_6951RC
June20th_Cypripedium
Passerinum_6951RC

  And, another three shots of the Northern Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium passerinum). In the third photo you may notice some brown on some of the flowers. We found this all along here and had also seen it for 10 miles before we got here. We had to assume that there had been an extremely late frost which had damaged the flower buds here. There had even been frost warnings in Fairbanks just 10 days before this.
June20_16_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_16_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_17_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_17_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_19_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_19_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC

  In the first shot in this row you can see how close the Northern Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium passerinum) were growing to our rig and the highway! The second and third photos show Corallorhiza trifida - (Yellow Coral Root) - another Orchid.
June20th_CentralArea_CypripediumPasserinum_7008RC
June20th_CentralArea_
CypripediumPasserinum_7008RC
June20_22_NearCentral_OrchidRC
June20_22_NearCentral
_OrchidRC
June20_23_NearCentral_OrchidRC
June20_23_NearCentral
_OrchidRC

  Here are another three photos of the Northern Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium passerinum).
June20_33_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_33_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_33Part_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_33Part_Near
Central_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_30_NearCentral_Cypripedium_passerinumRC
June20_30_NearCentral_
Cypripedium_passerinumRC

  In first position in this row is a shot of an unknown flower and then two shots of some species of Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.).
June20_41_NearCentralRC
June20_41_
NearCentralRC
June20_44_NearCentralRC
June20_44_
NearCentralRC
June20_47_NearCentralRC
June20_47_
NearCentralRC

  Now we have finished shooting the Orchids and are headed back towards Eagle Summit. We noticed this different Cottongrass and stopped to take some shots of it. You may recall that all Cottongrass we have photographed in the past had only one puff of cotton on each stalk, while this Eriophorum angustifolium has several puffs of cotton on each stem and that the cotton puffs are not at the apex of the plant.
June20_50_NearCentralRC
June20_50_
NearCentralRC
June20_51_NearCentralRC
June20_51_
NearCentralRC
June20_52_NearCentralRC
June20_52_
NearCentralRC

  These two photos show Birch Creek (first photo) and Twelvemile Creek (second photo) from the Upper Birch Creek Wayside, at Milepost 94 of the Steese Highway. Birch Creek is a National Wild River. If you'd like to see a PDF Map of this Wild River which is suitable for printing CLICK HERE. This spot is shown on the map as "Mile 0".
June20_59_BirchCreekWaysideRC
June20_59_Birch
CreekWaysideRC
June20_60_BirchCreekWaysideRC
June20_60_Birch
CreekWaysideRC

End June 20th, Begin June 26th & 27th
  On June 26th we went out to Wickersham Dome again. We had planned to climb to the summit, but we discovered that we were both too tired to make it. We DID make it far enough to find the primary species which we had hoped to find here though. All three photos in this row show Castilleja elegans - the Elegant Paintbrush. WOW! Yes, it certainly is ELEGANT!
June26th_005_WickershamDome_CastillejaElegansRC
June26th_005_WickershamDome
_CastillejaElegansRC
June26_04_WickershamDome_ElegantPaintbrushRC
June26_04_WickershamDome
_ElegantPaintbrushRC
June26_06_WickershamDome_ElegantPaintbrushRC
June26_06_WickershamDome
_ElegantPaintbrushRC

  Here are two more shots of Castilleja elegans - the Elegant Paintbrush and then a scenery shot in which you can find the summit of Wickersham Dome - search for the radio tower in the photo.
June26th_023_WickershamDome_CastillejaElegansRC
June26th_023_WickershamDome
_CastillejaElegansRC
June26_10_WickershamDome_ElegantPaintbrushRC
June26_10_WickershamDome
_ElegantPaintbrushRC
June26_11_WickershamDome_RC
June26_11_
WickershamDome_RC

  In first position in this row is a Campanula lasiocarpa. The second photo shows another Castilleja elegans (Elegant Paintbrush) and that finishes the photos from Wickersham Dome. We went back to the rig and drove another 10 miles up the Elliott Highway, to the Grapefruit Rocks Area, primarily because we wanted to see if the Anticlea elegans (Mountain Deathcamas) (Page 1, Row 8) was in bloom yet. Well, when we stepped out of the rig one of the first things that Kazuya said was "Here's another Lady Slipper Orchid!" And, sure enough, he was not joking, so the third shot in this row shows Cypripedium guttatum - The Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid.
June26th_027_WickershamDome_CampanulaLasiocarpaRC
June26th_027_WickershamDome
_CampanulaLasiocarpaRC
June26th_033_WickershamDome_CastillejaElegansRC
June26th_033_WickershamDome
_CastillejaElegansRC
June26th_043_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_043_Grapefruit
Rocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC

  Here are three more shots of Cypripedium guttatum - The Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid. There were several of them here.
June26th_043Part_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_043Part_Grapefruit
Rocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26_17_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_17_GrapefruitRocks_
Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_20_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_20_GrapefruitRocks_
Cypripedium_guttatumRC

  And another three shots of Cypripedium guttatum - The Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid. Note the previous year seedpod in the third shot.
June26_24_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_24_GrapefruitRocks_
Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26th_046_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_046_Grapefruit
Rocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26_33_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_33_GrapefruitRocks_
Cypripedium_guttatumRC

  When we take Orchid photos, we always take a great number of them, even though we use digital cameras and can see if they appear to be good shots or poor shots, one never knows, so we do not hesitate to keep taking more and more photos.
June26th_072_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_072_Grapefruit
Rocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_068_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_068_Grapefruit
Rocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26_35_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_35_Grapefruit
Rocks_Cypripedium_guttatumRC

  Here are the final two shots of Cypripedium guttatum - The Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid. Then we hiked a ways up the Grapefruit Rocks trail and we did find the Anticlea elegans - Mountain Deathcamas to be in bloom.
June26_47_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26_47_GrapefruitRocks
_Cypripedium_guttatumRC
June26th_124_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_124_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatumRC
June26th_077_GrapefruitRocks_AnticleaElegansRC
June26th_077_Grapefruit
Rocks_AnticleaElegansRC

  Here are two more shots of Anticlea elegans - Mountain Deathcamas - flowers and then a shot of the plant.
June26_39_Anticlea_elegansRC
June26_39_Grapefruit
Rocks_Anticlea_elegansRC
June26th_076_GrapefruitRocks_AnticleaElegansRC
June26th_076_GrapefruitRocks
_AnticleaElegansRC
June26_42_Anticlea_elegansRC
June26_42_GrapefruitRocks
_Anticlea_elegansRC

  Here is a final shot of the flowers of Anticlea elegans - Mountain Deathcamas and then a nice reflection in a pond along the highway as we headed back towards Fairbanks. We stopped at Olnes Pond and spent the night there in our pickup canopy and the final shot - Epilobium angustifolium - Fireweed - was taken there. And -- that's the final shot for June.
June26_40_Anticlea_elegansRC
June26_40_Grapefruit
Rocks_Anticlea_elegansRC
June26_58_PondRC
June26_58_Steese
Highway_PondRC
June27th_011_OlnesPond_EpilobiumAngustifoliumRC
June27th_011_OlnesPond_
EpilobiumAngustifoliumRC

End June 26th & 27th, End June 2017's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous Links
  Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System





HERE IS

Please check it out by clicking on the above button.
(Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife"  link in the new window.)

only search Kazuya's Blog site


Here is a small hint to let you know that 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.
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 1: Mt. Daisetsu (Mt. Asahidake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 2: Mt. Chokai (Choukai) Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 3: Mt. Gassan Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 4: Mt. Hakkoda & Mt. Zao
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 5: Mt. Kumotori Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 6: Mt. Shirane (Kusatsu) Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 7: Mt. Shibutsu Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 8: Mt. Kiso-Komagatake
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 9: Mt. Kitadake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 10: Mt. Mizugaki Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 11: Mt. Shiroumadake (includes Mt. Shakushidake & Mt. Yarigatake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 12: Mt. Tate (Tateyama)
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 13: Mt. Yatsugatake (Mt. Akadake) Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 1 of 3 (Winter & Spring) Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 2 of 3 (Summer)
Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 3 of 3 (Autumn) Some Violets of Eastern Japan - 2nd Edition English - Ilokano AND Ilokano - English Dictionary English - Ilokano and Ilokano - English Dictionary - With Some Notes on Ilokano Culture
A Book of Anagrams - An Ancient Word Game A Book of Anagrams - An Ancient Word Game: Volume #2 Forest Resource & Allowable Cut - Fairbanks Working Circle (Alaska) Samurai Seasons Exposed: Nipponese Outdoor Rhapsodies
Heaven and Hell in the Philippines: Journal of a Peace Corps Volunteer All Calendars Wildflowers_of_Interior_Alaska Twelvemile: Summit to Summit



An animated gif of some
of our publications
(Does Not Include 100 Mountains Series)
(34 seconds)
An animated gif of some of our Publications
For details please click the "Our Books"
Button at the bottom of the page.
An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
100 Famous Mountains
Series
(Paperback Editions)
(28 seconds)
An animated gif of our 'Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains' series of Books
For details please click the "Our Books"
Button at the bottom of the page.
An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
100 Famous Mountains
Series
(Hardcover Editions)
(26 seconds)
An animated gif of our 'Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains' series of Books
For details please click the "Our Books"
Button at the bottom of the page.


End Miscellaneous Links, End Page 5 of 5, June 2017

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:


(will open in new window)

Purchase Photos Complete List Of All Photos E-mail us Go to the Special Items Page
Top Of Page Lightbox Instructions Comprehensive Site Map Return to our home 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.)