 |
posted: June 30th, 2020 |
Go To Page:
|
This page begins with June 10th - the morning after our campout in Denali National Park at the Riley Creek Campground. We had a full view of Denali, the mountain this morning. We also saw a moose immediately, or at least very soon, after it calved, which was quite interesting. We traveled home on this date, so there are photos which were taken along the highway as we traveled towards Fairbanks. On June 13th a red fox came to visit us at home, that was cool. We also went to Upper Grapefruit Rocks on this date and found two species of orchids. In the evening we photographed some birds at home. All in all June 13th proved to be quite an amazing day. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
|
| Begin June 10th |
It's another new day and as we drove from the Riley Creek Campground, into Denali National Park we were shown this incredible view of Denali - The Great One - in all its splendor. Keep in mind that this is the highest mountain on the North American continent (20,310 feet = 6,190 meters). There were several large forest fires going, so the sky was a bit smoky, but not terribly bad. We were fortunate.
|
 June10_03Adj_ Denali_DenaliNPRC |
 June10_04_ Denali_DenaliNPRC |
 June10_07_ Denali_DenaliNPRC |
We had been told that there were some orchids growing along the trail in the Mountain Vista area of the park, so we stopped there and hiked the loop in search of them - we did not find any orchids, but we saw a moose some distance away which was acting very strangely, so we stopped to watch for a while. It soon became apparent that it was a cow moose and then we saw a tiny calf nearby. Then after more watching through binoculars, it became apparent that the moose had probably just calved within the past hour or less, as she was still licking the calf clean. Then she tried to entice the calf to cross the river, but the calf did not have the strength to try it, so the mother went back and nursed for a little while and then laid down with the calf after deciding that we were not a threat. In the first photo the calf is on the extreme left side. In the second and third photos you can see that the calf is suckling. Why did the mother lift her leg in the third photo? Maybe to stimulate the flow of milk? |
 June10th_010_ Denali_MooseRC |
 June10_16_Denali NP_Moose_CalfRC |
 June10th_024_ Denali_MooseRC |
The first shot in this row shows that the mother moose still has her hind leg lifted, who knows why? In the second shot, the mother thinks the calf has had enough milk and she crosses the river and tells the calf to follow. The calf took one step out into the water and turned back to shore and laid down. The third shot shows that the mother came back and decided to lie down with the calf until it gains more strength.
|
 June10th_025_ Denali_MooseRC |
 June10th_037_ Denali_MooseRC |
 June10_31_ Moose_CalfRC |
The final moose shot - the mother does a bit more thorough job of cleaning the afterbirth from the calf. The second shot shows Denali - the mountain from this location. One hour after this shot was taken it was 100% covered by clouds again. The third shot is another scenic photo.
|
 June10th_071_ Denali_MooseRC |
 June10th_077 _DenaliRC |
 June10_25_Denali NP_SceneryRC |
The first two shots in this row show the area we were in two days ago while we were climbing on the Savage Alpine Trail. The third shot is a scenic shot with the Savage River drainage out there. We're going to zoom-in to the general area shown in the outlined area for the next three photos to show you a Caribou which I found while glassing around the area.
|
 June10_41_Saavage AlpineTrailAreaRC |
 June10th_082 _DenaliRC |
 June10_48_Denali NP_SceneryRC |
Hopefully, you can recognize this area from the previous photo. Now we're going to zoom-in even more. WOW! This is Canon SX730 HS Camera.
|
 June10_49_Caribou _DenaliNPRC |
 June10_50_Caribou _DenaliNPRC |
 June10_53_Caribou _DenaliNPRC |
And now we are on the way home. We stopped at this pond because Kazuya spotted the Great Yellow Pond-lily (Nuphar polysepala) and wanted to get some photos.
|
 June10th_100_MP294 _NupharPolysepalaRC |
 June10th_101_MP294 _NupharPolysepalaRC |
 June10th_107_MP294 _NupharPolysepalaRC |
These photos of Alaska Iris (Iris setosa) were taken near Nenana, Alaska - at what the Nenana folks call "Nenana Pond".
|
 June10th_126_ Nenana_IrisSetosaRC |
 June10th_127_ Nenana_IrisSetosaRC |
Here are two more shots of Alaska Iris (Iris setosa), the final photos from this wonderful adventure.
|
 June10th_128_ Nenana_IrisSetosaRC |
 June10th_142_ Nenana_IrisSetosaRC |
| End June 10th, Begin June 13th |
Now it's June 13th and we are at home. We had this Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) visitor this morning - the second time we've seen it in this location out our west window. It likes the smell and taste of this very old and stale suet cake which I removed from the suet bird feeder because it was so old that the birds would no longer touch it! The fox also hears sounds of voles in the wood pile and it wants to hang out and catch one or two of them.
|
 June13th_005 _FoxRC |
 June13th_028 _FoxRC |
 June13th_030 _FoxRC |
As you can see, this fox didn't mind relaxing here for a while. It did not leave until after it had licked the very last bit of suet from the bird bath stand.
|
 June13th_047 _FoxRC |
 June13th_053 _FoxRC |
On this same date we also went out to Upper Grapefruit Rocks in search of orchids. The first thing we found were these Smallflower Columbine (Aquilegia brevistyla). Then we found a couple of Northern Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium passerinum), though they were not yet in bloom.
|
 June13th_001_GrapefruitRocks _AquilegiaBrevistylaRC |
 June13th_002_GrapefruitRocks _AquilegiaBrevistylaRC |
 June13th_004_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumPasserinumRC |
Here is a final shot (for today) of the Northern Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium passerinum). The second and third photos show a beautiful example of Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum).
|
 Jun13_04_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumPasserinumRC |
 Jun13_06_Grapefruit Rocks_LabradorTeaRC |
 Jun13_07_Grapefruit Rocks_LabradorTeaRC |
Now we are climbing up towards Grapefruit Rocks and we have found an abundance of Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium guttatum) in bloom. WOW!
|
 Jun13_14_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_15_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_18a_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
Here are three more shots of the Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium guttatum).
|
 Jun13_19_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 June13th_020_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_30_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
And here are three additional shots of the Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium guttatum).
|
 Jun13_42_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_39_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_50_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
Here are the final three shots of the Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium guttatum) for this year. We hope to visit them again next year.
|
 June13th_034_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_58_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
 Jun13_57_GrapefruitRocks _CypripediumGuttatumRC |
These two shots of Dwarf Mountain Fleabane (Erigeron compositus) are the final shots from this adventure.
|
 June13th_047_Grapefruit Rocks_ErigeronCompositusRC |
 June13th_048_Grapefruit Rocks_ErigeronCompositusRC |
We are at home again now and Kazuya spotted - and managed to shoot some photos of this Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) as it bathed. Great entertainment.
|
 June13th_061_Yellow RumpedWarblerRC |
 June13th_062_Yellow RumpedWarblerRC |
 June13th_063_Yellow RumpedWarblerRC |
And then after a little while, this Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) stopped by the suet feeder to grab a bite. Generally this bird stops here in the morning on its rounds, but for some reason, it stopped by in the evening on this date. What a day, eh - a fox, the bath of the Yellow-rumped Warbler, and now this.
|
 June13th_067 _MagpieRC |
 June13th_068 _MagpieRC |
 June13th_069 _MagpieRC |
| End June 13th, End Page 3 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Please continue on to page 4 for the conclusion of this month's adventures and photos! |
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.) |