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This is Page 3 of 4 - the best of June 2021!
posted: July 1st, 2021
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This page begins with June 13th at 12:41 PM, as stated at the bottom of Page 2, with the continuation of our adventure at Murphy Dome.  In Row 4 we begin a new adventure - another trip out to Grapefruit Rocks in search of the Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid.  There was a sun halo for this entire day, so there are photos of that too.  The final shot on this page is a Rainbow Flower Collage which Kazuya created.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.

June 13th Continues From Page 1 (at 12:41 PM)
  We've shown you many photos of Mountain Azalea (Kalmia procumbens) over the years and the most recent time was back on Page 2, in Row 18. Well, here are two more photos of it, but this photo shows something we've never seen before as we've always seen it growing on the ground. Here, it is growing on a rocky face and we had an opportunity to see how this plant roots itself. WOW! It's obviously a long-lived perennial - very interesting to see this specimen of it. The third photo shows Kazuya walking around at Murphy Dome.
Jun13_45_MurphyDome_KalmiaProcumbens_RC
Jun13_45_MurphyDome
_KalmiaProcumbens_RC
June13th_093_MurphyDome_KalmiaProcumbens_RC
June13th_093_MurphyDome
_KalmiaProcumbens_RC
Jun13_48_MurphyDome_SceneryKazuya_RC
Jun13_48_MurphyDome
_SceneryKazuya_RC

  Here are two shots of Longstalk Starwort (Stellaria longipes ssp. longipes) with an example of Pink Plumes (Bistorta plumosa) sandwiched between them.
Jun13_49_MurphyDome_Unknown_RC
Jun13_49_Murphy
Dome_Unknown_RC
June13th_094_MurphyDome_BistortaPlumosa_RC
June13th_094_MurphyDome
_BistortaPlumosa_RC
Jun13_51_MurphyDome_Unknown_RC
Jun13_51_MurphyDome
_Unknown_RC

  In first position here is a shot of Tall Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum ssp. villosum). In second position is a photo of Snow Arnica (Arnica griscomii ssp. frigida) and in third position is an image which shows two shots of a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), the first one we'd ever seen, a new addition to our life list of birds.
June13th_100_MurphyDome_PolemoniumCaeruleumSspVillosum_RC
June13th_100_MurphyDome_
PolemoniumCaeruleumSspVillosum_RC
June13th_107_MurphyDome_ArnicaGriscomiiSspFrigida_RC
June13th_107_MurphyDome_
ArnicaGriscomiiSspFrigida_RC
June13th_125_126_MurphyDome_NorthernFlicker_RC
June13th_125_126_Murphy
Dome_NorthernFlicker_RC

End June 13th, Begin June 15th
  Now it's June 15th and we are on the Elliott Highway again. We stopped at the Wickersham Dome Trailhead just to see what might be in the parking lot. There was one vehicle with a couple rearranging the stuff in their pickup before heading up the Dalton Highway and the guy pointed out this sun halo to us. We took several shots and then continued on to Grapefruit Rocks, where we found the Spotted Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium guttatum) to be in bloom.
Jun15_08Vib_WickershamTrailheadSunHalo_RC
Jun15_08Vib_Wickersham
TrailheadSunHalo_RC
June15th_013_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_013_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_16_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_16_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC

  You may recall from Page 1, Rows 4 and 5, June 8th, that we estimated that these plants would be blooming in another week. It appears that our estimate was spot on, as today is June 15th.
Jun15_22_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_22_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_29_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_29_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_31_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_31_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC

  Here are three more shots which all show Spotted Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium guttatum). Can you even imagine the feeling you would have to see this many orchids on a mountain?
June15th_032_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_032_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_32_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_32_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_45_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_45_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC

  And here are three more shots.
Jun15_46_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_46_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_52_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_52_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_043_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_043_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC

  These are nearly the final shots, so please enjoy them.
Jun15_57_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_57_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_066_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_066_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_098_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_098_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC

  In this row are two shots of Dwarf Mountain Fleabane (Erigeron compositus) and sandwiched between them is a shot of Lehmann’s rock-jasmine (Androsace chamaejasme ssp. lehmanniana).
June15th_114_GrapefruitRocks_ErigeronCompositus_RC
June15th_114_GrapefruitRocks
_ErigeronCompositus_RC
June15th_117_GrapefruitRocks_AndrosaceChamaejasme_RC
June15th_117_GrapefruitRocks
_AndrosaceChamaejasme_RC
June15th_116_GrapefruitRocks_ErigeronCompositus_RC
June15th_116_GrapefruitRocks
_ErigeronCompositus_RC

  This sun halo was visible all day long until sunset, which was after midnight. There were so many photos of it on the Fairbanks, Alaska Facebook page that it was ridiculous. The first shot in this row is the original and the remaining two images have obviously been manipulated to produce these effects. You can read about it in the description of each photo.
Jun15_70_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70_Grapefruit
_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeTypeDarken_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeType
Darken_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeTypeLighten_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeType
Lighten_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC

  Here is that same photo - manipulated in different ways.
Jun15_70InvertFadeTypeLinearLight_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeType
LinearLight_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeTypeColor_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeType
Color_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeTypeDifference_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeType
Difference_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC

  Here is a final manipulated image and then two final unedited shots of the sun halo.
Jun15_70InvertFadeTypePinLight_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_70InvertFadeType
PinLight_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_73_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_73_Grapefruit
_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_79_Grapefruit_SunHalo_RC
Jun15_79_Grapefruit
_SunHalo_RC

  The first shot here shows Lower Grapefruit Rocks as seen from Upper Grapefruit Rocks. The center shot shows a Dwarf Mountain Fleabane (Erigeron compositus) and the third shot shows another example of how Spotted Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium guttatum) grow.
Jun15_80_Grapefruit_LowerGrapefruit_RC
Jun15_80_Grapefruit
_LowerGrapefruit_RC
June15th_148_GrapefruitRocks_ErigeronCompositus_RC
June15th_148_GrapefruitRocks
_ErigeronCompositus_RC
Jun15_83_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_83_Grapefruit_
CypripediumGuttatum_RC

  Here are the final two shots of Spotted Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium guttatum). The third shot was taken at a different location, about Milepost 57 of the Elliott Highway.
June15th_168_GrapefruitRocks_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_168_GrapefruitRocks
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_84_Grapefruit_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
Jun15_84_Grapefruit
_CypripediumGuttatum_RC
June15th_185_ElliottHWY_RC
June15th_185_
ElliottHWY_RC

  All three shots in this row show examples of Three-toothed Saxifrage (Saxifraga tricuspidata) on a steep hillside road-cut.
June15th_186_ElliottHWY_RC
June15th_186_
ElliottHWY_RC
Jun15_87_SaxifragaTricuspidata_RC
Jun15_87_
SaxifragaTricuspidata_RC
Jun15_88_SaxifragaTricuspidata_RC
Jun15_88_
SaxifragaTricuspidata_RC

  Now we are headed back home and we can see a wildfire to the south of us. We later learned that this fire was the Haystack Fire, on Haystack mountain. Fortunately, for all of the people who live there, it was to the north of the subdivision by about 2 miles and the winds blew it away from the area. They were most fortunate - this time. It ended up at over 500 acres - lightning caused.
Jun15_91_HaystackFire_RC
Jun15_91_
HaystackFire_RC
June15th_220_ElliottHWY_WildFire_RC
June15th_220_Elliott
HWY_WildFire_RC

  Here are two more shots of the Haystack Fire. In the second photo I have manipulated a small portion of the photo so that it is actually possible to see the flames in the manipulated portion. The distance from here to the fire is about 13.2 miles.
June15th_226Adj_ElliottHWY_WildFire_RC
June15th_226Adj_Elliott
HWY_WildFire_RC
June15th_226Adj_AT_ElliottHWY_WildFire_RC
June15th_226Adj_AT_
ElliottHWY_WildFire_RC

  Here is the final image for this page - Kazuya created this Rainbow Flower Collage. Should we have it made into a poster? It's sure as heck amazing.
RainbowFlowerCollage01_RC
RainbowFlower
Collage01_RC

End June 15th, 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:

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