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posted: October 1st, 2017 |
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On September 2nd I checked the long range weather forecast and that forecast showed that the next 2 or 3 days were to be the best weather, and possibly the only ones without rain, for the next 10 days. Therefore I mentioned to Kazuya, at about 10:00 AM, that we should head to Eagle Summit again while we could have nice weather. He agreed and we started a mad scramble to get everything ready, a lunch cooked and packed, and so on. We managed to finish, and have everything packed into our canopy at about noon and then we had to go into town and get gasoline for the pickup. We were done with that and finally driving out of town at about 12:30 PM. WOW! Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin September 2nd |
On September 2nd we headed for the mountains once again. The first shot in this row was taken very close to Cleary Summit, only about 20 miles out of town on the Steese Highway. We didn't get started until 12:30 PM on this date, so this was a good place to stop and eat the lunch we brought with us. Note the autumn colors. The second shot shows a nice hillside and the Chatanika River; the outlined area shows the next photo.
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 Sep02_02_ ClearySummitRC |
 Sep02_12_Enroute _EagleSummitRC |
 Sep02_15_Enroute _EagleSummitRC |
Now we are getting close to Twelvemile Summit, a place that you have seen before. The purpose of all three of these shots is scenery with autumn color.
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 Sep02_17_ TwelvemileSummitRC |
 Sep02_19_ TwelvemileSummitRC |
 Sep02_21_ TwelvemileSummitRC |
The first two shots in this row show more autumn colors close to Twelvemile Summit. The third shot was taken from Eagle Summit later in the day. We had always hoped to see Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) on their annual migration while we were here, and this was the time we lucked out and actually saw several migrating herds of them. Apparently, this is nothing at all like it was 50 years ago, when it took days for the entire herd to pass by this spot, but we saw several small herds and we were excited. WOW!
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 Sept2nd_007_ TwelvemileSummitRC |
 Sep02_26_ Close_EagleSummitRC |
 Sep02_32_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
Here are three more shots of Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) as they migrate past the Eagle Summit Area. This was so exciting for us that you had better prepare yourself to see an abundance of migrating Caribou photos.
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 Sept2nd_024_ EagleSummit_CaribouRC |
 Sep02_40_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sep02_48_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
The first and third shots in this row show more Caribou, while the center photo is an iPhone panorama, showing I don't know how many degree arc.
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 Sept2nd_036_ EagleSummit_CaribouRC |
 Sep02_2_iPhone_ EagleSummitRC |
 Sep02_56_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
The first shot here shows a small herd of Caribou as they approach their closest point to a grandmother who came here to find Caribou. She appeared to be an Alaska Native, so maybe she was hoping to see a bunch of Caribou, like in the old days. She did not climb high enough to see these when they were on the other side of the mountain and it doesn't look like she sees them as they circle around right behind her, but we hope she did see them. The second photo is another iPhone panorama and the third photo is an iPhone photo which shows nice autumn colors.
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 Sept2nd_063_ EagleSummit_CaribouRC |
 Sept2nd_iphone003 _EagleSummitRC |
 Sep02_5_iPhone _EagleSummitRC |
These three shots all show Eagle Summit autumn color and scenery - there are no Caribou in any shot. The outlined area of the third photo shows the area of the next photo.
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 Sept2nd_067_ EagleSummitRC |
 Sep02_58_59_Auto Pano_EagleSummitRC |
 Sep02_61_ EagleSummitRC |
The first shot in this row shows autumn color down in Caribou Gulch at Eagle Summit and the second photo is a fair shot of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. They were not really wonderful or active this night, but there were some.
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 Sep02_62_ EagleSummitRC |
 Sept2nd_079_Curves _EagleSummit_AuroraRC |
| End September 2nd, Begin September 3rd |
Now it's September 3rd and the time is about 6:55 AM. We are up, making our coffee and breakfast and so on. There are Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) up on the ridge close to Eagle Summit and we are taking photos of them between sips of coffee.
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 Sep03_007_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sep03_008_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sept3rd_004_ EagleSummit_CaribouRC |
Now it's 7:13 AM and if I recall, this is a different small herd of Caribou than the one pictured just previous. In the third shot you can see that they came down pretty close to the parking area (the gravel pad in the lower left of the photo).
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 Sep03_011_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sep03_017_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sept3rd_025_ EagleSummit_CaribouRC |
The first shot in this row was also taken at about 7:15 AM, but the second and third shots were not taken until we were preparing to leave the Eagle Summit Wayside, at about 8:30 AM. The third shot is an overview and shows where the Caribou are in case you cannot find them. The vehicle on the road is a road grader.
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 Sep03_018_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sept3rd_043_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sept3rd_048_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
All three shots in this row show that same Caribou herd that was seen in the previous two shots just above. In the third shot you can again see the road grader traveling along the road. The outlined area of the third photo shows the area of the next photo.
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 Sep03_025_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sep03_026_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sept3rd_051_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
The first shot in this row shows the outlined area of the previous photo, the second shot is a zoomed shot of the same Caribou herd and the third shot shows a mother Grizzly (Brown) Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and her THREE cubs on the hillside above our pickup truck. Kazuya spotted these bears after we had driven about 3 miles from the Eagle Summit Wayside.
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 Sept3rd_052_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sep03_031_Eagle Summit_CaribouRC |
 Sep03_033_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
Well, how many times have we seen Grizzly (Brown) Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) with cubs? The answer is, this is the first time. For that reason we're going to be showing you an abundance of shots of them. The first two shots here show the three cubs and the third shot shows all four bears.
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 Sep03_035_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_040_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_044_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
Here are three more shots of this family of Grizzly Bears.
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 Sep03_048_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_063_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_066_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
And another three shots of this family of bears which graced us with their presence on this beautiful sunny morning as we were driving from Eagle Summit Wayside to Central and Circle.
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 Sep03_067_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_071_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_078_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
Here are two zoomed shots showing the mother in stunning and beautiful detail and color. The third shot was taken from the passenger side of the rig after I stepped out to take a pee.
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 Sep03_083_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sep03_084_NearEagle Summit_GrizzlyBearRC |
 Sept3rd_141_Eagle Summit_BearRC |
The first shot here was taken by Kazuya while I was peeing, they are very interested - could they smell it or hear it or what?! The second shot was taken looking downhill from our bear viewing spot. The third shot is an amazing fall color image which was taken as we drove towards Circle, Alaska. It was created by combining three photos taken at different exposures.
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 Sept3rd_145_Crop_ EagleSummit_BearRC |
 Sep03_088_NearEagle Summit_SceneryRC |
 Sep03_096_097_098_TMDE_ EnrouteCircle_AutumnColorsRC |
All three of these shots were taken to capture the beautiful autumn colors as we drove to Circle, Alaska. From Eagle Summit Wayside to Circle is about 51 miles, so not terribly far. The "highway" however, gets very twisty for the final 20 miles or so and is a narrow two lanes, with lots of blind curves and a posted speed limit of 20 - 35 MPH.
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 Sep03_101_Enroute Circle_AutumnColorsRC |
 Sep03_102_Enroute Circle_AutumnColorsRC |
 Sep03_107_Enroute Circle_AutumnColorsRC |
The first shot here is another autumn color shot. The second and third shots show Birch Creek where it flows parallel to the highway for a while. A total of 126 miles of Birch Creek is a part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
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 Sep03_108_Enroute Circle_AutumnColorsRC |
 Sep03_112_Enroute Circle_BirchCreekRC |
 Sept3rd_170_ Central_CircleRC |
| End Page 1, but September 3rd continues on Page 2 at 11:03 AM |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of this adventure. |
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