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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of August 2022!
posted: September 4th, 2022

We did not have a great number of adventures this month, but we considered it a good month.  This page starts with the 17th with a drive across the Denali Highway from west to east.  Most photos from this adventure were taken on the 18th, as you will notice.  It began to rain quite heavily on the 18th and rather than stopping for the night in the heavy rain, we just drove on through to home.  After that there are some shots of our flower garden, Gettinger's Field and a Belted Kingfisher on the Chatanika River.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin August 17th
  On August 17th we drove from our home, down the George Parks Highway to Cantwell, Alaska, turned east on the Denali Highway, and continued to the BLM's Brushkana Creek Campground. These three scenic photos were all taken on the Denali Highway as we approached the campground. Note that the photos are mislabeled as "East End of Denali Highway", but it's actually the west end of the highway.
Aug17_03_DenaliHighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_03_Denali
HighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_08_DenaliHighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_08_Denali
HighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_09_DenaliHighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_09_Denali
HighwayScenery_EastEndRC

  Here are three more scenic photos from the western end of the Denali Highway.
Aug17th_001_DenaliHWYRC
Aug17th_001_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug17_14_15_SIPVib_DenaliHighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_14_15_SIPVib_Denali
HighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17th_008_DenaliHWYRC
Aug17th_008_
DenaliHWYRC

  In this row we present one more very beautiful scenic photo and then two photos showing autumn colors in some Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) leaves.
Aug17th_009_DenaliHWYRC
Aug17th_009_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug17_21_DenaliHighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_21_Denali
HighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_22_DenaliHighwayScenery_EastEndRC
Aug17_22_Denali
HighwayScenery_EastEndRC

End August 17th, Begin August 18th
  Now it's August 18th and we are continuing to drive east on this beautiful morning. The first shot here is a scenery shot. The center photo shows Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) plants and berries, while the third photo shows not only Crowberry, but also Bearberry (Arctostaphylos alpina).
Aug18_04_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_04_
DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_12_DenaliHighway_CrowberryRC
Aug18_12_Denali
Highway_CrowberryRC
Aug18th_005_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_005_
DenaliHWYRC

  Here is one more shot of Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) and then the rain began and we had a pretty bright partial rainbow.
Aug18th_020_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_020_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug18_17_DenaliHighway_RainbowRC
Aug18_17_Denali
Highway_RainbowRC
Aug18_19ATVib_DenaliHighway_RainbowRC
Aug18_19ATVib_Denali
Highway_RainbowRC

  Here is an additional rainbow shot and then another shot of bright red Bearberry leaves. In third position is another nice scenic shot.
Aug18th_042_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_042_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug18_26_DenaliHighway_BearberryRC
Aug18_26_Denali
Highway_BearberryRC
Aug18_30_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_30_
DenaliHighwayRC

  The first shot in this row shows some fireweed seed pods along with a partial rainbow - lots of red. The second and third shots were taken through a rain or snow cloud and they show that we had some snow on the high peaks during the night. This is generally referred to as termination dust, as it indicates the termination of summer.
Aug18th_056_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_056_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug18_31_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_31_
DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_32_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_32_
DenaliHighwayRC

  Here is another shot of beautiful Bearberry leaves. The center shot shows that we are about on the dividing line between poor weather and nice weather. Unfortunately the rain cloud was traveling faster than we were and it was not long after this that we were in the fairly heavy rain for the remainder of the day. The third shot shows more termination dust on the peaks.
Aug18th_066_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_066_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug18_38_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_38_
DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_41RotSIP_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_41RotSIP_
DenaliHighwayRC

  Here are three more great scenery shots.
Aug18_44_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_44_
DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_3_iPhone_DenaliHighwaySceneryRC
Aug18_3_iPhone_
DenaliHighwaySceneryRC
Aug18_56_57Vib_AutoPano_DenaliHighwayRC
Aug18_56_57Vib_
AutoPano_DenaliHighwayRC

  The first shot in this row is kind of the final scenery shot, after this it was raining too hard to even want to get out of the pickup for photos. The second and third shots were taken from inside our dry pickup truck while looking down into a large lake. What do we have here? It's a family of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) - mom, dad and two young ones - so very cool to see.
Aug18th_086_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_086_
DenaliHWYRC
Aug18_60_DenaliHighwaySwanFamilyRC
Aug18_60_Denali
HighwaySwanFamilyRC
Aug18_61_DenaliHighwaySwanFamilyRC
Aug18_61_Denali
HighwaySwanFamilyRC

  Here are three additional shots of the family of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator).
Aug18_65_DenaliHighwaySwanFamilyRC
Aug18_65_Denali
HighwaySwanFamilyRC
Aug18th_134_DenaliHWY_CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18th_134_DenaliHWY_
CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18th_172_DenaliHWY_CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18th_172_DenaliHWY_
CygnusBuccinatorRC

  Here is the final shot of the Trumpeter Swan family in first position. The center shot shows an overview of where they went ashore and were resting. Then we began to hear a Common Loon (Gavia immer) calling. It apparently liked the heavy rain that was falling and so did its mate, as they both started singing together. If you've ever heard a loon call, then you know how eerie it sounds. Well, this pair sang, called, talked, whatever you want to call it, for several moments and we felt very special to have been able to hear it happen.
Aug18th_253_DenaliHWY_CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18th_253_DenaliHWY_
CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18th_261_DenaliHWY_CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18th_261_DenaliHWY_
CygnusBuccinatorRC
Aug18_72_DenaliHighwayLoonsCallingRC
Aug18_72_Denali
HighwayLoonsCallingRC

  The first photo in this row shows the pair of Common Loons which was singing for us. It kind of gives you an idea of the scale of things here. In the center shot, greatly zoomed, you can see that the beak of one of them is open as it sings for us. As we continued along, we came upon this place. What a surprise! We bought a jar of jam. It was closer to blueberry water than it was to jam, delicious but disappointing as far as using it on toast.
Aug18th_242_DenaliHWY_GaviaImmerRC
Aug18th_242_Denali
HWY_GaviaImmerRC
Aug18th_246_DenaliHWY_GaviaImmerRC
Aug18th_246_Denali
HWY_GaviaImmerRC
Aug18th_269_DenaliHWYRC
Aug18th_269_
DenaliHWYRC

  After another hour or so we came upon another pond where we saw loons floating around. We stopped and Kazuya was able to get some shots through the open truck window. As he zoomed in he noticed that these were not Common Loons, but something else in the loon family. We had one of our bird books with us and quickly identified them as a Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) and its young - a new bird for our life list. WOW! It's disappointing that the weather was so poor, but anyway...
Aug18th_302_DenaliHWY_GaviaStellataRC
Aug18th_302_DenaliHWY_
GaviaStellataRC
Aug18th_330_DenaliHWY_GaviaStellataRC
Aug18th_330_DenaliHWY_
GaviaStellataRC

  We had planned to camp along this highway one more night, but with the fairly heavy rain we decided to just push on and come all the way home. These two photos were taken along the Richardson Highway, after we left the Denali Highway and headed north. This is called Rainbow Ridge.
Aug18th_336_RainbowMtRC
Aug18th_336_
RainbowMtRC
Aug18th_339_RainbowMtRC
Aug18th_339_
RainbowMtRC

End August 18th, Begin August 23rd - 31st
  Here are three shots of Kazuya's Flower Garden here at our home. WOW! We have had beautiful flower arrangements in the house for quite some time now. We are so very fortunate.
Aug23_09_KazuyasGardenPlantsRC
Aug23_09_Kazuyas
GardenPlantsRC
Aug23_02_KazuyasGardenPlantsRC
Aug23_02_Kazuyas
GardenPlantsRC
Aug23_18_KazuyasGardenPlantsRC
Aug23_18_Kazuyas
GardenPlantsRC

  On the 29th we took a walk up the road to Gettinger's Field. Here are two shots from that day. In the second shot you'll notice that our autumn colors are quite drab this year. This is due to the fact that even today (September 4th) we have not had our first frost, so there is no good reason for the leaves to be brilliant yellow. They know that it's time to die and fall because of the photoperiod, but they have no reason to become brilliant.
Aug29_1_2_ReposPanoSIP_GettingersFieldFromHomeRC
Aug29_1_2_ReposPanoSIP_
GettingersFieldFromHomeRC
Aug29_6_GettingersFieldFromHomeRC
Aug29_6_Gettingers
FieldFromHomeRC

  On August 31st we took a drive up the Elliott Highway to search for some brilliant autumn colors, but we still could not find any. We stopped at the Whitefish Campground on our way home to cook and eat our lunch and Kazuya heard a Kingfisher, so we went down to the river bank and kept our eyes open and, lo and behold, before long we had seen two or three Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon). It is a big area, so they never came very close to us and these two shots are the best we managed to get. We felt that we were most fortunate to have seen these birds.
Aug31_3_ElliottHwy_BeltedKingflsherRC
Aug31_3_ElliottHwy
_BeltedKingflsherRC
Aug31_6_ElliottHwy_BeltedKingflsherRC
Aug31_6_ElliottHwy
_BeltedKingflsherRC

End August 23rd - 31st, End August 2022's 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.
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

End Our Publications Links, End Page 1 of 1, August 2022

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