Thursday, October 11, 2007

Alaskology

These clips are from a blog published in the Anchorage Daily News (at adn.com). The photos are beautiful!
clipped from community.adn.com
Alaska is a wonderful and fascinating place. Whether its backcountry hiking, coastline kayaking or dining on a downtown deck, there truly is something for everyone. This blog picks up where the annual Daily News Visitors' Guide leaves off. The guide is published in late April, but that's just when summer fun starts heating up. Throughout the year, we hope to give readers a look at Alaska through local eyes. The blog also serves as a calendar of what's going on, a place to look for some outstanding vacation deals and other cool stuff. We invite your comments and your questions.
Sunrise over Flattop this morning from our deck. It was one of those
Snow covers the peaks of the Chugach Mountains in Anchorage on Thursday evening in this view from Minnesota Drive. The tallest mountain is O'Malley Peak, which rises 5,150 feet above sea level.
Steam rises from Goose Lake in Anchorage shortly after sunrise on Thursday.
Afternoon sun makes grass along the bike trail near our house shimmer.
Fireweed alongside the bike path shows that winter is coming quickly. Throughout the summer, Alaskans use the stage of the fireweed bloom to determine how long until summer is over. Well, the red leaves and lack of blooms tell us what we already know -- summer's over, autumn's here and winter's coming soon.
Sunday's hike on the South Fork Rim Trail offered views of Campbell Creek and the autumn-colored Chugach Mountains.
The first sign of winter -- termination dust -- sits on O'Malley Peak in the Chugach Mountains on Sunday. The first snow of the season showed up around Anchorage on Saturday morning.
The view from the top of Penguin Peak looking over Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage.
The Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet are visible from the trail to Wolverine Peak. Wolverine Peak is one of the dominant mountains closest to Anchorage, looking like a large pyramid from downtown.
The view from near the top of Wolverine Peak, looking across the Chugach Mountains, a portion of Anchorage and Cook Inlet.
This huge bull moose was munching on grass and leaves just off the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail in Kincaid Park on Saturday evening just about sunset.
We had a nice greeting when we returned home Saturday afternoon -- a mother and calf moose munching on willows, grass and raspberry bush leaves in our backyard.
The sun sets over Mount Susitna on Wednesday as seen from the Anchorage Hillside.
Amanda Mason and Sam Rowley enjoy the scenery from a bridge along the Winner Creek Trail in Girdwood.
Salmon in the City Festival: Alaskans love salmon, and for two weeks Anchorage will celebrate the fabulous fish.
Fireweed blooms along the Seward Highway south of Portage on the Kenai Peninsula.

Blooming fireweed is one of Alaska’s beautiful sights.

Of course, it’s also a curse. Just about any Alaskan can tell you the story of fireweed: As summer progresses, the fireweed blooms work up the stalk. As the blooms near the top open up, summer is fading away quickly toward autumn.

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