Waterfalls along a cliffside looking up at the Worthington Glacier
Autumn in Denali National Park
Mountains south of the Park Road in Denali National Park and Preserve. "Rivers" of yellow wind through the red foliage and "lakes" of green spruce dot the hillsides. I have yet to find a place that I would prefer to be in autumn, even though the season here is incredibly short. The splendid colors only hang around for about a week before the deciduous leaves fall, followed shortly by the snow.
The northern lights just a few yards away from our cabin.
At the Solomon Gulch Hatchery in Valdez, Alaska.
Mid-afternoon light hits the treetops in Fairbanks, Alaska.
In Port Valdez, Alaska
On the Black Rapids Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range. Eventually the slushy blue streaks in the snow from a few days before this gave way to water channels in the ice beneath the surface. Sometimes they find old channels from previous years, sometimes they don't. In the summer of 2014 we spent two weeks camped on the glacier and had to cross many of these streams. It was still early in the melt season which meant that there weren't any moulins yet to drain the water for the surface. This meant that to get across the glacier we had to jump over many of these streams, a handful of which were quite wide. My knees would often be swollen and sore at the end of the day. I was always more comfortable jumping to my dominant, right leg, but when I didn't mix it up I paid for it later. I started jumping all the small streams to my left leg, and only to my right if there were consequences for missing a jump.
Gorgeous red landscapes over the Thorofare River and yellow vegetation-covered Muldrow Glacier. And of course Denali, the tallest Mountain in North America at 20,310' above sea level.
Great sky over one of the smaller, mostly dry drainages in the Miller Creek basin in the Alaska Range. Mt. Shand can be seen in the distance.
The higher you go on the Harding Icefield Trail, the better the views seem to get. It's a long way down to the crevassed Exit Glacier. Kenai Fjords National Park.
Northern lights over boreal forest in Fairbanks, Alaska
Young Dall sheep with grass in mouth climbing to a ridge at Polychrome Pass.
Sky view from the Equinox Marathon Trail on Ester Dome
Grizzly Bear - Denali National Park
The brown bear paused from eating soapberries to look around before returning to the river. I can't believe how beautiful, almost human, it's eyes were. This really wrapped up a fantastic bus trip into Denali National Park.
Near the Primrose region in Denali National Park.
Great detail in ice near the Sanctuary River in Denali National Park & Preserve.
Sitting in the brush under some willows at Polychrome Pass.
Along the lower portion of the Granite Tors trail. Fall colors were just starting to set in.
There were quite a few large streams to cross on the Black Rapids Glacier this year with absolutely no englacial drainage to help reduce the water at the surface. At least they are pretty to look at. The channel here was quite a bit deeper and wider than it looked and this little island of ice with the precariously balanced boulder proved to be a useful crossing point.
An early snowfall fell in September of 2013 in Fairbanks. The foliage was just coming into peak and the oranges and yellows were beautifully covered in a bit of white. I would not mind if snow fell every year on autumn leaves.
On Mt. Margaret near the Savage River.
Aurora borealis over the Chena hills from the Angel Rocks Trail. Chena River Recreation Area, Alaska
A stand of spruce trees on Murphy Dome
Castner Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range
The old ammonia leaching plant at the Kennecott copper mine. To the left is the largely debris covered Kennicott Glacier (yes, the spelling is different) and the flanks of Mt. Blackburn (16,390 ft - 4,996 m) hiding behind the clouds. (In my opinion, it's worth a trip to Alaska just to go here!)
Northwestern Glacier, a tidewater glacier near Seward, Alaska. Kenai Fjords National Park.
Snowshoe hare in Denali National Park & Preserve
Paddle-tailed darner (Aeshna palmata) on bird vetch (Vicia cracca). Vetch is an incredibly invasive plant species in the Alaska Interior. It's kind of pretty, but it chokes all native plants, including tree saplings and spreads like crazy. The dragonfly is just pretty, enjoy it!
Denali National Park Landscape
Winter view from the Alpine Trail in Denali National Park.
Blue Skies in the Alaska Range
Peak near the head of a large tributary to the Black Rapids Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range.
Dall Ram on Mt. Margaret in Denali National Park
The aurora borealis dances over a boreal forest in Fairbanks, Alaska. Blog: http://lwpetersen.com/photo-blog/week-northern-lights-wouldnt-quit/
Ballaine Reflection After Sunset
Silhouetted boreal forest and reflection at Ballaine Lake - Fairbanks, Alaska
Northern lights over boreal forest in Fairbanks, Alaska
Steller sea lions swimming together near Glacier Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Dreamlike - View of Item Peak and Silvertip from the Rainbow Basin above the Canwell Glacier. Late August in the Alaska Range.
Pastel skies and arnica on the side of the road. At Donnelly flats south of Delta Junction.
I woke up and it was -35° F at the house. The redpolls managed to devour two whole feeders worth of seed yesterday, and they are on track to do it again today. Lucky for them, it looks like today is the last cold day in the forecast - we're looking at possible temperatures over 60° [F] warmer! And Spring is right around the corner!
Not a minute after that eruption on the horizon this auroral corona danced overhead and seemed to last for a really long time. Usually only appearing for a few seconds, I think I had about a minute of shooting this one. In the center you might be able to make out the big dipper, but the stars were pretty dim compared to the northern lights that night!
Dall sheep between Polychrome Pass and East Fork in Denali National Park.
Jupiter and Venus shining bright after sunset as twilight takes over on a cold, cold night on Murphy Dome. The "blue hour" lasts a very long time in the interior of Alaska for most of the fall, winter, and spring.
Early on the Thoro Ridge Trail in Denali National Park a caribou came up over the hillside with her calf and trotted across the ridge for a while. blogpost: hiking the Thoro Ridge
