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.

Planetary Twilight

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.

Ice-covered

A lot of snow falls up here covering the mountains of the Trinity Basin of the Alaska Range in ice. This is part of the small remaining accumulation area of the Black Rapids Glacier. I'm amazed at how such a conglomeration of ice and snow can take the appearance of simply being draped over the mountains.

After Sunset

Silhouetted boreal forest and reflection at Ballaine Lake - Fairbanks, Alaska

Spruce Ballroom

Snow-clad spruce trees at sunrise. Sunrises have to be one of my favorite things about Fairbanks, next to the aurora, and the mountain range to our south. Our sparse boreal forests give nice open views of the sky too. I love seeing those subtle arctic blues behind the brilliant colors. Almost every morning in the winter is wonderful!

August - Mt. Shand

The south face of Mt. Shand (12,660 feet, 3859 meters) in the Alaska Range. That's about a mile of vertical, exposed rock.

Polychrome View

The shuttle buses in Denali National Park stop constantly for wildlife, this is one of the few stops that is made purely for the view. Braded rivers, kettle ponds, and glacial erratics dot the valley. This was one of the only days I've been there that the glaciers were visible.

Alpenglow

Alpenglow disappears slowly on a peak in the Alaska Range. Incredible pastels filled the sky and glance a few of the higher ridges and peaks during the "blue hour".

Vast

Panorama taken in the White Mountains of Alaska. Autumn has come and gone here already. I started to build a snowman, but my hands got cold.

Rainbow

A bright rainbow in the Donnelly Flats just north of the Alaska Range.

Color on the Alaska Range

Pastel Colors over the Alaska Range, near Donnelly Dome along the Richardson Highway.

Through the channel

Remnants of an ice cave on the Castner Glacier. Now it's just a giant arch.

Sunrise over the Tanana

Along the Richardson Highway north of Delta Junction. We were on our way from Fairbanks to the Delta Mountains - Eastern Alaska Range.

Mt. Hayes

Morning light on Mt. Hayes - looking over the mostly frozen Tanana River.

Black Cap and White Princess

Black Cap and White Princess from the Castner Creek.

Exit Glacier Landscape

Northwestern Glacier Landing Beach

Glacier stream enters the Northwestern Fjord. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Wildflower Stream

We stumbled on this really beautiful stream up above the Canwell Glacier in the Alaska Range. It's too bad that it turned out to not get us where we wanted to go, but it was a nice distraction.

Island

Beautiful Valdez

Valdez Landscape

Valdez Container Terminal Dock is on the left - Grain Terminal

Old Valdez

Worthington Light

Silent Taiga

Snow-covered spruce on the UAF trails near Ballaine Lake.