Poppy

The leaves are beginning to turn here in the Wasatch Mountains and Fall is just around the corner. But before the snow begins to fly, we took a walk through Thanksgiving Point, a huge botanical garden, and enjoyed to beautiful late Summer or early Fall flowers. This yellow poppy was one of a very few still in bloom but its cheerful color caught my eye.

Alaskan Dandelions

There were so many lovely, large yellow dandelions growing in Alaska, I almost came to believe that they were the State Flower. I have always loved dandelions. If you look carefully at the flowers they are exquisitely shaped and rival some of the most beautiful flowers in the world. Their proliferation and consideration as weeds has so damaged their reputation that they are eliminated almost before they achieve their true beautiful potential. If they were a rare flower they would be in all the most prestigious collections, but as weeds they aren't even allowed to grow in a cultivated garden.

River in the Far North

The gradient of rivers in the far North is either show shallow that the rivers show extreme meandering or it is so steep that there are extreme rapids and waterfalls. This image illustrates the meandering river formation. You might note the large amount of silt carried by the river. The huge silt deposits also show that this river is much higher during flood stage.

A Matter of Size

This photo may not seem remarkable, but you need to look a little closer. Right below the center of the photo there is a rock ridge with a few patches of snow. Almost indistinguishable are the tree in the snowfields and along the cracks between the rocks. Now, granted this is close to the tree tine and the trees are quite a bit smaller than they would grow at lower altitudes, but the point is that there is nothing else in the photo that gives you a perspective on the size of this mountain. As you look at the trees, you can begin to appreciate the magnitude of the size of the snow fields and the mountain peak beyond. Just imagine walking over those glacier-smoothed rocks.

Tour Ships in Port: Juneau, Alaska

I don't think I had a concept of the size of the average tour ship before going on the tour to Alaska. I thought this photo gives some idea of a ship that can carry 2000+ passengers with rooms for all and swimming pools, restaurants, stores, and a whole lot more. I really appreciate the amount of organization it took to get all those people off and then on again at each of the ports.

Small Boat Harbor, Skagway, Alaska

Some of the towns and cities along the West Coast of Alaska are cut off from land access to the rest of the state. Skagway has roads and a rail line into the interior of the state. But it is also right on the coast and relies heavily on ship-based transportation. These small boat docks are an important part of the costal communities in Alaska and in some cases provide the only transportation to and from distant settlements.

Rock Billboards, Skagway, Alaska

In Skagway, Alaska, the shipping companies have been painting signs on the rocks facing the dock. This has been going on for almost a hundred years. I supposed if the painting is sanctioned it is not considered graffiti, but it is surprising to see. The railroad tracks run right along the base of this cliff and the distance from the cliff to the water is about 100 yards.