Mount Susitna is a wonderful feature of the Anchorage cityscape. Also known as the Sleeping Lady for the way its silhouette, well, resembles a sleeping lady, it's visible from practically anywhere in the city. It's so close that newcomers (myself included) often mistake it for Denali because it looks as big as we seem to think the largest mountain in North America should look.
I'm especially fond of Mt Susitna near the equinoxes because the sun sets behind the mountain, casting gorgeous silhouettes. However, it's hard to get a real appreciation for the mountain unless you get outside of the city a bit. I managed to do just that on my hike to Wolverine Peak. The trail offers spectacular views of the city and the angle is just right to catch the Sleeping Lady watching over Anchorage. I love the view so much that this very nearly became the masthead for this summer over on Life in a Northern Town. Alas, it's a real challenge for something that is allegedly sleeping to portray the same joi de vivre exhibited by Sienna, so Susitna was barely edged out of place. Better luck next time to the Sleeping Lady.
If you want to see a larger version, click on the photo to download it.
It may very well be that the crippling soreness that's taken up residence in my calves these days can be attributed to my stubborn determination to drag my camera and all my lenses over 10 miles and up a mountain, but really, would a hike like that be worth it if you didn't bring that particular companion along to share the view?
A few of us - accompanied by two most excellent Alaska Adventure Dogs - conquered Wolverine Peak on Saturday. It's a hike I had been wanting to do for two years but had always been deterred not so much by the steepness or length, but by the supplies required by the length. The rapidly changing weather around the mountains plays a factor too. Let's just say that when I finally dragged my totally glycogen-depleted muscles up to that bit where there's no where else to go, only to be greeted by dense cloud cover completely obscuring any view, I was beyond disappointed, and if I hadn't been so focused on getting some fuel to my body I would have been pretty angry.
I sat down to eat a peanut butter sandwich (the cure for all bonks) and lo, before I had finished the clouds had rolled away to reveal a stunning vista into the Chugach Mountains, cleverly hidden from most hikers (including those who've conquered Flattop) by the front of the range. That view was all I needed - that hike was totally worth it.
This is my last summer in Alaska. I'm not dealing with that bit of information very well. Summer arrived oh, about a week ago, and I've been feeling the urge to spend every glorious, green, sunny, and amazing Alaska minute outside. As soon as I got off work today I took Sienna to our favorite haunt, University Lake, with my trusty camera in tow. It was a sparkling day and I snapped, oh, about three billion pictures of Sienna. So I'll be posting those for a while... The photo that I didn't get was of the moose I ran into. It scared the bujeezus outta me because it's time for the calves to be dropping, and I've already talked about how I don't like encountering moose with Sienna around, especially when baby moose may be involved. Luckily there was a lack of mooselet, so the critter I ran across today was probably still pregnant. I didn't really stick around long enough to tell. But I digress. So to mark my return to the photoblogosphere, I submit photographic evidence that Alaska really is the best place ever to have a furry four-legged friend.
There are two things one must see when they visit Yosemite: Half Dome and El Capitan. Luckily, they're both really big so they're really easy to see. There is even one viewpoint that gives you a magnificent view of the two of them next to each other. Unfortunately there were a couple of mild wildfires while I was there so that view was pretty hazy, but other views, while they didn't squeeze both landmarks into a frame, proved very fortuitous. This shot of El Capitan was taken from the valley floor. It was late afternoon, the sky was an amazingly deep blue, and the light was painting a most flattering portrait of the monolith.
Truly this is a majestic piece of earth.
I've always wanted to go to Yosemite. Even before I knew I wanted to go to Italy, I knew I wanted to go to this national park. It's hard to resist - Ansel Adams was a phenomenal ambassador for the place and my parents have talked it up for ages. My Dad even conditioned me to chant "Drain Hetch Hetchy! I'm pissed off!" on cue.
So this year, when it became apparent that Cory and I were actually going to be able to spend one of our birthdays in the same place, he started scheming to take me to that very same national park while I was in California for a visit. What an amazing birthday present to get to spend an autumn day there - the place is truly magnificent!
Unfortunately I made The Rookie Mistake Of All Rookie Mistakes and left my camera in Alaska (and yes, I've already banged my head against the wall hundreds of time as penance), but luckily Cory had his point-and-shoot and it actually allowed you to exert a modicum of control over exposure settings. So, long story short, I was able to get several shots worth keeping (but not good enough so that I could say I don't have to go back!). My favorite is this shot of Half Dome, and it wasn't until I was sitting down on my couch editing the photo with a straight view towards my framed Ansel Adams Half Dome print that I realized... we took our photos from practically the same place. Funny how that works.
So here's to Yosemite, an incomparable natural wonder, and here's to forgetting your camera and therefore having a darn good excuse to visit again.
One of the things I love about this photo is that it could have only been taken in September. Since Alaska is at such a high latitude, the place in the sky that the sun rises (and sets) changes dramatically as the length of the days waxes and wanes. The equinoxes are prettymuch the only time the sun rises in the east (forget that normal sun behavior you learned as a kid, that knowledge doesn't apply in Alaska!), but of course this couldn't have been taken in March -- just look at the leaves and the lack of snow! Anyway, I took this on the grey morning of September 14th, 2006, just as the sun had peeked over the Chugach Mountains and had set alight the fog that had settled over the city. My vantage point was Earthquake Park and downtown Anchorage is visible in the left side of the photo.
Click the image to see a larger version.
Don't believe what they tell you about Paris. It's Florence that is the most romantic city ever. Cory keeps trying to tell me that it's just because we spent our honeymoon there, but really, it is wonderful and charming and cozy and intimate and perfect for young'ns in love.
Upon rising on our first day in the city, we had breakfast in our hotel which consisted of cappuccinos and homemade yeast rolls (light and perfect and melt-in-your-mouth delicious), local sourdough rolls, and multigrain rolls - a light yet amazingly satisfying breakfast.
After our meal we set out for the nearby cathedral. When we left our hotel I asked Cory where it was and he simply pointed to the right and there it was - glimpsed from between the charming buildings lining the street, the dome of San Giovanni dominated the sky.
We struck out to go see it. We found out we could climb to the top of the rotunda, which seemed like a good idea to the newlyweds who had oh-so-recently consumed what was perhaps too much wine, lamb, and wedding cake. The climb to the top was a good one, but it's a good thing Cory is more graceful than me - he could have given himself a concussion on those low ceilings. Call it the old-world charm. Adding to that charm were the windows cut into the stone. You could look out of them and get amazing views of the city and the surrounding countryside.
So, naturally, I pulled out my camera, poked it out a particularly appetizing window, and shot off a few. Naturally.
You see those villas in the countryside? I want one!
This photo is from our honeymoon. If you'd like large resolution, enlargement-quality copies of any of the files you see from our adventures in Italy, please leave a comment and let me know.
A couple of weeks ago while driving along Turnagain Arm I was surprised to see the massive ice formations clinging to the rock wass along the road. The only words to describe them are 'ice stalactites', and with all the little streams and waterfalls that are always falling, I'd imagine they form in a pretty similar manner to their mineral bretheren. I recently observed a sunrise out there between the Turnagain Arm Trail and McHugh Creek Trail, and while the sunrise itself was rather lackluster the stalactites got a chance to shine.
One morning when fall was just beginning in earnest in Alaska, I stayed up all night and left my house before the sun rose. My destination: Thunderbird falls. I arrived at a perfect time, the time shortly after sunrise when the light is coming in at just the right shallow angle and it make everything it strikes take on more depth and a golden glow. I happened across this scene at the perfect time, as the sun was pouring in between a split between two objects it struck upon this tree so poetically, I was reminded of a Tolkien passage in The Hobbit: "... when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole."
I was all excited about getting to eat at Simon and Seafort's this week, but not chiefly because of the delectable asiago-crusted halibut cheeks (though they were amazing). See, Wednesday was one of the most spectacular days we'd had in weeks -- one that afforded unprecedented views of Denali -- and Simon and Seafort's is situated with enormous plate-glass windows that overlook the water and the mountains on the other side. Last time I had dined there was December and because we arrived later than 3:30pm I couldn't enjoy the view as the sun had already set (seriously). But Wednesday's view was stunning, and I almost raced through my Key lime pie without properly enjoying it so I could run to my car, get my camera, and race out to the water to capture the images below.
View the remainder of "Sunset, Mount Susitna and Cook Inlet"
I already kinda felt like I was cheating by taking photographs in Alaska. I am a mediocre landscape photographer at best, but it's not like it's hard to get amazing images here. I have felt doubly dishonest in the last week though: with changing leaves and rainbows and sunsets (that happen before midnight, mind you!), and with them all happening simultaneously, how could I not be cheating? I'd be like the worst photographer in the world if I couldn't pull off something aesthetically pleasing.
So even though I feel like I'm swindling the world (despite the fact that I run this site for my own amusement and not cash) I'm posting images captured in the middle of Anchorage (again with the cheating!). It's just the beginning of fall, so I'm already planning my next adventures.
View the remainder of "Fall begins in Anchorage"
The whole area around Eklutna Lake is amazing, not least of all because of the tremendous variance in landscape around it. On a hike to Thunderbird Falls we passed this canyon, at the bottom of which is the Eklutna River. Tress were growing straight up out of the rock, somehow surviving and thriving, a testament to the tenacity of life. I can't wait to go back in the fall -- I'm sure the colors along this canyon wall are breathtaking.
Stunning is always the word that comes to mind whenever I try to explain Eklutna Lake. A glacial lake tucked back from the road, it is so closely surrounded by mountains that it seems impossible, surreal. Going out there on a clear day reveals colors like I have hardly ever known before. It is simply beyond beautiful.
View the remainder of "Eklutna Lake, June 2006"
Today was a perfect Alaska day.
I finally got to do a hike I've been wanting to do since I first discovered Turnagain Arm: the trail off of the Potter Creek trailhead. It's a beautiful hike, peaceful, and not difficult -- it's worth it in every way imaginable.
View the remainder of "Turnagain Arm Trail"
I used to think that the drive along the Columbia River Gorge was one of the most beautiful in the world.
Alaska, however, has proved me ignorant: the drive south from Anchorage along Turnagain Arm now takes the cake and reminds one of the Gorge farther south, yet is many times more majestic and breathtaking.
Further travels around Alaska may prove me wrong again, and I intend to give you the photographic evidence to prove it. Until then, I leave you with this, one photo of what should have been a panorama, if only I had the money to spend on a professional-level photo-stitching program.
Click on the image for a larger-resolution view.
Several summers ago I spent a couple of weeks at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs learning to fly gliders. Free time was abound and thus, so was my camera. The following pictures were taken on a couple of hikes that some other cadets and I went on.
About this entry's photos:
Longtime readers of my prose journal may recognize Kevin's feet (in the first photo) from an old design of the site. The small resolution doesn't do the second picture justice, so click on it to view it in full resolution. The third is of a columbine, Colorado's beautiful state flower.
View the remainder of "Colorado Wanderings"
On my recent journey to the Pacific Northwest, I was able to spend a night in one of my favorite spots: the Lewis River's Lower Falls. It's a gorgeous river with a series of picturesque falls that go by the creative names Upper, Middle, and Lower, but I unfortunately only got this one picture of Lower Falls. Enjoy.
I really did go to Cannon Beach to take pictures of things that were not John-Luke, the scenery included. When we arrived there were some beautiful cloudscapes and the next day was absolutely gorgeous so, of course, I went crazy with the camera.
View the remainder of "Cannon Beach itself"
We selected a gorgeous day to go hiking up Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River Gorge and take some photographs. I didn't take the opportunity to take any pictures of the 500-foot falls this time because I have some photos from previous trips, so what follows is from the trail leading up to the top of the falls. Unfortunately, the shruken-down versions of the pictures I took don't do the full-resolution images justice, so I highly recommend that you download the originals by clicking on the images below and saving the picture that loads in its place.
View the remainder of "Multnomah Falls"
Over the recent winter break, Mike and I went exploring some interesting bits of the region in which we live. One of the areas we visited was Carlsbad Caverns and I, having just recently received a digital camera for Christmas, took the opportunity to go bananas far, far, underground.
View the remainder of "Cavernous adventures"
