Alaska

Hard to believe, dear readers, but NaBloPoMo(Fo) is almost done. Five more posts, including this one, and that’s one every single day in November. I received a notice this morning from one of the organizers about the end and how there will be winners … winners?! Do I get points for posting while on a week-long trip to Alaska?!

Speaking of, I have been in Alaska since last Thursday doing one thing or another. I thought that for today’s post I’d share some of the stuff I’ve been seeing. There is a lot as far as beautiful scenery goes here. It is fairly cold scenery. Arriving here from Texas is like being stuck suddenly in a freezer. Of course, the Alaskans think they’ve been having balmy days lately, so I’m a big dork in my coat, scarf and hat and they’re walking around in shorts and a t-shirt …

So here’s some really pretty pictures of some really pretty scenery in the great north. Enjoy!

Standing in Earthquake Park looking across the salty mudflats (muddy saltflats?) and the Cook Inlet to Anchorage with the Chugach Mountain Range in the background.

That’s the Hatcher Range of the Talkeetna Mountains (Hatcher Pass) in the background across the Cook inlet.

Jeff in the Chugach State Forest on a snowy ridge overlooking Anchorage.

A view east down the Matanuska River in the Matanuska Valley. It’s a wide glacier valley and most of the river is frozen over right now.

Looking across the taiga - the Copper River Valley - at the Wrangell St. Elias Mountain Range. That’s Mt. Drum (12,010 ft) on the left and Mt. Wrangell (14,163 ft - top hiding in the clouds) on the right. The road is Highway 1 to Glennallen.

The sun begins to set over the Cook inlet. We were traveling along the Seward highway which runs along the inlet going south to the ocean. This looks across to the end of the Turnagain Arm. This is probably the most beautiful drive I’ve seen. The mountains come up straight from the water.