Alaska 2009

Alaska - This was my 2nd fall trip to Alaska. This time of year is absolutely beautiful. The fall colors were all around us.
Turn Again Arm is just outside of Anchorage Alaska. We saw a few Beluga Whales swimming, but I didn't get a chance to photograph them. The tide was out for sunset this beautiful night. Mud has never looked so beautiful!
Sunrise along the roadside.
Traveling from one location to the next gave us plenty of beautiful opportunities.
Wrangell St Elias National Park has some beautiful mountain peaks, surrounded by the rich fall colors.
Chitina - We stayed in Chitina for the few days we were photographing near Wrangell St Elias National Park. There's not too much available in Chitina. The photo above shows the only store in town. It did provide us with a beautiful lake full of reflections. This lake is directly across from our hotel.

The sign says it all! We followed the sign to "The Potato" to see what type of Good food was available

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Unfortunately (or fortunately), there was no one home.

Looking around the back side of the building, this is what we found.

???....NO Shoes? NO Flips?

Abandoned Railroad Tressle.
The area near Matanuska Glacier.

Matanusaka Glacier
This year, we were prepared to take a hike out on Matanuska Glacier. Exploring the glacier was so much fun. After strapping on the ice cleets, I found myself moving all around on the ice fairly easily. I took the opportunity to explore down near the water.
After exploring the lower sections of the glacier, I decided to climb up higher. I told Mark I wanted to head up the glacier so he decided to join me. I was enjoying my trek across the ice. I stopped to photograph when I got to the peak in the photos above (above the water). It was an unexpected beauty. From below, you had no idea that there was a giant crevice before the peaks. I went a little higher than Mark did, but he was kind enough to take a few shots of me shooting the glacier. As we were standing and photographing, we heard a loud sound, like something falling, below. I realized it was the glacier moving and ice falling. I continued to photograph and got a few shots down into the crevice. By this time, it was time to head back toward the car. I took a few shots from above, looking over the water below, where I had previously been shooting.
We made it back down the glacier just in time to shoot the sunset. The sunset was beautiful and a challenge for me to shoot. Each time I set up, a few of the other photographers moved into my shot. I decided to just take it with them in it. The photos below do not do justice to the beauty of the incredible sunset on the glacier. I would love to have had even more time to explore this incredible glacier! The trek around Matanuska Glacier is definitely an experience I'll never forget! The challenge...the danger...LOVE IT.....for that moment...I WAS HIKING ON A GLACIER!!!!!!...this was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.
  We moved on to Denali National Park. Once again, we had won a few road lottery passes. This year, we didn't have to deal with the snow, like we did the previous trip. Unfortunately, we did have to deal with a day of mist, rain, and cold. However, on our 2nd day, we got lucky and the clouds broke long enough for us to photograph Denail!
More shots at Turn Again Arm.
This was actually our first glacier experience, on the way to Seward, AK.
Exit Glacier in Seward, AK
We took a 6 hour cruise around Kenai Peninsula. We saw several different animals along our cruise.
During our cruise, we got to see a large section of this glacier calving. I've posted a lot of photos, but if you go through them, using "next", you can watch the glacier calve. As we were sitting there, watching, one section after another continued to fall.
Chunks of ice floated in the water near the glacier as we started to leave. Another boat showed up just as we were leaving. The boat in the shot, gives you a scale for how large this glacier is.
It was another great trip with Lightchase Photography....my 13th. Many of the friends I have made on previous trips were along on this trip, which made it even more fun. Thanks to all of you and the new friends I made. You all made it a fun experience. Take care....until our next trip together!