Signs of Fall

Taken Tuesday afternoon at the Hope Junction of the Seward Highway...

Misty Autumn Road

Driving to Anchorage on Tuesday...

Tern Lake

Tern Lake sits just before the junction of the Sterling and Seward Highways and as such is a natural stopping point. The parking area can be bustling during the summer tourist season but on a Tuesday morning in mid-September, Tern Lake provided a point of stillness along our path.

On The Road To Anchorage

Just after eight this morning, hurtling down the Sterling Highway toward the Mystery Hills. Stopping for photos was out of the question, so I snapped as we went, lending a watercolor-like quality to the image....



We crossed the Kenai River at Cooper Landing. Looking upstream, Kenai Lake catches the subdued light of a cloudy autumn morning. The lingering, lonely patches of last winter's snow wait on the hill tops for reinforcements.



Although we were in the shadows of the mountains for a while after daybreak, the forest was bright and full of light from the changing colors of the leaves.



Morning light on the peaks of Turnagain Pass.

The End of Summer

The fireweed is almost all bloomed-out... ...and the elderberries have ripened in the August sun. A yellowish undertone has crept into the vegetation and autumn is not far from us now.

Yesterday in Alaska

Yesterday was a glorious summer day, so I kept my camera close at hand.

The flowers on the deck are a constant pleasure. I planted mixed seeds so I wasn't sure what I was going to get. I love the old-fashioned look of my flower pots. They look like a celebration...



I don't know whether it is the fine weather we've had this summer or the volcanic dust that fell this spring, but the fireweed have grown spectacularly this year. I have never seen them so tall.



These "weeds" can challenge the beauty of the cultivated blooms...

We needed to run an errand out to the Russian Old Believers' Village near Anchor Point. From the crest of the North Fork Road, lower Cook Inlet lay spread out beneath us. Mount Iliamna is the snow-capped peak on the far side of the Inlet.



The village is a bit of the Old World nestled in Alaskan wilderness...



The peaks on the far side of Kachemak Bay peek over the hills as we head home.



The deck is an inviting place to take one's ease on a pleasant summer day.

Tutka Bay

We went out to pull up our crab pots this afternoon. I snapped this picture as we left Tutka Bay for home.