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Aurora Borealis – October 11, 2021
Aurora Borealis – October 11, 2021

Aurora dancing in the night sky on October 11, 2021 - Fairbanks, Alaska | Purchase Print On October 9, 2021, a coronal mass ejection (CME) from an associated M1 solar flare burst free from the sun heading in Earth's direction....

Capitate lousewort – Pedicularis capitata
Capitate lousewort – Pedicularis capitata

The capitate lousewort is a small herbaceous plant with a creamy yellow flowering head. It grows in arctic and alpine tundra.

White Arctic Mountain Heather
White Arctic Mountain Heather – Cassiope tetragona

White arctic mountain heather is a mat-forming perennial sub-shrub. The flowers are small, white, and bell-shaped. It typically grows in alpine ridges and tundra.

Nome Creek Hills – Backcountry Hiking
Nome Creek Hills – Backcountry Hiking

A guide to a few hikes in the Nome Creek hills from the Mt. Prindle Campground in the White Mountain National Recreation Area, Alaska. Great off-trail hiking on ridges across gorgeous tundra!

Quick Trip to Anchorage
Quick Trip to Anchorage

Photos from a trip to Anchorage from Fairbanks. A quick visit during a trip to meet with a surgeon. Stops at Byers Lake, McHugh Creek, and Thunderbird Falls.

Denali View South
Denali View South

Denali View South - my photo of the week ending September 19, 2021. Taken along the Parks Highway driving from Fairbanks to Anchorage, just ahead of a little late-summer snowstorm.

Thunderbird Falls
Thunderbird Falls

Thunderbird Falls is a highly trafficked out-and-back hike in Chugiak, Alaska (near Eklutna Village), about a 1/2-hour drive from Anchorage, Alaska.

Autumn in the White Mountains
Autumn in the White Mountains

Autumn in the White Mountains - Photo of the Week ending September 12, 2021. Fall landscape near Nome Creek, Alaska.

Faint aurora glow in the northern sky from Fairbanks, Alaska
Aurora and STEVE – September 12, 2021

A few photos of a faint aurora and STEVE from Fairbanks, Alaska from the early morning of September 12, 2021.

Wrapping up the 2021 wildflower season
2021 Wildflower Season

As I'm wrapping up photos and info from the 2021 wildflower season, I wanted to write a post on the work that goes into my Alaska Wildflower Guide and some hopes for the future.

New Season of Aurora Borealis – September 1, 2021
New Season of Aurora Borealis – September 1, 2021

Aurora borealis on September 1, 2021 from Fairbanks, Alaska. In my aurora blog and my photo of the week ending September 5, 2021.

Ice Amphitheater – Photo of the Week
Ice Amphitheater – Photo of the Week

Ice amphitheater - my Photo of the week ending August 28, 2021. A tall room in a glacier cave in the Canwell Glacier moraine - Eastern Alaska Range

Fog, Mountain, Icefall
Fog, Mountain, Icefall

Fog, Mountain, Icefall - My photo of the week for the week ending August 22, 2021. The Gabriel Icefall on the Gulkana Glacier, taken with a Sony Alpha a7iii and Sony FE 24-70mm F/2.8 GM lens.

Crevasse (Glacier)
Crevasse (Glacier)

A crevasse is a crack or fracture (in a glacier or ice sheet) caused by stress in the ice. The word crevasse can refer to fissures in other media as well (like earth), but this article focuses on those found...

Glacier Ice Ice Baby
Glacier Ice Ice Baby

Gorgeous blue glacier ice from ice caves in the Canwell Glacier as well as in moulins and the Gabriel Icefall on the Gulkana Glacier. Great hikes in the Alaska Range last week!

Peregrine Falcon Stare
Peregrine Falcon Stare

Getting the peregrine falcon stare at Angel Rocks near Fairbanks, Alaska. I had an awesome experience photographing this juvenile bird.

Meadow bistort – Bistorta officinalis
Meadow bistort – Bistorta plumosa

Meadow bistort is a pink-flowering perennial herb native to Alaska and northern Canada. The plant is edible, mostly the root and leaves.

Lapland Rosebay – Rhododendron lapponicum
Lapland Rosebay – Rhododendron lapponicum

Lapland rosebay is a mat-forming evergreen shrub with scaly bark and pink to purple bell-shaped flowers. It grows in rocky, alpine terrain in cold climates.

Arctic Lightning Air Show
Arctic Lightning Air Show

The Blue Angels performing over Eielson Air Force Base near North Pole, Alaska | Purchase Print This weekend, the Arctic Lightning Air Show at Eielson Air Force Base is going on. Cat and I spent the day there on Friday...

Snow cinquefoil flowering in the Alaska interior
Snow Cinquefoil – Potentilla nivea

Snow cinquefoil is a yellow-flowering plant that grows in rocky soils. It has deeply toothed leaves ternately divided (three leaflets) and 5 yellow petals.

Ice towers on the Gabriel Icefall
Exploring the Gabriel Icefall – Round 2 (Good Weather)

Lots of photos of the Gabriel Icefall and Gulkana Glacier. I made a second trip to the area after getting caught in a snowstorm the week before. Had much better weather this time around!

Purple bittercress – Cardamine purpurea
Purple bittercress – Cardamine purpurea

Purple bittercress (or purple cress) is a small perennial herb with densely packed, 4-petaled purple flowers, mostly found in Alaska and the Yukon Territory.

Exploring the Gabriel Icefall on the Gulkana Glacier
Exploring the Gabriel Icefall

Photos and story from a rainy and snowy summer day spent hiking and exploring the Gabriel Icefall on the Gulkana Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range.

Oeder’s Lousewort – Pedicularis oederi
Oeder’s Lousewort – Pedicularis oederi

Oeder's lousewort (Pedicularis oederi) is a yellow-flowering plant, often with a crimson-tipped hood on the top petal. It grows in taiga and open meadows.

Fewflower fumewort – Corydalis pauciflora
Fewflower fumewort – Corydalis pauciflora

The fewflower fumewort is a blue or purple flowering plant with a cluster of showy, tubular flowers. It's found across Asia, Alaska, and northwestern Canada.

Alaska boykinia flower in the Alaska Range
Alaska boykinia – Boykinia richardsonii

Alaska boykinia (Boykinia richardsonii), also known as Richardson's brookfoam is a showy, white flowering plant with large basal leaves, often found in wet soils.

Getting My Legs Back – Day Hike on the Canwell Glacier
Getting My Legs Back – Day Hike on the Canwell Glacier

After nearly 1.5 years of dealing with a plethora of health problems, I set out on a 15-mile hike up the Canwell Glacier in the Alaska Range. Photos and story . . .

Alpine forget-me-not – Myosotis asiatica
Alpine forget-me-not – Myosotis asiatica

The alpine forget-me-not is a tiny, true-blue flowering plant found in alpine environments. It has five fused petals with a bulging yellow center.

view from Mastodon Dome
Mastodon Dome Hike

The approximately 12-mile round-trip Mastodon Dome hike in the White Mountains of Alaska is located on the south side of the Steese Highway at the Eagle Summit Wayside.

Elegant Indian paintbrush – Castilleja elegans
Elegant Indian paintbrush – Castilleja elegans

Elegant Indian paintbrush (Castilleja elegans) is a whorled, often pink flowering plant that can be found in Alaska and parts of Canada.

Little weaselsnout flower in Alaska
Little weaselsnout – Lagotis glauca

Little weaselsnout is a purple-flowering perennial herb that grows from a rhizome. The inflorescence is a terminal spike with purple or dark purple flowers with upper and lower lips.

sweetflower rockjasmine flowers in Denali National Park
Sweetflower rockjasmine – Androsace chamaejasme

Lehmann's rockjasmine, more commonly known as sweetflower rockjasmine, is a small, white or pink flowering plant with fused petals and a white ring around the center.

The view to the east from Mt. Margaret in Denali National Park
Savage River to Mt. Margaret loop

Photos and description of a hike in Denali National Park from the Savage River, over Mt. Margaret and back down to the Park Road at the Primrose rest area.

the cuckoo flower
Cuckoo flower – Cardamine nymanii

The cuckoo flower is a pink flowering plant, often found in wet soils near ponds or streams.

View up the the Nome Creek Valley in the White Mountain National Recreation Area, Alaska
Walk up Nome Creek

Late afternoon hike/walk up the Nome Creek trail in the White Mountain National Recreation Area. Great scenery and tons of June wildflowers!

Largeleaf Avens – Geum macrophyllum var. perincisum
Largeleaf Avens – Geum macrophyllum var. perincisum

The largeleaf avens (Geum macrophyllum var. perincisum) is a yellow-flowering plant that can grow to be about 0.75 meters (2.5 feet) tall.