Fall in Fairbanks

I was home alone, working on the cabinet doors for the kitchen. It had been a rainy week and I was spending most of my weekend indoors working on our long remodeling project. The leaves had ripened to their perfect fall splendor and I was hoping that soon I would be able to capture the few moments that it would look this way.

It was September 11th. The 10th anniversary documentaries were on TV and it seemed that the commemorations were well thought out and well put together. I listened, and occasionally looked, as our nation was recounting what had happened a decade ago.

I was beginning to feel cooped up in our apartment when suddenly, the sky opened up to offer abundant sunshine. I dropped what I was doing and went to one of my favorite places.

The following pictures are from the trails at the Wedgewood Wildlife Refuge.

Creamer's Field, Fairbanks.

A few spindly Black Spruce are surrounded by Birch (trunks in the foreground) and aspen (brighter trunks to the left at distance).

I arrived in time to see millions of leaves gently fall to the earth.

The small red and black dots in the distance are a jogger and her Black Lab.

Wander Lake, Fairbanks - a part of the wildlife refuge.

The bright spot in my day.

Birch and aspen leaves are collected on a spruce bough.

The forest floor was bursting with color.

Some of the finest details can be found right at our feet.

The things that make me go "hmm."

...the details...

Autumn is but a brief moment in our neck of the woods.

Aboard the Lee DeWilde

One of the most amazing things about living in Fairbanks is there are thousands of friendly people here. Through David's flight career, we have met interesting people from different walks of life. Once in a while someone will invite us on a whim, to go somewhere. Lee is a pipe-line engineer and a student of David's. It was on a Saturday, last month, when we were invited to go down the Tanana River for just an hour or two.

It was a cool, overcast, drizzly day, like most of the days we saw in August, but we enjoyed the excursion anyway. Lee took us to "Ben's" house where wild berries, rose hips and a bountiful garden grew. There were several out-buildings, log cabins, and a cache.

The modest vessel that took us along the Tanana River.

Real Alaskan Living.

A healthy Cabbage Patch.

Abundant summer sunshine gave these blossoms their glorious color.

"Max" the mascot would have felt left out, had he not come along. In fact, he never misses a chance.

Exploring Alaska: To Bettles n Back.3

The Bettles Lodge is on the National Historic Register. http://www.bettleslodge.com/history/index.htm 
(Copy and Paste for best results)

A final look before heading home.

This is my series of photos that were taken on the way back from Bettles.The pictures that follow are examples of Alaska's extreme beauty. I would like to come up with a caption to accompany each photo, but I believe that the colors and meandering streams speak for themselves. Again, these pictures were taken August 27th, so we can see that the Aspen and Birch are changing from vibrant green to rich gold. My last two photos were taken when we returned, closer to Fairbanks.

Where the Yukon River, Haul Road, Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the Yukon River Bridge meet.

Exploring Alaska: To Bettles n Back.2

This is my series of pictures that were taken on the way to Bettles, August 27th.

The humidity made the photography quite challenging. The atmosphere was rich in moisture, so this was my keeper out of about 7 pics. A faint twin rainbow appears to the right

The Haul Road is on the left. The pipeline is on the right. The accordion shape allows for fluctuations during the changing temperatures.

The new colors for Fall.

The colors here and below, make the tundra look like a creation on canvas.

Scattered showers left precipitation behind.

The mountains in the background are near Bettles.

The bright yellow path looks to me like a "winter" road, accessible mainly to mushers and snow machines.

Incoming.

Looks like a smooth landing.

This one was taken from the tie-down area at the Bettles strip.

Exploring Alaska: To Bettles n Back

This time I'm going to try something a little different. I will show you the destination first and then some of the pictures I took on the way there and back.

Part of the excitement of going to Bettles is that it is just north of the . The lodge welcomes everyone and their friendliness proves it. We went on the spur of the moment and only wanted to drop in for dinner. That evening we could have whatever we wanted, as long as it was spaghetti (that's what all who dined there that night were served). Call ahead  800-770-5111, or use Frequency 130.1 -  as only so many dishes are prepared according to reservations.

Bettles offers over night lodging accomodations. http://www.bettleslodge.com

A population of 63 and a wee past the Arctic Circle.

Hello?

The Fairchild drew some attention, as you can see from the gentlemen in the photo below.

Maybe it was the unique sound, or her looks.

Flight-Seeing, Hiking and Rafting are a few of the options to enjoy here.

Touch 'n go in Minto

We took a little flight over the Minto Flats to Minto, Alaska last month (August 26th). David practiced some maneuvers. One of those maneuvers was a touch and go, where the aircraft doesn't actually land and taxi, but rather, touches the runway and takes off immediately. It's common for a pilot to spend some quality time (without any crew) and get some wind beneath his wings. I was invited and of course, the camera came on board.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, taken 20 minutes into the flight.

Fall comes early to this part of Alaska. From here, it looks like the tundra has been stroked by a watercolor brush.

This line of clouds helps to give the horizon definition. Beyond the ridge is the Tanana River.

Just one more prop shot for my pilot friends.

I feel truly blessed to see Alaska from a bird's eye view.

I was taken in by the glow.

Water settles in area where there is permafrost.

Good camera, good eye. Sure. God had his hand in this. The ever changing Tanana River.

The Village of Minto.

Minto is home to about 250 residents. It's tucked along the banks of the Tanana River about one hour's flight to the northwest of Fairbanks. Minto is primarily an Athabaskan community with a history in fur, flour, tea and gold trades.

This picture was taken just above Minto's tiny runway.

The Tanana River.