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.