Water Runoff in Alaska

This is a great picture taken in Alaska to show the difference between water generated from a glacier (on the left - filled with sand and dirt from the glacier) and the clear water generated from snow melt on the right.  In both cases, the water was sooo cold.  Like the cold when your woolen-mittens-get-wet-but-you-still-play-in-the-snow kind of cold.

Here's a picture of the silt that remains after a glacier has receded.  It's this fine sand that is carried so easily by the runoff, but you can see that much is left behind waiting for the first brave plants to seed the area.  (I learned that Fireweed usually takes this honor.)

And this picture shows how clear the water is in the lakes in Alaska.  I remember there was a bear on the lower-left side of the lake grabbing a quick drink, although I can't find him in the picture now.

It's these memories, filled with crystal clear lakes, that makes me remember how different Alaska is when compared to my experience of the lower 48 states.

White Nights in Alaska

The white nights is something I had never experienced and I wanted to see what it was like for the sun to never set.  So off we went to Alaska during the last week of June.  About a week into our trip we made our way toward Denali National Park.  Stopping off at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, we were hoping to see a great view of Denali from the back patio of the hotel.  

Well, the view was stunning, but the cloud cover made it impossible to see the mountain.  But happily we continued to enjoy the scenery.  Slowly the cloud cover was starting to break and we waited to see if we could catch a glimpse of the great mountain nearby.  Afterall, we had traveled a long way for this sight.  

But while we had traveled a long way, our travels weren't exactly strenuous.  So I couldn't figure out why I was so tired.  Eventually I started heading back to my room and snapped a couple photos on the way.  When I looked at the captured photos on my camera display, the time stamp displayed.  This photo was taken shortly after 2:30am.

And that is the beauty of the white nights in Alaska.