Ahhh yes, the sweet light…what a wonderful lens challenge Amy has set for us this week! There’s the magical light of early, early morning. I don’t get see that very often myself. I’m not an early morning riser. Too much of a night owl, I guess.
Jumbo Mine, Wrangell St. Elias National Park & Preserve
You shouldn’t discount rainy days. Some of the most magical light, and some of the most stunning images are made on those rainy days, when the light dances with the clouds.
Rainbow in the Wrangells
And of course, if not for rain, there wouldn’t be rainbows. Magical light is the very essence of rainbows.
Ajo Lily (Hesperocallis undulata)
Strong sunlight can be magical, too. I love backlight on flowers, for instance.
Sweet Light on the McCarthy Road
But my favorite magical light is early evening. I’ve done blogs about it before. In an Alaskan summer, that sweet light can linger a long time.
Bigleaf Maple
In most places though, it only lasts an hour or so before sunset.
Alpenglow on Skyline Arch
The best light of all is alpenglow, the reflection of the sun setting on the landscape that you see when you look east. Sometimes, especially in the mountains and the desert, it’s more impressive than the actual sunset.
Sunset near Bandon, Oregon
But not always.
(I had to make a decision a few years ago – buy a DSLR or build a house. I chose to build the house. But I never let go of the Art of Seeing. Photography feeds my soul, and I can’t give it up. So all these pictures were taken with a high-end point-and-shoot, a Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80. One of these days I’ll get my hands on a “real” camera again, and the possibilities will be endless. For me, for now, though, it’s the vision, not the tool.)
Where does a rambling ranger find the fun facts she shares with others? Many places, actually. I talk to other rangers and volunteers at Visitor and Interpretive Centers I come across in my travels. I read brochures other handouts I find in these same places. I check out websites. I do a lot of research. And sometimes, I read other blogs.
If you like reading my articles, here are a few other blogs you might enjoy.
Cool Green Science will teach you a lot about wildlife.
This is the official blog for The Nature Conservancy. It’s definitely my favorite blog. It’s what I aspire to. Every week I can’t wait to see what Matt Miller, one of their main writers, has to say. Not only do I learn something new, but there’s usually a great call to action showing how you can help make the world a better place, or an uplifting message of something going right for a change. Reading this blog can make my day sometimes.
This is a woman after my own heart. This is the blog I would write if I were more rooted. Based in Montana, Coffee and Woodsmoke extols the joys of living that Northern/Western, rural, close to the land lifestyle. And what’s more, she includes a recipe with every blogpost. I can’t wait to try the Chai-Spiced Turmeric Latte!
Hakai Magazine has superb articles about coastal science and culture.
I guess technically this isn’t a blog, it’s an online magazine, but they send a newsletter to my inbox so it FEELS like a blog. I am SO impressed with this Vancouver Island based publication on coastal science and culture. Fabulous photography and superb writing. Extremely informative.
This Canadian couple took the money they had been saving for a house and decided to travel the world instead. Their article on “15 Things to do in Armenia that are not in Churches” added Armenia to my bucket list. They also write posts helpful to the armchair reader who wants to start living the gypsy lifestyle but isn’t sure how.
This is the official blog for the National Parks Conservation Association, the non-profit organization that watchdogs and advocates for our national parks. It’s a good place to keep up on what’s happening in our parks, learn about places you may not have heard of, and see some really pretty pictures, too.
I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I have. Do you have a favorite blog you’d like to share with us? Leave your suggestions in the comments!
I’ve just discovered the WordPress Lens Artist Photo Challenge. Tina Schell, whose blog is called Travels and Trifles, came up with this week’s theme, “Big is Beautiful”.
How appropriate that I found it this week, I can’t help but think, as big is beautiful has defined my life in many ways.
For one thing, I’m a big girl. I keep telling myself big is beautiful, but I don’t always believe it.
More importantly though, big is beautiful has defined my life geographically, as a rambling ranger, for many years. After all, I live in Alaska, the biggest state in the Union.
Maybe vast is a better word than big to define Alaska.
I even worked for a few years in Denali National Park, home to the biggest mountain in North America.
Denali
I live in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the biggest national park in the U.S. by far. It’s the size of Switzerland with Yellowstone and Yosemite thrown in.
Hiking in the Wrangells
My favorite geologic feature in this fabulous park is the Stairway Icefall, one of the tallest icefalls in North America, if not the world. It rises 7,000 feet in under 2 miles.
The view of Stairway Icefall from my front yard – I’m a lucky girl.
I work in the “ghost town” of Kennecott. The Kennecott Mill just may be the tallest wooden building in North America. It’s big.
The Kennecott Mill, is a big, TALL building
I spent 8 winters as a ranger in Death Valley National Park. At 3.2 million acres, it is the largest national park in the contiguous United States.
Don’t let the name scare you, Death Valley is big and beautiful. Just don’t go in the summer!
Currently I’m spending time in the Pacific Northwest, home to big trees.
Old Growth Maple
The place where I’m staying is only a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, the biggest of them all!
When you think of our national parks, what pictures come to your mind? Maybe it’s big walls and waterfalls in Yosemite, or a sunset on the rim of the Grand Canyon.
Yosemite National Park
Maybe you picture geysers in Yellowstone or Denali, North America’s highest mountain. Maybe you remember the awe and wonder of seeing just how big a giant sequoia really is, or the crazy natural sculptures found in Arches or Bryce Canyon. Maybe it’s elk bugling in Rocky Mountain or wildflowers in Mt. Rainier. You might picture tidal pools in Olympic or fall colors in Shenandoah. I hope it’s not just pictures, but that you also hold memories of some of these special places. Don’t you think all Americans should have the opportunity to experience our natural wonders? That soon may not be the case.
Joshua Tree National Park
Starting next year, entrance fees to the 17 most popular national parks in the country will be raised from $25 – $30 per vehicle to $70 per vehicle during the 5 months of peak season for each park. Here’s a list of the parks receiving these rate hikes.
Sequoia National Park
Arches
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Denali
Glacier
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Olympic
Sequoia/King’s Canyon
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion
Acadia
Rainier
Grand Canyon National Park
Rocky Mountain
Shenandoah
Joshua Tree
I realize that the parks need to find a way to bring in more money to pay for themselves. After all, it’s far more important to finance a military that could take out practically every other country in the world at the same time than it is to protect the special places in our own country.
(Check out this graphic on U.S. Defense spending compared to other countries)
It’s not that I’m totally against a price hike. It’s the size of the price hike. I could support doubling the fee to these parks, raising the entry fee to $50. But this price hike almost TRIPLES the fee to most of these parks.
Denali National Park
It will only take care of 2% of the maintenance backlog, if that. What it WILL do is price lower income Americans out of their parks, effectively making our most popular parks exclusive playgrounds only open to wealthier Americans. It may be a capitalist solution, but it’s not a democratic solution. Isn’t this country a democracy? Don’t our public lands belong to all of us?
Another challenge facing these parks, and supposedly partly addressed by this price hike, is that they are so popular they are being “loved to death.” Raising the entrance fee so high may act as a filter, screening out lower income visitors.
Rocky Mountain National Park
I don’t think this is fair. Our parks should not be exclusive playgrounds for the wealthy. If there is a need to control visitor numbers during peak season, a better solution would be a lottery system or advance registration giving all visitors an equal chance. This is a solution that has been used successfully for backcountry visitation in many of these parks for decades. It’s not perfect, but it works. It seems to me a fairer solution than pricing people out of their parks.
We’re almost out of time to make our opinions heard. The comment period ends December 22. Go here now to let the park service know how you feel about the rate hike. Let’s work on keeping our crown jewels accessible to ALL Americans.
Looking for a retreat from the stresses of the big city? The gentle, rounded landscape of peaceful, pastoral Point Reyes might just be the ticket.
Historic Lifeboat launching station, Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes is also a great place to check out spring wildflowers. Masses of wild radish flowers border the narrow roads. California Poppies are scattered through the fields. Look closer and discover Irises peeking out of the grass. Closer to the beach, ice plants carpet the shore dunes.
Looking for an inexpensive place to stay? Check out the Point Reyes Hostel. Kind friendly folks, a great library, and a big kitchen – and this place is cheaper than camping! California State Parks charge $35.00 a night to camp, and my stay at the hostel was only $33 a night! If you don’t want to share your room, private rooms start at $105.00. The hostel is located deep within the park, just minutes from Limantour Beach.
Point Reyes is a great place to go birdwatching – it has greater avian diversity than any other park in the country! Over half the species found in the entire U.S. have been seen here. The Audubon Society protects egret and heron rookeries in Bolinas Lagoon.
Surprisingly, my favorite bird to watch on this trip was the vulture. I’ve watched them flying before, but this was the first time I had a chance to see them just hanging out perched. I was struck by how concerned about hygiene this “dirty bird” was, continually grooming its feathers!
There are other great wildlife viewing opportunities at Point Reyes. Go up to the lighthouse and watch for whales migrating offshore. Tule elk are found in the meadows. There is an elephant seal colony here, too.
My favorite beach was Drake’s Beach. Big cliffs, wide expanse of sand, incredible views – and I found a friend there. It seems not all seals stay in the colony. Occasionally an enterprising individual explores another beach. I sat on a sandstone outcropping to watch the water, and found out one of the driftwood logs was not a log! I moved away to give the animal space and used the telephoto, but not everyone is so considerate.
Note how not only are these people too close, they are cutting this seal off from the sea and cornering it against the cliffs. Please give the seals at least 100 feet of space if you see them, and if you are in between them and the water, keep moving! Just common courtesy for your fellow creature.
This is a park that could use a little TLC. Looks a bit like the proverbial red-headed stepchild. The narrow roads are in pretty bad shape. I know California has had a tough winter, but it looks like a lot of the damage is ongoing. One restroom was closed until further notice because it needed repair. There were no ranger programs except for weekends, and no park newspaper. On hearing I was a ranger,one of the hostel hosts mentioned in conversation that the only rangers seem to be law enforcement. Signs that a park has cut interpretation, maintenance, all but essential services. Please support your national parks so they can preserve our treasures,for all of us – places to rest and rejuvenate, places for inspiration and exploration, places like Point Reyes National Park.
