Muncho Lake and Light

Alaska Sunday XV

I am going to take time out from the regular Alaska Sunday Travelogue and show two photos that were taken only a couple of minutes apart at different focal lengths and slightly different light conditions. The lighting changed during those few minutes and the matrix metering interpreted the scene differently. I always shoot raw so I was able to make some small adjustments to the photos before saving them in tiff format.. The reason I wanted to show these and bring this to your attention is an interesting post over at Transient Light Photography. Read this at your peril. It will cause you to rethink your approach to scenic (or other) photography. It is not about equipment or software but discusses "light".

Muncho Lake is a highway services community in northern British Columbia, Canada, located at Mile 462 on Highway 97, the Alaska Highway, within Muncho Lake Provincial Park. A person could spend a lifetime in B.C. engaged in hiking, photography, camping, skiing, canoeing, fishing, exploring, prospecting, or just admiring nature (Sorry if I left out your favorite pastime. Leave it in the comments.). Follow the British Columbia link to learn more about this fascinating Province or check out the BC Interior link. Rocky Mountain Girl is from the B.C.Interior. Check out her blog here.

I won't bore you with technical details, but just be aware that the two photos which are vastly different in appearance, are only very slightly different in handling technique and light capture. In the second photo the light was blocked by a darker cloud which caused the exposure to differ slightly. For instance, the small change in light and scene contrast cause the clouds to appear to have darker bases among many other small noticeable details.

Grandpa used to say, "Grain and oats is what makes the Mare go".
Well, light is what makes photography go.

Yes, that is the un-retouched color of the lake with its high copper content.
Depending on light angle of light, it can appear dark blue, turquoise, or green.
(Click on the photographs for better views)

Plan your photo shoot. Even if you are "just taking snapshots", watch the lighting, direction of light, and color balance and experiment if necessary to achieve "that perfect shot". Make every photo a perfect photo.

Troy

DC-3

Workhorse of the Skies
Sky Watch Friday

I photographed this as we traveled through. It was fun to watch even small breezes and wind shifts turn this large plane. Once a workhorse, now a weather vane. One of my favorite airplanes of all time.

DC-3 at Whitehorse Airport, Yukon Terr., Canada
Worlds Largest Weather vane
(Rain Coming from the West)

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Because of its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II, it is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. (Follow the link to read about one of the most famous planes in history)


.....To participate in Sky Watch Friday visit Sky Watch Friday.

Troy and Martha

Yellowstone, Yukon, Yosemite

A Fellow Traveler in a Yellow shirt,
and Late Summer Yellow flowers,
and a Yeti friend.

Two of my favorite National Parks,
my life-long love in yellow,
one of my favorite rivers,
some yellow flowers,
and a tall Yeti.
Enjoy all

Yellowstone Twin Storms
Storm approaching and
Storm below
(Remember to click on the photos for a better look)


The mighty Yukon River
in Yukon Terr., Canada



Yosemite w/Yellow
Typical tourist photo
in front of Half-dome



Yellow flowers in Montana Buffalo Country
Rocky Mountains in the background
The Rockies are composed of several Ranges in this area such as,
The Lewis and Clark Range,
and The Flathead Range


~~~ Yeti ~~~
A friend that Martha made on the trip.
This Yeti (from Asia) was visiting
his Sasquatch relatives


I hope you enjoyed this tour of Y's.
Leave a comment if you have visited these places,
or if you enjoyed the mini-trip.

Troy and Martha

To participate, visit ABC Wednesday, mrsnesbitt's place. Click here.

Road to Adventure

The Path to the Boat
Alaska Sunday XI

The Road Goes Ever On

 The Road goes ever on and on
    Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
    And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
    Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
    And whither then? I cannot say.

    -- J R R Tolkien

The Path to the Boat
And the Road to Adventure

Since we arrived safely back at Coldfoot in last weeks episode, I am jumping forward in time in our travel adventure (Driving from Texas to Alaska and Back) and wanted to share this photo. I am still going through the 18,000 photos that we kept (of the ~50,000 that we took). This photo was taken in the North West Territory, Canada, on the banks of the Liard River at Ft. Liard. We ate lunch here and watched the clouds drift by, in hopes of catching a glimpse of birds flying up and down the river.

In viewing the photo, I was struck by the notion that the small path down to the boat, partially hidden in the reeds and grasses, may have been not only a fishing boat, but was a Conveyance on the Road to Adventure. This is akin to what Martha and I were doing. We were on the adventure road also.

If you enlarge the photo, you can just see the tie-up line to the post to the left of the boat. Do you think the young boy, or girl, stopped along the path to pick a few berries growing there? Since they were going in the boat, I imagine they had a rather large sack lunch and a thermos (or jug) of water for the day.

Did they go upriver and let the boat drift back. Did they fish in earnest while they drifted or just enjoy watching the clouds slip by? Maybe they used the boat to cross the river, where they had a secret path through the woods to other adventures.

What adventure waited down that path?

Alaska Sunday is a collection of photographic remembrances of our driving trip from Texas to Alaska.
18,000 miles, 16 weeks, 16 western states including Alaska and four Canadian Provinces.
No chronological order, just anything of interest that got in front of our cameras.

Troy and Martha

An Odd Fact about Foxes

.
The Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, may sometimes be gray and the Gray Fox, Urocyn cinereoargenteus, is sometimes tinged with red.

A general identifying characteristic is the white tip on the tail of the Red Fox, whereas the Gray fox has a black tip on the tail.

Native Red Fox

(Click on the photos for a better look at the fur)

A nice look at that innocent face

We photographed this fox by the Yukon River near Carmacks, Yukon Terr., Canada. This Red Fox is a native of North America as are all Red Foxes in boreal North America down to the Rocky Mountains. The Red Foxes in the Southern US were imported to the Southeast from England somewhere between 1750 to 1800, for fox hunts, and were later taken to California for the fur trade.

This Red fox was in its short summer coat. Notice some of the long hairs which it has not yet shed and you can see why people usually think of the fox as having short legs and a big bushy tail. In the winter, this fox would have a tail probably 3 times as big and would look like a short dumpy little fellow with all of that long hair. Nearing winter, it will put on some weight and they do store extra food in caches for the winter. They also have been known to clean out a hen house in a night, however its typical diet includes rodents, rabbits, birds, insects, fruit, earthworms, reptiles, and carrion.

The Gray Fox is the only North American wild dog that regularly climbs trees. Even though the Gray Fox is found over most of N.A., it usually avoids farmlands favored by the Red Fox.

See the Arctic Fox in the post below.

These odd posts all started over at Katney's.

Troy and Martha

Hell’s Gate

Bridges Between

Air Bridge & Foot Bridge
(Remember to click on the photos to get close)

On June 26, 1808 the explorer Simon Fraser passed along these cliff on a series of bridges and ladders built by the Thompson Indians.

Hell’s Gate is the narrowest point on the Fraser River.

The route of the present Tans-Canada Highway through the Fraser Canyon follows what was originally a fur brigade trail. It became a wagon road in 1863 and after 1925 it was passable by automobile.

Fraser River Narrows

This canyon has been traveled by foot, boat, mule, horse, wagon, steam tractor, auto, railroad and even camel.

Bridge across the River

Hells Gate Airtram takes visitors 500 ft. down and across the Fraser River.

Airtrams

Bridges Between is a Monthly Endeavor by RuneE. Click here to participate.

Troy and Martha

.

Sunsets - Yellowstone and Golden, B.C.

ABC Wednesday

Eye Candy
For Your Viewing Pleasure

(Click on the photographs for the full Sunset effect)

Looking for our Campground
Golden, British Columbia

Martha shot this through the front windshield as we were going down the road at 70 mph. The Vibration Reduction Lens was on active. She only had about 10 seconds before the flare from the sun was gone. She grabbed the camera and ripped off about 10 shots. This is the only one that had the effect she was looking for. The cool blue and strong orange and yellow contrast was outstanding. Wish you could have been there and, "I wish this was my photograph", said Troy

Yellowstone Sunset
Totally Un-Retouched.
Exactly as Shot

Another "Martha Photo" through the front windshield as we were going down the road. The beautiful colors were gone in just a few seconds. If we had found a place to pull over and got out of the car, it would have been too late.

The moral to this story is, "Keep your front windshield clean".


To play, visit ABC Wednesday, mrsnesbitt's place. Click here.

Photography by Martha
Driving by Troy

The Bailey Bridge

Bridges Between

The Bailey Bridge which crosses the Ft. Nelson River

links Ft. Liard by Highway to the rest of the World.
This is truly a "Bridges Between" in Canada.

Into the Valley
(Don't forget to click on the photos for better looks)


Ft. Nelson River
Crossed by the Bailey Bridge

There was a nice turnout and picnic table on the north side where we stopped and rested and took photos and chased butterflies trying to identify them.

The Bailey Bridge which crosses the Ft. Nelson River, is the longest Acrow (Bailey) Bridge in the world. Relatively few people have ever seen this bridge due to its remote location.

Long Bridge over the Ft. Nelson River
Longest Bailey Bridge in the World

Fort Liard (Slavey language: Echaot'l Koe "people from the land of the giants") is a hamlet in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located 37 km (23 mi) north of the British Columbia border. It became accessible by road in 1984 with the completion of the Liard Highway (Northwest Territories Highway 7 and (British Columbia Highway 77).

Population is 583 according to the 2006 Census the majority of which are First Nations.

The community of Fort Liard is located near the junction of the South Nahanni and Liard Rivers at 61°02’N and 123°23’W, 142 air km southwest of Fort Simpson and 507 air km southwest of Yellowknife. The Liard river is a major tributary of the MacKenzie River, the longest drainage system in northwestern Canada.

Historically, the Nahanni Dene traded with posts at Fort Liard, Fort Nelson and even some trapping posts located around the pacific coast. The community was founded with a government-sponsored movement of people from nearby Netla River, situated approximately 24 km away.

Ft. Liard Sign
Shows Trapper in Canoe and Snowshoes,
the only way to travel before the Bridge

Fort Liard is in the Territories' southwest corner. Prior to 1807, the Northwest Company founded a post that was taken over by Hudson's Bay Co in 1821 when both companies merged. The opening of the Liard Highway in the early 1980s put the quiet village on the map. The community is characterized by lush growth and a relatively mild climate, despite its northern location. Hence it's nickname "the tropics of the north".

The steel truss panels on this particular bridge have been in use on various northern bridges since WWII. As other bridges were rebuilt or replaced, the salvageable panes were stored until needed for this bridge.

Supports
Will support large loads

Side
Close view of side rail

Here is an excellent article on the Invention of the Bailey bridge. Click here.

The Hamlet of Fort Liard has two stores to choose from: The General Store and the The North West Company store. It has a school "Echo Dene School", with a student population of about 150 from K-12. It also has a nursing station, an Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, and a Recreation Centre (complete with a swimming pool, skating rink, youth centre and a multi-court). There is a fuel center that sells gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, emergency survival kits and convenience items.

There is also a traditional craft store which sells locally made craft items. We purchased some nice baskets for our Native American Collection here at the craft store. At the General store we found some nice picnic supplies for our lunch on the banks of the Liard River. Lunch - loaf of fresh-baked bread, great canned beef, 2 wonderful cheeses, a great brand of pickles which we can't get here in Texas, and some great juice.

The bridge allowed us to visit a truly great place with historical significance (Hudson Bay Co.), not to mention the beautiful drive and wonderful lunch.

Bridges Between is a Monthly Endeavor by RuneE. Click here to participate.

Troy and Martha
Photos by Troy and Martha

BC Forest Capital Sign
Looks like the “Bridges Between” Logo

.

Sky Watch Friday IV

.

Clearing Ahead

It's a good sign when you see a little blue.
I like the sky reflections in the photograph.

Muncho Lake, B.C., Canada
(Click to see the reflections in the water a little better)
It was almost pitch black behind, and really dark overhead.


By the time you see this, we will be on the road down to the Gulf coast for 4 days.
We won't have internet, so I'll answer comments and catch up when I get back.
I'm looking forward to seeing all the great Sky Watches.

Troy and Martha

Alaska Sunday IV

.

Construction of the Alaska Highway

Today's Alaska Sunday will be brief. It has been a busy weekend. We are off for the Ft. Worth Nature Center in just a bit for birding, wildflowers and butterflies. Or anything else that gets in front of the cameras.

Color photos are from our trip along the Alaska (Al-Can) Highway or near-by

And the Road Goes Ever On
(Look ! It has shoulders and stripes here)

Proposals for a highway to Alaska originated in the 1920s. Donald MacDonald dreamed of an international highway spanning the United States, Canada and Russia. In order to promote the highway, Slim Williams originally traveled the proposed route by dog sled. Since much of the route would pass through Canada, support from the Canadian government was crucial. However, the Canadian government perceived no value in putting up the required funds to build the road, since the only part of Canada that would benefit was not more than a few thousand people in the Yukon.

However, some route consideration was given. The preferred route would pass through the Rocky Mountain trench from Prince George, British Columbia to Dawson City before turning west to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Destruction Bay at Kluane Lake

The attack on Pearl Harbor and beginning of the Pacific Theatre in World War II, coupled with Japanese threats to the west coast of North America and the Aleutian Islands, changed the priorities for both nations. On February 6, 1942 the construction of the Alaska Highway was approved by the United States Army and the project received the authorization from the U.S. Congress and President Roosevelt to proceed five days later. Canada agreed to allow construction as long as the United States bore the full cost, and that the road and other facilities in Canada be turned over to Canadian authority after the war ended.

A caterpillar tractor with grader widens the roadway of the Alaska Highway, 1942.

The official start of construction took place on March 8, 1942 after hundreds of pieces of construction equipment were moved on priority trains by the Northern Alberta Railways to the northeastern part of British Columbia near Mile 0 at Dawson Creek. Construction accelerated through the spring as the winter weather faded away and crews were able to work from both the northern and southern ends; they were spurred on after reports of the Japanese invasion of Kiska Island and Attu Island in the Aleutians. On September 24, 1942 crews from both directions met at Mile 588 at Contact Creek and the highway was dedicated on November 20, 1942 at Soldiers Summit.

The needs of war dictated the final route, intended to link the airfields of the Northwest Staging Route that conveyed lend-lease aircraft from the United States to the Soviet Union. Thus, the rather impractical, long route over extremely difficult terrain was chosen.

Near Banff

The road was originally built mostly by the US Army as a supply route during World War II. There were four main thrusts in building the route: southeast from Delta Junction, Alaska toward a linkup at Beaver Creek, Yukon; north then west from Dawson Creek (an advance group started from Fort Nelson, British Columbia after traveling on winter roads on frozen marshland from railway stations on the Northern Alberta Railways); both east and west from Whitehorse after being ferried in via the White Pass and Yukon Route railway. The U.S. Army commandeered equipment of all kinds, including local riverboats, railway locomotives, and housing originally meant for use in southern California.

Near Jasper

Although it was completed on October 28, 1942 and its completion was celebrated at Soldier's Summit on November 21 (and broadcast by radio, the exact outdoor temperature censored due to wartime concerns), the "highway" was not usable by general vehicles until 1943. Even then, there were many steep grades, a poor surface, switchbacks to gain and descend hills, and few or no guardrails. Bridges, which progressed during 1942 from pontoon bridges to temporary log bridges, were replaced with steel bridges where necessary only. One old log bridge can still be seen at the Aishihik river crossing. The easing of the Japanese invasion threat resulted in no more contracts being given to private contractors for upgrading of specific sections.

In particular, some 100 miles of route between Burwash Landing and Koidern, Yukon, became virtually impassable in May and June of 1943, as the permafrost melted, no longer protected by a layer of delicate vegetation. A corduroy road was built to restore the route, and corduroy still underlays old sections of highway in the area. Modern construction methods do not allow the permafrost to melt, either by building a gravel berm on top or replacing the vegetation and soil immediately with gravel. However, the Burwash-Koidern section is still a problem, as the new highway built there in the late 1990s continues to experience frost heave.

WikiPedia

Alaska Sunday is a collection of photographic remembrances of our driving trip from Texas to Alaska.
18,000 miles, 16 weeks, 16 western states including Alaska and four Canadian Provinces.
No chronological order, just anything of interest that got in front of our cameras.

Troy and Martha
Photos by Troy and Martha

Project Yellow I

.

Subtitle: Sky Watch Friday on Thursday

We were driving back from Alaska, when we spotted this beautiful tranquil scene. Little did I realize that it would be used in Project Yellow.... Is that sky blue, or what? Yellow and blue go nicely together, don't you think?

Jasper National Park, Canadian Rockies

Yellow Boat at Peace with the World
(Click on the photo & Scroll down to see Yellow)
(Did you remember to scroll down after clicking too see all the green?)

No Photoshopping except for slight adjustment in levels.
Yes, the sky was really that blue.
It was a good day.

Troy and Martha

'Buffalo' Calf

American Bison Calf

What person doesn’t like a baby animal? Especially a baby “Buffalo”.

Martha shot this with my 200mm macro lens. Yep, a 200mm macro lens makes a good telephoto if you have it on a Monopod.

American bison (Bison bison) with baby calf
(Click on the photo for a close look)

Ft. Worth Nature Refuge, May 14,2005
Photo by Martha.

The nature Refuge has over 25 miles of nature trails and 5000 acres for the buffalo. Yes the Nature trails are separate from the buffalo range.

The American bison (Bison bison) is a bovine mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. 'Buffalo' is something of a misnomer for this animal as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the water buffalo and the African buffalo.

The bison originally inhabited the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in massive herds, ranging from the Great Slave Lake in Canada's far north to Mexico in the south, and from eastern Oregon almost to the Atlantic Ocean, taking its subspecies into account. Its two subspecies are the plains bison (Bison bison bison), distinguished by its smaller size and more rounded hump, and the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae), distinguished by its larger size and taller square hump. Wood bison are one of the largest species of cattle in the world, surpassed in size only by the massive Asian gaur and wild Asian water buffalo, both of which are found mainly in India and Southeast Asia.

See Wikipedia for the full article

Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae)
Notice the tall square hump
Photographed by Martha as we drove by
In timber country, British Columbia, Canada

Troy and Martha

Spring Migration

We're excited. We are leaving Friday for High Island, TX for a long weekend of birding and photography. It's a major place to see a fallout of warblers during the spring migration. Last year we had 23 different species of warblers in one day. It was great to say the least. I'll post the results when we get back.

I am starting a new theme called Alaska Sunday in which I will post photos taken during our Alaska trip.

Here's Martha birding far from home, looking for Jaegers, North of the Artic Circle and just South of the Brooks Range in Alaska on the Haul Road. Yep, she found one later in the day.

On the Haul Road(one of the better parts)

Martha in the Arctic Ocean. I think see was looking for shore birds. You know how birders are, they will go to any extreme.

Looking for shorebirds

This is our Travel rig. Toyota 4-Runner for off-road and a TrailManor to rest our weary feet at night. We drove from Texas to Alaska and spent 16 weeks on the road and 5 weeks in Alaska.

By Muncho Lake in B.C. Canada

Troy and Martha