Alaskan Gold Rush Who's ready for fall? I am....so here's another little primer! Autumn comes early and doesn't last long here above the 63rd parallel, but in its fleeting moment there is nowhere else on earth that can compare. It's hard to get more 'peak' foliage than this during the tiny window (generally one week or less) that constitutes autumn in the Last Frontier A lone Alaska Railroad SD70MAC leads 8 Holland America Princess cruise line cars as the southbound HEX (Healy Express) at MP 287.3 as they approach the Little Honolulu Creek bridge on their non stop journey to Anchorage. This view looks down from the Parks Hwy into the famed slot at the base of Honolulu Hill which climbs continuously for just over four miles (and is 1.56% at its steepest) before leveling off at the Hurricane Gulch Bridge. For a winter view of the same location check out the photo below. Honolulu, Alaska  Snow Fleet In The Slot It's another hot day today so let's look back to cooler days when a late fall snow storm in 2015 dumped a a lot of snow on interior Alaska necessitating the ARR to call out a 'snow fleet.' And that was also a call to action for Frank and I to make the long lonely trek up the icy and nearly empty Parks Highway 3+ hrs north for about 5 1/2 hrs of 'daylight' between sunrise and sunset. |
