Beluga sunset

It seems Alaskan sunset is on the vacation to do list for guests.  That can be a bit tricky in "the Anchorage Bowl" or "the Valley" where you are surrounded by mountains.  You have to make your way to a "flat spot" with a clear view of the horizon.  I have been told Beluga Point is the place to do this.  Fortunately Shibby and I were driving back to Anchorage after a great meal at Seven Glaciers atop Alyeska when the sun started to set (which happens about 10:30 pm that time of year).  As we wound north on the Seward highway, we began to catch glimpses of the orange glow around the bends.

We didn't quite make it to Beluga Point before the sun started to dip below the horizon, so we stopped at the first safe pullout we could find.  The pictures actually don't do it justice, so I am going to have to do this over one day.  I come from Saskatchewan, know as the land of the living skies, and I have rarely seen a sunset to rival those in Saskatchewan, which usually treat you to the most beautiful pinks and purples in the sky.  The sunset we saw in Alaska on this day, however, was incredibly golden, and the sun seemed larger than usual.  Maybe it was an illusion, maybe the mind sees things differently after such a great day of seals and otters and glaciers and flowers and 5 star dining, but I was surprised to look at these pictures and see the little golden orb in the frame.  At the time, it was magnificent!

I liked the neon green of the weigh station encroaching on the scene.

Shibby's Alaska vacation was nearing the end.  I figured she needed a sunset yoga pose on the side of the road, so after bugging her, she finally complied.  I think it's a nice picture!

You can see a lot in the long summer days of Alaskan summers.  It was a good day.  It has taken me a lot of months to make my way through all the pictures, and find the leisure time to blog lately.  So much that as I post these August pictures, big fat spring snowflakes are falling outside my window this morning.  I have been here now just over a year.  It's been a wonderful, busy, crazy, beautiful kind of year.  I am feeling grateful today...for what might be one last snowfall to give our forests some extra moisture, for the quiet of the streets on snowy days, for a morning off to sit back and enjoy the memories before the next round of adventures begins.