Alaska Trip Epilogue

Alaska Trip Epilogue

This was my third trip to Alaska and Rick's second trip. After five trips between us, we were still awed by the beauty of the rivers, streams, mountains, wildlife, and the plant life we found in the alpine tundra, rain forest, coastal mud flats and muskegs. I will give serious consideration to a fourth trip, especially, to spend more time at Thompson Pass in mid July.
I started this blog with a photo of Rick and I at the Clayton Hotel in Rabun County, showing a geek type college professor and a young long haired hippie that looked like a young Moses. The student teacher relationship will probably never change but after being with Rick for two weeks it became obvious that this was not the young kid in the rocking chair at that hotel, instead this was Rick the man. I must say, it was the actions of the young man that provided me with positive memories to seek out the man. Thanks Rick.

Cotton Grass------ Eriophorum scheuchzeri

The name "cotton Grass" is a misnomer in that it's not cotton and it's not a grass. It is a member of the sedge family (Cyperaceae). It belongs to the genus Eriophorum and includes several species in Alaska. Once Rick and I saw them growing in open or coniferous bogs, there was no way to mistake them for any other plant.When you see cotton grass its always in large colonies which is due to the tough rhizomes found just under the sphagnum moss or mud. The flower does not contain petals or sepals, instead cotton grass has long white colored bristles....the cotton in cotton grass. The fruit is a tiny achene which is dispersed by the cotton bristles. It is to hot to grow cotton grass in Georgia, but if you do, be sure to grow it in pot with peat moss. Cotton grass was found growing in the Okefenoke back in the 192o's or 1930's.

Shrub Cinquefoil Potentilla fruticosa

This is a deciduous shrub, 1 - 4 feet tall with large yellow flowers Leaves are small and grayish green, three to five toothed. This was one of the most common shrubs we saw in open and partly wooded tundra or muskegs. Potentilla fruticosa is one of those circumpolar plants found in colder parts of the world. This shrub was used in cultivation in many parts of Europe, especially Switzerland.

Flowers of Denali

The white flower is a member of the rose family, White Dryas, Dryas integrifolia. The blue flower is Mertensia paniculata, Bluebells. This plant was found in the higher elevation as well as lower elevation. The red flower is Arctic Dock, Rumex arcticus, this plant was found in the alpine tundra but also grows at lower elevations, in damp, open places.

Denali National Park

These are photos taken in Denali National Park. We saw Doll Sheep, caribou, wolves, grizzly bears, coyote and moose, the big five or big six.
The only way to enter the main part of the park is by park buses which operate every hour on the hour around the clock.

Turnagain Arm

These are photos from the first part of the trip. Turnagain Arm is located 25 miles from Anchorage and is heavily used by day visitors. This highway, Seward highway, takes you to the Kenai peninsula.

Cow Parsnip--Heracleum lanatum

Cow parsnip, also called wild celery, is an important medicine and food plant for the native Americans. It is a large herb that grows as tall as six feet or eight feet tall. Its small flowers form large white umbels, and its large leaves that composed of toothed lobed leaflets. The stem of the upper leaves are surrounded by an inflated sheath. Both the stem and tap root are very thick, the stem becoming woody with age. Most of the plant is covered with hairs that may cause irritation to the skin. Even though cow parsnip is not poisonous it may be confused with plants that are very poisonous such as angelica or poison hemlock. Heracleum lanatum is a species that have seen in North Carolina, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. I would love to try growing this plant in the garden.