18 September 2007

Autumn Colors Train

This weekend a friend and I took advantage of a discount offer for locals to take the Alaskan railroad north and then south again. It was a wonderful opportunity to gawk at the scenery and breathe in all of those vibrant colors of fall that come and go so quickly. The fact that it was blowing 40mph outside made the comfort of the train that much more cozy.
I have to admit, I sometimes feel like Fredrick Mouse (who stars in the children's book Fredrick by Leo Leonni). Fredrick goes around trying to store up color for the dark winter months much to the despair of his food collecting companions but when they run out of food in mid-winter it is his recollections of colors and smells that distracts them from their hungry bellies. Of course, I store food too but sometimes I feel like I am trying to drink up all of the colors around me and imbibe them in the fiber of my being to keep me warm when the days are long and dark. Look at the light on those grasses!


In case you are wondering why there are all these dead trees in the picture above I shall explain their existence. These trees died in the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 when the ground subsided over 10 feet in only a few short minutes causing an inundation of salt water to kill trees all along Alaska's shoreline and to simultaneously preserve them by filling them with salt & preventing rot.

14 comments:

  1. that tree story is fascinating. minutes?

    how terrifying is global warming. just look at those trees. what else will happen when the oceans rise up and up?

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  2. looks like a fantastic weekend. i would have preferred that any day to the awful experience of moving with kids...

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  3. I like the colors of fall too. That's wild about the salt water preserving the trees. Nature's capability always leaves me in awe.

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  4. I love the image of the wind and the colors rushing past.

    And this:
    "I feel like I am trying to drink up all of the colors around me and imbibe them in the fiber of my being to keep me warm when the days are long and dark. Look at the light on those grasses!"

    So beautiful

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  5. that's my idea of getting around to see the countryside too. especially one as beautiful as alaska.

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  6. Geez, what a beautiful place!


    Peace,

    ~Chani
    http://thailandgal.blogspot.com

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  7. I'm probably not alone in saying that i'm intriqued to get a glimpse into how someone manages to get through a winter that's much darker and longer than the one i get through. a color, smell, sights and light soaking frenzy seems like a good start, think i'll try that. also appears that you get lots of practice at describing your surroundings in a beautiful way, thanks!

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  8. Your view is wonderful, and those ghost trees? Sad, but awesome at the same time, what nature is capable of.

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  9. gorgeous. and those trees. fascinating.

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  10. I love Fredrick the Mouse...... thanks for bringing him back to mind..... All those gorgeous illustrations. Mmmm.

    thanks.

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  11. jen ~ yep, minutes. As for that last question...it would take me too long to reply but you are right, it is terrifying.

    liv ~ well, glad I could bring it to you vicariously! Hope the moving is getting settled.

    ms chica ~ doesn't it just though?

    hel ~ thanks, hel.

    athena ~ I agree, so relaxing!

    chani ~ it is.

    matte ~ thanks for the kind words! Indeed, soaking up the senses is a very good place to start. There will be more on that I promise!

    qt& painted maypole ~ thanks!

    orangeblossoms ~ I know! Having written about him I had to go & get some books by him for my niece & nephew.

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  12. LOVE love love love the photos... sigh.. how incredible... how beautiful.

    Thank you so much for the glimpse of it all. I very much appreciate it.


    Scarlett & Viaggiatore

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