Deadman's Lake

It was too sunny to leave Palmer but, alas, we had to go. The last view over looking the valley was another one of those breathtaking experiences. The sun glinting off the peaks and the winding ribbons of the glacial river spread out below us. It was magnificent.

Once again, driving by the majestic Matanuska Glacier I was awed by the quiet beauty of this planet. This experience, while difficult in many ways, has nourished my soul, made my heart laugh and my whole body vibrate with the energy of the cosmos. This isn't Chicken Soup, folks! This is where our emotional serenity comes from. . . Mother Earth and her love for all that's living and all that exists here. I awoke and walked Foxy in the early morning the quiet broken only by the creek rushing by. This kind of silence is a gift we have forgotten. We must preserve it at all cost.

That night we camped at Deadman's Lake on the Tetlin Wildlife Sanctuary. This turned out to be our favorite Alaska campground. I had a view of the lake out my side window. It was far enough away from the road so the only sounds came from birds and squirrels. After dinner we spent about 3 hours photographing. We met a lovely young couple from Quebec who were camping in an enormous bus he called his little baby. He said he just sold his company and retired and I'm thinking he had millions. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties!

An Athabaskan lady gave a demonstration on how to make birch baskets and showed us samples of her work. Now I can go home and make my own baskets! Later sitting at my table I watched a beaver swim slowly toward the shore right by my camper.

The next morning dawned early, as usual, but with unusual sunshine. I took Fox for his morning outing, a low mist hovered just above perfectly still water with the sun creating shimmering reflections scattered about. Almost shrouded in the mist, her huge hulk presented her. I could hear the water gurgle as she slurped her underwater breakfast with loud crunching sounds and hear her leg slide through the grasses as she moved forward. What a stirring moment watching this magnificent animal in the absolute silence of the early morning. Again I felt humbled and blessed by this extraordinary sharing of nature's wonders. The moose raised her head, turned toward me, then slowly walked off toward the shelter of the forest. A truly enchanting experience and a fitting farewell on my last Alaska morning.