Birch Lake
Above is a color infrared photo taken by the famous U-2 spy plane during the Alaska High-altitude Aerial Mapping project. You can see Birch lake (large) and Lost lake (small) just for reference.
Birch lake is a medium sized lake, with a mucky bottom and fish that taste like weeds. Other than that, it is a good place to mess around on weekends, or if you are really lucky, during the week while everyone else is at work.
Autumn descends upon Alaska. The leaves take on their fall colors in early September and have fallen from the trees by the end of September. Here we see Birch Lake, 60 miles south of Fairbanks, dressed for the season.
Tranquility
The following picture is nearly identical to the one above, except it was taken after midnight on the longest days of the year (June 19-22), afterwhich we lose light. You see the middle of the night in the "Land of the Midnight Sun", just south of the 65th parallel. (As reference, Philadelphia is at the 40th and Minneapolis is about the 45th parallel).
Midnight in the Land of the Midnight Sun
Another dramatic sunset. Here, the brilliant colors appear to set the lake on fire.
As you can see, the north east corner of the lake is our favorite photo spot. Below is the same area again, with the late evening alpenglow casting a purple hugh on the clouds and a fiery glimmer on the lake.
Of course there is a reason for the Birch Lake scenery pictures. Our cabin is located there! During late summer 1999, a new and finally big enough deck replaced an "antique" deck (the rotten wood kind).
Audra and I spent the night after our wedding in my Cabela's Guide Series Honeymoon suite.
Enclosed in a screen porch, is the wood-fired hot tub. It takes awhile to heat the water to a comfortable level (since it usually is about 50-60 degrees, depending on the ambient temps). Once warmed up, however, it is ready for action. There is no way anyone can think this tub is boring--just look at these kids!
In keeping with Alaskan traditions, the cabin has an outhouse. It is somewhat unorthodox in that it is a flush toilet....
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