Category: Elevation
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Effigy Mounds National Monument
Harpers Ferry, Iowa (June 2009) Few people seem to know much about Effigy Mounds National Monument except for those who happen to live along these magnificent stretches of the Upper Mississippi River (map). It is practically unrivaled for its amazing combination of natural beauty and historical importance, with its scenic vistas above the river and…
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Minnetonka Cave
Caribou-Targhee National Forest , Bear Lake, Idaho, USA (July 2011) We’d heard about Minnetonka Cave while we were visiting Bear Lake and decided to check it out. It’s set high within the Bear Lake Range in Cache National Forest (administered by the Montpelier Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest) at an altitude of 7,700…
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Stone Mountain
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA (April 2010) Stone Mountain rises above the plain just a few miles northeast of Atlanta, a solid monolith standing alone like nothing else around it anywhere east of the Appalachians. It started out millions of years ago as magma that hardened below the earth’s surface. Slowly, over time, the surrounding landscape…
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Rocky Mountain National Park
Larimer and Grand Counties, Colorado, USA (October 2002) We came to Denver for a wedding but we arrived early so we could travel up to Estes Park, Colorado (map). That serves as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Summer quickly transitions into winter here. Trail Ridge Road through the upper elevations of park closed…
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Talkeetna
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USA (July 2010) We left Anchorage, heading up the George Parks Highway with Talkeetna on our minds (map). We cut up the Talkeetna Spur and arrived soon enough at the rural outpost situated along the confluence of three glacially-fed braided rivers, the Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna. It’s an unusual place for a…
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Harding Icefield
Kenai Fjords National Park, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, USA (July 2010) Flightseeing is a great way to view the expansive Harding Icefield (map) on the southeastern side of the Kenai Peninsula, a part of Kenai Fjords National Park. Tours operate from all of the major towns in the vicinity including Seward, Homer and Soldotna. Options…
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Exit Glacier
Seward, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, USA (July 2010) The vast preponderance of Kenai Fjords National Park is not accessible by automobile. It’s ruggedly inaccessible with the easiest ways to see it by air [see my Harding Icefield page] or by sea [see my Kenai Fjords page]. There is one notable exception: Exit Glacier. It’s not…
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Panoramic Views of Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, USA (August 1995 and July 2000) We stayed at the Hotel Baranof during our 1995 visit to Juneau (map). We had a room on the top floor with a full harbor view. This was the scene that presented itself each morning as we woke up. This shot looks…
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Various Points Around Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, USA (August 1995 & July 2000) Mount Roberts The Mount Roberts Tramway delivers visitors 1800 feet up the side of the mountain, above Juneau (map). On a clear day the view extends for miles along the Gastineau Channel. Snow still clings to mountaintops in July. Trails radiate from…
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Flattop Mountain
Chugach State Park, Anchorage, AK (July 2010) We didn’t plan to climb Flattop Mountain (map) that beautiful July morning. We had completely different plans, actually. The waiter during breakfast said we should go. The desk clerk at the hotel told us the same thing. The day was too perfect, too perfect!, to waste it on…