I didn’t notice the bird when I first looked at this photo. It sort of blends in. When we got closer to the glacier, the captain pointed out dozens of seals laying on the chunks of ice in the water. They were hidden in plain sight.
As I reflect on being hidden, Colossians 3:3 comes to mind: “your life is hidden with Christ in God.” What does this mean? For me, it is captured by our Parrish theme: “think like Jesus, talk like Jesus, act like Jesus.”
There are so many incredible things to see in Alaska. I did not expect rivers to be something that amazed me. The McCarthy Creek is in the lower part of this photo and is notable for the rapids. The Kennicott River can be seen in the background, flowing from the Kennicott Glacier. There is a milky appearance to the water from the glacial flour (rock ground into small particles by the glacier). We also saw braided rivers and broad flowing rivers.
Part of the wonder of creation is the marvelous diversity that exists.
This photo was taken at the Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks, Alaska. There were several birds on this small lake. It didn’t take too long to get a photo of one flying just above the water surface.
We also saw several sandhill cranes wandering around the fields. We heard that we missed the primary migration by a few weeks, when thousands of the sandhill cranes gather in the fields.
There is a rhythm to life. God’s timing is perfect.
This photo was taken on the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St Elias NP. The surface of a glacier was not at all like I expected. It is covered with these large “waves”. If you zoom on the center of the photo, you can also see a small stream and pool of water.
Why did I think I knew anything about glaciers? Sure, I had seen pictures of glaciers and even talked to people who had been on them. I knew a little about crevasses and that I wanted to avoid them. I had never heard of a moulin which is a giant hole in the glacier that carries water from the surface all the way to the underside of the glacier.
Whatever we know, it is even more important to recognize what we don’t know.
This is another photo of Horseshoe Lake at Denali NP. I love how this view looks so serene. Right above, there was a train track and it was hardly serene as the train went by.
Quiet times in our lives are easily disrupted by life events. Inner peace is a gift from God.
This is a view of the mountains on our flight into Wrangell-St Elias NP. It may seem like we are above the mountains looking down, but the peaks are actually still thousands of feet higher than the plane’s altitude.
I have written many times about perspective. And how often our perspective can be misleading. As in this photo, it is easy to see ourselves as higher than we truly are.
There are a lot of glaciers in Alaska. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 glaciers in Alaska (616 officially named per the NPS website). This is Matanuska Glacier which we passed driving from Wrangell-St Elias NP to Anchorage. It boggles my mind that you can be driving down the highway and just look out and see a glacier. I wonder if it becomes “commonplace” for those who live here. Something taken for granted.
We are instructed to become like children. Part of that is to see things as if for the first time.
This is a photo of the start and finish area of the 50k race I recently completed outside Fairbanks, Alaska. Much like the cover of a book, the start area forms the first impression of a race. But the total experience is so much more! This course was pleasant – a nice “walk on the woods”.
We say “Don’t judge a book by its cover” usually meaning not to judge a person based exclusively on a first impression. The same is true for experiences in life; imagine that God is waiting around every corner.
You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.
Psalms 65:9
This is a photo of Root Glacier joining with Kennicott Glacier (in Wrangell-St Elias National Park). This was the view from our flight from Chitina to McCarthy. Specifically, you see the terminal moraines of these glaciers. It may look like just dirt, but it is actually a mixture of dirt and ice many feet thick.
It boggles my mind to think how glaciers have formed the valleys at places like Yosemite and all over Alaska. Great change often happens at such a slow pace that we barely notice it.
Signs Along the Way 