The Most Beautiful Place - Part 1

Today was very cold, very sunny and very beautiful.

It was a day to bundle up warm and to be outside.

I got dressed in multiple layers while Jamie excitedly barked and followed me from room to room (as usual getting underfoot), and while LC warmed up the truck.

The plan was to walk on a trail alongside the shore near Echo Cove at the End Of The Road.

Although most of the snow has melted close to the house and downtown, there is still a good deal on the ground both in the Valley and Out the Road.

Such is the nature of weather fronts in Juneau.  It can be beautiful and sunny here and only twenty miles away in town it can be raining and foggy. 

While driving on Glacier Highway heading towards Echo Cove late this morning Jamie was excitedly barking up a storm and it was obvious that there was still a lot of snow out that way.

There was ice on the highway, crunchy snow glistening in the sun, and all the bare hardwood trees were white and covered with frost.

It must have been a very cold night last night.

The forecast is continuing to call for clear and sunny skies, and for it to get progressively colder each night for the next few days.

On the spur of the moment LC pulled off the highway and turned down a deep snow and ice covered unploughed side road that leads to Windfall Lake Trail.

The truck tires crunched underneath us as we broke through the thick ice on the way to the turnaround at the end of the road............

LC drove down this road for only two reasons - Herbert River that was beautiful and only partially frozen, and the snow covered mountains.

I can not put into words what the untouched purity and absolute whiteness of the snow covered mountains does for a woman who strives to find peace.

For a brief moment, that actually lasted for a few hours today, it was found.

At this very moment, it was here.........

And here........

And here.............

We did not stay long at the turn around. 

Just long enough to let Jamie walk for a few minutes, and for LC and I to take more pictures of both the river and the quiet mountains...........

We talked briefly today about going into town to grocery shop.

Grocery shopping would probably have been a very worthwhile endeavor since we are rapidly running out of many things in the house.

I deal with a lot of people every single day during the week and move in "professional mode", so do not give it a lot of thought.

But on the weekends the thought of actually being around people is incredibly offensive to me.

I have absolutely no desire what-so-ever to see people, to face people, to be around people, to make conversation with people.

I successfully talked LC out of the grocery shopping thing.

Seeing this place turned out to be a much more worthwhile endeavor than walking through the aisles of Fred Meyers...........

I have taken many pictures from this bridge.

It is located on Glacier Highway and spans the width of Herbert River.

Probably five or six times over the past year I have pulled the car or truck over to the side of the road, walked back to the bridge, and taken beautiful pictures of the water in both directions...........

As we approached Glacier Highway again LC asked me if I wanted to walk on the Boy Scout Trail instead of heading to Echo Cove.

I was surprised by his suggestion because we both know that it is a bit of a hike on that trail, but eagerly agreed.

Instead of turning right at the STOP sign and heading further Out The Road, we drove straight through the intersection and continued to the Boy Scout Trail parking lot.

I was excited to be going there.

There are many many beautiful places in Juneau, and there are many that I still have not seen yet.

But of all the places that I have visited over the past year, the Boy Scout Trail is without a doubt the most beautiful and is by far my favorite place to be...............

Before we started on the trail both LC and I put our Yak Traxx on.

The trail contained some crunchy weeks old snow, but was also almost completely covered in ice.

It was going to be dicey walking, and we both resigned ourselves to treading carefully and taking our time..........

Unlike last weekend when we tried to walk on the Dike Trail close to the airport, we were properly prepared for our walk today.

We wore enough layers of clothing, we had on the right gloves, we had Yak Traxx, we carried first aid supplies.

We had snacks and drinks and I even carried a small dog bowl and bottle of water for the mutt.

It was very cold, but even though we were walking on a trail in the shade of pine trees on both sides of us, we were both fine.

I was happy to be in this place at this time.

Runoff from the mountains that will stay frozen for months.........

Eagle River and Eagle Beach on the opposite shore.........

All kinds of beautiful........

Many many small frozen runoff-waterfalls along the way.........

And this interesting site..........

The largest of the frozen runoff walls dwarfed my Mountain Boy...........

These old remnants of boat docks are found all over waterways all over this area.

I love them very much because they are so artistic and so architectural.

They are so beautiful I always feel compelled to take pictures of them..........

Whenever I go to the Boy Scout Trail my blog always turns into a two part entry.

It is the type of place where you can literally take a picture, move your camera slightly to the left and take another picture, move your camera again slightly to the left and do it all over again.

The most beautiful place in this most beautiful of places..............