We saw two sunsets last night.
We started in Lakewood where the sun created yellow-peach tattered and rolling clouds, then drove to Huntington when we realized the Summer Solstice is almost upon us and we had another hour until sunset. At Huntington, we found seats on a rock and watched the red orb we know as the sun melt into Lake Erie. It was after nine o'clock.
Last year we spent the longest day of the year in Denali. The sky never darkened beyond a dusky gray and The Alaskan Salmon Bake partied until well past midnight. People teed off on golf courses at eleven at night. It was wild and different up there close to the Arctic Circle.
While in Denali, we spent time with the National Park Service’s sled dogs who provide the favored mode of transportation during long winter when snow always blankets the ground. On our 9-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour, we encountered grizzly, moose, fox, caribou, dall sheep, and hare, and saw Mt. McKinley in all its great white glory against a deep blue sky on a cleared afternoon. Alone on the remote trails the next day, our footprints followed moose tracks and remembered the park ranger's advice--when you see a moose with its ears down, run, but when you see a bear or a wolf, stand up to it.
No bear or moose here in Cleveland-town, but the ride on the Tow Path today was deliciously tiring. The only wildlife we saw were birds--blue heron, hawk, red-winged black birds--white butterflies, hanging caterpillars, and frogs. But down near the water, the animal prints were unmistakable.
