We took advantage of the clear weather and nearly full moon to enjoy a moonlight beachwalk. At twenty degrees and calm–and dressed for much colder–it was beautiful outing.

Mike took his camera. It’s a fairly new camera (a long time in coming), and he’s just learning to use it. He was surprised and impressed by its high-ISO capabilities (hand-holding in low light–really low light).

We saw Jupiter, the North Star, and the familiar constellations: Orion, the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, Pleiades.

I haven’t plowed a path to the beach, but I probably should.

It was low tide, so, again, there were icebergs on the beach to explore. A lone harbor seal swam nearby to keep an eye on us.

This is an Alaskan ice cube.

Sticking my head in the gaping maw of the beast–and living to tell the story.

We can’t take moonlight walks in the summer; it’s never dark enough to have moonlight. One of the things we enjoy when we visit other places is the combination of a dark night and warm temperature. Alaska never has that. But, then, other places never have this, and this is pretty spectacular.