Alaska is changing its "clothing" again literally as I type. Dry, golden leaves are now floating off the trees with the slightest breeze and scurrying across the ground. They are piling up in crisp, crunchy drifts of birch, cottonwood, alder and willow leaves along roadsides and driveways, settling in deepening layers to forest floors and across gardens - nature's insulation around plants going quickly dormant as winter draws near.

This past weekend, while I have been away enjoying a 3-day "Fiber Arts Guild Fall Retreat" at a rustic, lovely local lake camp, I literally watched the snow-line moving lower and lower on the sides of the mountains across the lake from our camp building. I took some photos and will post them to the Alaska Forum. Autumn in Alaska is so beautiful! Too short, all things considered, but wonderful nevertheless.

It rained off and on all weekend, which didn't put a dent in our fun since we spent most of it indoors with huge picture windows to enjoy the ever-changing view outside. When the sun did make an appearance and cleared the clouds away, the fresh snow on the surrounding mountains stood in brilliant contrast against the fall foliage and the glistening lake that mirrored it.

Here's the latest article from the Alaska site at BellaOnline.com.

Oceans and Seas of Alaska
The coastline of the state of Alaska, including islands, bays, fjords and open ocean shores, stretches for over 44,000 miles. To put this into perspective; if someone were to walk one thousand miles per year, it would take more than forty-four YEARS to hike Alaska’s entire coastline.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art17623.asp

Please visit alaska.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Alaska.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Alaska located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=433

We have just started a new GAME on the Alaska Forum! Come join the fun and learn more about the "Last Frontier"! How much do YOU know about Alaska? If you don't know the answers, I'll bet you can find them - and even if you just follow and and read, you will find out all sorts of unusual or little-known Alaskan facts and fun.

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. Your feedback gives me so many new ideas! If you have suggestions for future articles - topics you'd like to hear more about - this is the place to ask!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, too. As I continue to say (with lots and lots of sincerity!) ... the more the merrier!

Cheers,
-Deb

Deb Frost, Alaska Editor
http://alaska.bellaonline.com

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