Delta Dawn

It’s not the 1973 number one hit song by Helen Reddy. That song was about a faded 41-year-old Southern belle from Brownsville, Tennessee. She was obsessed with the memory of a suitor who jilted her decades ago.

The lyrics describe how the woman regularly "walks downtown with a suitcase in her hand / looking for a mysterious dark-haired man" who she says will be taking her "to his mansion in the sky."

This delta dawn is about a sunrise over an Alaskan river.  The Delta River is an 80-mile-long tributary of the Tanana River. Its name in the Ahtna language is Saas Na’ (possibly meaning Sand River).

The river, pinned by the orange comment icon, is fed by the Tangle Lakes of the Alaska Mountain Range (the snowcapped peaks). It then flows north to meet the Tanana River near the town of Big Delta. The river predates the uplifting of the Alaska Mountain Range and is more than 30 million years old.

In 1980, 62 miles of waterways in the Delta River basin became part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Twenty miles are designated "wild," 24 miles as “scenic," and 18 miles as "recreational."

The Shot

On September 10, our photography group checked into the Trophy Lodge. Located at the end of the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction, it’s the only place in town that’s an all-in-one hotel, restaurant, and bar. It’s somewhat spartan, but we merely slept there.

The Trophy Lodge, courtesy of canadaspecialist.nl

Fed, relaxed by an adult beverage, and rested by a good night’s sleep, we left the next morning heading south along the Delta River. Using our drones looked promising. Flying over the river created a bird’s eye potential composition of big to small, sinuous, watery lines leading to a mountain range in the background.

We pulled over at a promising location and launched our drones. After that, it was a matter of finding the right altitude and distance downriver. After a few “almosts,” I found my ideal spot in the sky.

In a perfect world, there would have been a blazing sunrise. But we rejoiced knowing that we were blessed to be able to witness such a breathtaking landscape.

Thanks for looking,

Chuck Derus Zenfolio | Chuck Derus