The southern coast of Alaska is a truly beautiful place, and so is north central Florida. Part of the reason I enjoyed my Alaskan trip so much was that it is very different from Florida. I think it’s human nature to admire the beauty of new places and sights. And I think that’s a good thing since it keeps life interesting and makes us want to get out and explore the world. One of the things that I found very striking in Alaska were the forests. Their woods are mainly either birches and willows or spruce and willows. Here our woods are made up of mainly oaks and pines. We went on several forays into the woods and each time I couldn’t help but admire the trees, their color, their smooth bark. In other words, all the things that make them different from what I’m used to. And of course, since I was enjoying the woods up there so much, I had to take more than my share of photos. It wasn’t until I began looking at these images and comparing them in my mind with some I’ve taken in Gothe State Forest, literally my own backyard, that I realized part of the reason I found the woods in Alaska so alluring.