Autumn colors spice up a drive on the Kenai Peninsula

Updated: September 17, 2020 Published: September 17, 2020

A raft floats the Kenai River Sept. 15, 2020. The autumn colors are beginning to develop in some locations in Southcentral Alaska. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Temperatures are going down, so the colors are ramping up in Southcentral Alaska. Pockets of golden cottonwoods and bright yellow birches are starting to show on the hillsides and riverbanks. The fireweed has lost its magenta flowers, but the leaves have turned all sorts of reds.

Colorful leaves signal that autumn is in full swing Sept. 15, 2020. (Anne Raup / ADN)

The banks of Canyon Creek show the autumn colors Sept. 15, 2020. A pedestrian can walk across the old bridge that spans the creek by taking the path from the rest area on the east side of the creek. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Color of another sort has shown up on the moose sculpture outside of the Moose River Dental office in Sterling.

A moose is set for all occasions, as he is wearing a mask and safety orange Sept. 15, 2020. The adorned statue is outside of a Sterling business on the Kenai Peninsula. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Fields of fireweed stretch along the Sterling Highway near Homer Sept. 15, 2020. With the cooler temperatures, the fireweed turns to colors from rust to deep red. (Anne Raup / ADN)

The high bench of land near Turnagain Pass is turning to colors of autumn Sept. 15, 2020. In the distance are the Chugach Mountains. (Anne Raup / ADN)

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Anne Raup

Multimedia editor Anne Raup has been with ADN for 26 years, both as a staff shooter and an editor.