Jan 26 2009
Tok, Alaska
The town of Tok (pronounced “toke”), lies along the Alaska Highway, in the southeast region of the last frontier. The current population of Tok is approximatley 1,400. In July, 1990, Tok faced extinction when a forest fire, caused by lightning, hit the town. All the residents were evacuated and even the efforts of over a thousand firefighters could not stop the fire. At the last minute, a “miracle wind” blew by, diverting the fire. Today, the town of Tok still stands.
My first time visiting Tok, was in May, 2008. I took this photo, during that visit. I had just finished up with dinner from the local diner, Fast Eddy’s, and was heading back to my hotel room. It wasn’t a far walk, being that Tok is a considerably small town and everything is remotely close to each other. As I was strolling along, I stopped dead in my tracks, and snapped this shot. I was taken back by the beauty of the sunset. It was like the sun was posing for me, in the midst of the trees.
This picture was taken at 11:30 p.m. It’s amazing how many hours of sunlight there are, during an Alaska summer. On this particular evening, even after the sun went to sleep, the sky still remained unobscured. There was no hope for a glimpse of the moon, or the chance to spot a shooting star. There were only remnants of what was daylight…and those remnants would remain until the sun awoke once again.
