Final sunbeam of the season on the late night freight passing through Wasilla’s western flank?

The light was so sweet and beautiful when I arrived upon this scene off Mack Street between the Parks Highway and Menard Sports Center about 40 minutes earlier my heart could hardly bear to have my eyes look at it. Nice, elongated dapples of falling sunbeams filtered through the trees fell at angles across the track. The marsh abutting the pond glowed in gold. Long spruce shadows fell on the west (left) side of the marsh to point like spires toward the pond.

I wanted the north bound freight come right then and there but it was still early and I knew the odds were against it. There was a good chance the shadow would completely take over before the train arrived and my beautiful light would be gone altogether.

There was still a fading dapple or two when finally I heard the distant whistle over half an hour later and sent Sancho up. Sometimes, I don’t hear the whistle at all and the train just appears before I can put Sancho where I want him. Sometimes, 20 minutes can lapse between the first sound of the whistle and the appearance of train. This time I put Sancho right where I wanted him and then waited and watched. The dapples faded into dark shadow. So did the shadow spires on the marsh. By the time I heard the loud, close, whistle and the warning bell at the Mack Street railroad crossing begin to clang, dark shadows covered the entire foreground, tracks included.

“Oh well,” I thought, “next year.” I felt quite certain this would be last time this year the night freight, sunlight and myself had a chance at all of converging on this spot in sunlight. Yet, just a few yards above the tracks the sun still shone. It’d final beam of the day caught the yellow band across the locomotives in a beautiful glow. “Alaska!”