Up north. Just a few miles north of Kenai, north of Nikiski, off Halbouty Road, there is vegetation that absolutely dwarfs that nearer the Kenai River drainage basin. The land is much higher, more glaciated, hillier. This leads to better drainage of the soil, which retains fewer tannins from evergreens, which makes the soil less acidic. Among other factors. The cow parsnip down is well over 2m tall, the photo from beneath is me standing up pointing the camera upwards at it. The leaves on the other plants are much bigger than dinner plates, bigger than serving platters, even. And all this grows anew each short summer. Quite amazing, really. #nikiski #cowparsnips #alaskavegetation https://www.instagram.com/p/CRLgqbRBGvE/?utm_medium=tumblr