Niobe fritillary (Fabriciana niobe) butterfly on a yellow flower in our campsite in the Bridge Bay Campground at Yellowstone National Park.

Site 131, Loop C, Bridge Bay Campground, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Friday, 23 August 2019

part of the Yellowstone National Park album

Lake McDonald, valley and mountains from the Apgar Village boat ramp dock in Glacier National Park.

Apgar Loop, West Glacier, Montana: Monday, 02 September 2019

part of the Glacier National Park album

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When I first watched the excellent documentary Stephen Fry In America (2008) about a decade ago, I knew that whenever I got the chance to see Glacier National Park, I wanted to visit the spot where Fry has a conversation with geologist Daniel Faber. When plans to travel to the region materialized earlier this year, I determined the location seen in the documentary. On the thirteenth day of the trip, I finally made it to the Apgar Village boat ramp dock on Lake McDonald.

At a length of nearly ten miles and a maximum depth of 478 feet, Lake McDonald is the largest lake in the park. Its depth ensures that the water's temperature remains very cold for long periods of time, keeping at bay plankton and other life forms that would otherwise grow. The result is one visually stunning feature, crystal clear water permitting views of multicolored rocks lining the bottom of this glacially-carved lake.

Located at the lake's southern end in Apgar Village, West Glacier, the boat ramp dock offers spectacular views to the north of the Lake McDonald valley and the mountains of Livingston Range and Lewis Range. Prominent features include Mount Cannon and the Garden Wall, terrain through which the Going-To-The-Sun Road winds.

The Apgar Village boat ramp dock itself has been at this location for many years. Historic aerial imagery reveals that no dock was at this location until sometime between 1966 and 1991. A snapshot from 1991 shows a short dock installed, but this structure was replaced by 2003 with a dock approximately twice as long. I find it likely that this is the dock still in service today, although the ladder to the water was installed subsequent to Fry's visit in late 2007 or early 2008.

Just as I saw at Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska — documented in "The Short Time To Be There" — the namesakes of Glacier National Park are disappearing at an alarming rate. Over a decade ago, Faber told Fry something that I remembered in Alaska and that contributed to my wanting to visit this place.

"Essentially, our glaciers have gotten smaller and smaller and the rate at which they're getting smaller is accelerating," said Faber. "And we don't anticipate that we'll have any left by 2020 to 2030."

The Lake McDonald Valley "is the hub of activity on the west side of Glacier National Park" and the lake itself features numerous recreational activities. Fishing is permitted in the lake from the third Saturday in May through 30 November. Boating is also permitted from the second Saturday in May through 31 October, however numerous regulations are in effect to combat aquatic invasive species. For example, gasoline-powered watercraft with trailers are only allowed "after an inspection and after being quarantined for thirty days prior to launch."

Seventy-eight frames were shot for coverage of this location and its magnificent vista, several more of which may yet be published. Although impossible to capture completely the scope and grandeur of a scene such as this, I am generally pleased with the results. Knowing in the moment that the location was well-suited, three frames were shot with a post-production panorama in mind. Assembled using Hugin, the resultant image is best viewed at full-size and on a large display.

Upper Waterton Lake and mountains of the Canadian Rockies from outside the Prince Of Wales Hotel (1927) in Waterton Lakes National Park.

Alberta 5, Waterton Park, Alberta, Canada: Sunday, 01 September 2019

part of the Waterton Lakes National Park album

Mountains of the Teton Range and the iconic T. A. Moulton Barn (1910–1945), all that remains of the Thomas Alma and Lucille Moulton homestead in the Mormon Row Historic District at Grand Teton National Park.

Antelope Flats Road, Moose, Wyoming: Saturday, 24 August 2019

part of the Grand Teton National Park album

Wooden carving of a bear holding a fish at the "Welcome To Seward Alaska" sign between storefronts on Fourth Avenue.

214 Fourth Avenue, Seward, Alaska: Tuesday, 20 June 2017

part of the Alaska 2017: Seward album

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Following our lunch at Thorn's Showcase Lounge — documented in "The Sweet Sound That Calls The Young Sailors" — we walked around the surrounding downtown area and visited several of the shops there. Exiting Thorn's and heading north, we walked past the building next door to get to the "Welcome To Seward Alaska" sign between storefronts on Fourth Avenue. It currently features a wooden carving of a bear holding a fish. The bear replaced a statue of a man panning for gold sometime after Sunday, 14 July 2013 and before Thursday, 01 June 2017.

Continuing past one more storefront, we came to Urbach's Clothiers (pronounced er–backs) at 218 Fourth Avenue. Opened on Monday, 26 July 1915 by Leon Urbach (1885–1965) as a one-room shop on Fourth Avenue, Urbach's started as a clothier and general store offering items such as men's and women's clothing, shoes, groceries, furnishings, tools and stationary. He was hoping "to capitalize on a federal government plan to build a rail line from Fairbanks to Seward" selling goods to the "railroad workers, gold miners and adventurers streaming through the port town."

Leon Urbach relocated from Idaho to Seward sometime from 1900–1915 and worked at Seward Commercial Company until quitting in 1915 to open his own store. Urbach ran for mayor in 1917, "was first vice president of the Seward Chamber of Commerce" and served "as its president for more than twenty years." In 1919, Urbach married Dorothy Mizenheimer and the couple had two sons, Kenneth (1921–2003) and Lawrence "Larry" (1922–1999). Sadly, Dorothy's death due to pneumonia was reported on Wednesday, 06 December 1933.

During World War II, Leon Urbach served as chairman of the Territory of Alaska Selective Service Board. Perhaps apocryphal, it is said that "the first young man he called to the draft was his son Larry." Either way, Larry did serve two years in the Army and then attended the University of Washington in Seattle. For his service to the Selective Service Board, Leon was summoned to Washington, D.C. sometime from 1945–1953 and recognized by President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972). Leon would also remarry at some point to a woman called Stella.

Disaster struck the stores of Fourth Avenue in 1941 as a fire advanced down the street burning many of the buildings there. As the fire approached Urbach's, several locals came to help Leon save some merchandise from the inferno by moving it out. Leon was pleased by the gesture, but since these items were taken to people's homes, it was necessary to acquire new unused goods to sell at the rebuilt store. Fortunately, Leon's good credit allowed him to restock and restart the business in the same location.

Back in Seattle, son Larry was studying business administration when he met zoology major Dorothy Weil of Hillsboro, Oregon. The two married in June 1950 and continued to live in Seattle where Larry managed two shoe stores. They next moved to Dorothy's hometown of Hillsboro, where her family owned a department store. As Leon and Stella decided to retire and move to Santa Barbara, California in 1954, Larry returned to Seward with Dorothy to take over the family business.

Disaster again affected the store when the great magnitude 9.2 earthquake and tsunami of Friday, 27 March 1964 rocked Alaska. As the temblor began, Dorothy "was standing in front of the cash register because all the men were home sick that day," she said. "It sounded like a locomotive coming through the store. We lost light fixtures. Some of the posts holding the ceiling came down. The shoe shelves toppled over. We lost a lot of structure on the front of the store." After crawling over the debris to retrieve her keys and evacuate the store, Dorothy managed to drive home to Larry and their two daughters Robyn and Susan "Susie" before quickly moving to higher ground.

"The earthquake and ensuing tsunami claimed thirteen lives in Seward." Due to the destruction of the waterfront, the city also lost its title as commercial center of Alaska to Anchorage where the seaport was still intact. This obviously changed the economic situation for Seward and resulted in the permanent closure of many businesses there. Dorothy, "who calls herself a relentless optimist," never considered anything but rebuilding. "The earthquake set us back," she said, "but it also pushed us ahead twenty years because everything had to be rebuilt."

Like his father, Larry was president of the Seward Chamber of Commerce for many years. Dorothy "led the boards of the hospital, the library and the League of Women Voters" among others and "was the publicity chairman of the Seward Silver Salmon Derby" for thirty years. She ultimately took over the store following Larry's death in 1999. Daughter Susie, "who was working there as a part-time bookkeeper" was promoted to partner soon thereafter. Dorothy and Susie Urbach continue to operate the store today.

At the time of my visit six months and nineteen days ago, Urbach's was in operation for 101 years, ten months and twenty-five days. Outlasting "all its original neighbors" and "nearly all the businesses that defined early twentieth century Alaska," Urbach's is the oldest continually operating store in Seward.

In its current incarnation, the store features unique clothing lines including women's wear, scarves, hats, gloves and jewelry. Looking closely, one can see several vestiges from throughout the store's centennial-plus history. For example, a roll-top desk in the back office was originally used by Leon when he did the store's books and typed letters.

In addition, cash payments are still deposited into the store's 1908 National Cash Register Company brass and oak register with fifty-four keys and two drawers. "No one knows how long" this ornate cash register has been in the store, but it has been a long time. The register of course caught my attention as Mom made a purchase. The woman processing the transaction, possibly Dorothy herself, noticed my interest in the cash register and mentioned that it was still functional. I commented that it was lovely, took several photographs of it and then left to continue exploring Seward.

• Further Reading

• "At 100, Urbach's clothing store in Seward has lived through it all"
  by Jeannette Lee Falsey, Anchorage Daily News, Friday, 03 July 2015

• "Citizens of the Century: The Urbach Family"
  by Annette Shacklett, The Seward Phoenix LOG, Thursday, 07 January 2016

• "Selling Success in Seward, the First 100 Years"
  by Jason Aigeldinger, Seward City News, Wednesday, 25 February 2015

• "Urbach's: 100 Years of Positive Community Involvement and Great Clothes"
  by Bob Shafer, Seward Journal, Wednesday, 18 February 2015