Amalga Harbor, Alaska

All is calm. Christmas Eve

This isolated cove on 'the Last Frontier' is the least likely place you'd expect to find a Christmas tree decorated from head to toe with lights aglow. Amalga Harbor lies about 15 miles north of Juneau (one of the few coastal state capitals in the US) and shows that the public expression of Christmas cheer knows few limitations–and may include use of a small barge. This photograph was taken from nearby Ernest Gruening State Historical Park, which was named for the former governor of the Alaska Territory. Gruening led the territory from 1939 to 1953 before becoming one of the state's first US senators when Alaska became a state in 1959. After his political career ended, he and his wife lived in a cabin that was preserved as part of this historic site.