Tundra. It has that austere reputation. Flora, flowers and fruits survive by standing out in this austerity. Colors of magenta, yellow, white. Carpeting the tundra. Peeking out of the barren rocks. These flowers are everywhere – adapted to the high arctic and alpine regions to shoot up and announce their presence in the brief snow free days of the Arctic summer.

When you first step out of the plane, dropped off with your gear, you are first struck by the enormity of the place. Then you look at your feet and flowers are everywhere. As I wandered across the outwash and in the middle of the recently deposited gravels, tiny dots of color announce their existence. Climbing up above the town of Resolute to the windswept ice shattered shales, in pockets there are White Mountain Avens.

Austere only in what you choose to look at. Abundant where you choose to look.