Travel Notes

Haines - Grizzlys, Orcas and More...

After spending the night in Haines Junction, we left on the morning of August 10 for Haines only 149 miles away.  There were high clouds that soon turned into overcast sky as we climbed into the mountains. We drove through a 20 kilometer section of gravel, where the road was undergoing improvement.  Our otherwise white truck and rig changed to a gravel grey. A popular color up here. 

We stopped in the Tlingit village of Klukshu.  No one was home.  I suspect they were away at fish camp, a common Tlingit activity at this time of the year. When it's time to fish, the whole family goes to fish camp.

 
As we climbed through the mountains we passed several large lakes.  Many had Trumpeter Swans.

 
Toward mid-day we pulled into the Haines Hitch-up RV Park, at the edge of Haines. 

 
Bearing in mind that Haines' population is less than 2,000, we could walk from the RV park west of town to the harbor east of Haines in less than fifteen minutes.  Not a large town.  Haines Hitch-up RV Park was a great choice.  Well laid out, all the sites are on grass and the park offers full hook ups.  Plus the only car/truck wash in Haines is just across the street, much needed after the drive down from Haines Junction.

This area was originally populated by Tlingit natives from Sitka.  According to their oral history, it seems a member of the Tlingit clan in Sitka had an inappropriate relationship with a wife of one of the clan elders.  As punishment he was banished from the settlement. Together with four nephews, he traveled up the coast and eventually found himself near what is today Haines.  They built a settlement along the Chilkat River, which provided them a source of abundant food with a variety of fish and meat and lots of berries from plants found in the area..

Descendents of the original Tlingit natives who moved to this area so many years ago continue to live along the banks of Chilkat in Klukwan and other villages.  One beautiful sunny afternoon we visited the Tlingits at Klukwan. Over the years the government has prohibited the celebration of native culture in Alaska.  However, in the 1970's the government reversed their policy and now encourages native culture.  The University of Alaska offers courses in carving and other skills used by the Tlingits, and their language is taught in local schools.  It is a difficult language with many nuanced tones in the throat combined with what sounds like clicks of the back of the tongue.  We had great difficulty trying to pronounce their words to the amusement of our Tlingit friends.

During our visit to Klukwan we had an opportunity to speak to carvers and visit a long house, the traditional dwelling of the Tlingits.  This multilevel structure housed up to 100 family members. When a family or clan reached 100, they built another long house.

 
Like other native art Tlingit art identifies the clan and tells a story.

 
Klukwan is in the middle of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, where the Bald Eagle festival is held in November.  We were told that between 3,000 and 5,000 Eagles are attracted to  Sockeye Salmon found there in the winter. Seeing that many Eagles must really be a sight.  We'll add it to our "bucket list". 

Eleven miles outside Haines up the Lutak Inlet is Chilkoot Lake. Just before the mouth of the lake is a weir used by Fish and Game to track fish movement.  The fish moving up the river to the lake at this time of the year attract both fisher folks and  bears.  We spent quite a bit of time near the weir photographing the bears.  Here is the set up.  The road runs along the left side of the inlet.  There is a heavily forested hill to the left and the narrow inlet, now really a river, to our right.  The bears come down from the forest on the left, cross the road and fish along the river. Sometimes.  There is one area set aside where folks are not allowed to park their vehicles or stand.  That is the area where the bears cross the road.  Sometimes. 

 

Even the cubs know how to read.

 

Other times, they simply wander down the road from the lake. 

 
Those bears who didn't read the memo come down from the forest where ever they please and cross the road.

 

Or just hang out on the road.  

 
 
 One afternoon I was setting my camera up on a tripod about 150 yards from the area the bears normally use to cross the road.  I looked over my shoulder and there was a Grizzly sow and two cubs maybe ten yards away.  She clearly didn't get the memo!  "Good afternoon Mum" I said in a voice a little higher pitched than usual.  "Nice afternoon for a stroll and a little fishing, eh."  You never know.  She just might have come across the border from Canada just over the hill.  I thought I would throw in a little "Canadian lingo" just in case.  They said you should address bears close by in a normal voice.  Might as well  be friendly.  I don't know about the normal voice, however. But she wasn't interested in idle chit chat with some dude who obviously was from Outside, or the Lower 48 as some Alaskans call the rest of the U.S. Off she went to the river.  My voice came back down to normal.

 
  
You can always tell the dudes from the lower 48 because they are so heavily dressed.  I mean, the temperature is a nice warm 50 degrees.  "Why do you need a sweater," I was asked. "Much nicer than that 70 degree heat wave we had the other day", they said.

We had a great time along the river watching both the fisher folks and the bears.  They seemed to co-exist rather well.  Here is a stylish fisher lady taking a photo from the middle of the river.  Where the bears are fishing.  Not the left pant leg.  I think this is a secret Canadian (she was from the Yukon) technique for attracting Salmon.

 

This fisherman has a different technique.  He drops his hook in the water and takes a snooze.  Judging from the Salmon next to him on the rock, it seems to work.

There were two Grizzly sows, one with two cubs and the other with three.  Here are the three cubs.

 
There was also an old Grizzly boar with white tipped hair.  I could identify with him.

 
So, what's the deal about brown bears and grizzly bears.  What are they anyway, Brown or Black or Grizzly?  There are three types of bears in North America.  Up north is the Polar Bear.  In Alaska and parts of Canada there are Grizzly Bears and Black Bears.  There are a few Grizzlys in the northern part of the Lower 48, and lots of Black Bears. The Black Bears are not always black but are smaller than a Grizzly. A Grizzly Bear is a sub-species of the Brown Bear.  So you can call them Grizzly or Brown. After the Polar Bear, the Grizzly is North America's second largest land carnivore. Inland, where Brown Bears have less access to food, they may way as little as 300 pounds. In coastal areas where the largest population is found, they may weigh as much as 1,200 pounds. In the Katmai National Park rich in nutrients for bears, their weight can exceed 1,500 pounds. Wow.  That's a lot of bear!

When standing on their hind legs, males can reach almost eight feet. And they can run up to 34 miles per hour. Hence the important safety tip.  If you are near bears, always make sure you can run faster than the person next to you because you will never outrun a bear.

This cub is practicing standing on his hind legs. Or peaking over the bushes at the Canadian fisher lady.  Not sure which.

This pair of cubs love to wrestle.  What a hoot.

Their colors of Brown Bears range from white to almost black, and many shades in between.

The characteristic hump between the shoulder blades of a Grizzly is a muscle mass used to  power the fore limbs for digging. 

Their forepaws have very long claws, "all the better to scratch your back, my dear."

Both Black and Grizzly Bears are often found along the river, fishing for Salmon, Trout and Bass.  Particularly when the Salmon are running, as is currently the case near Haines. This Salmon seems to be leaping for joy.  I wonder if it is celebrating escaping from the bears.

 
We were pleased to learn Grizzlies generally avoid confrontation with humans, although a sow with cubs can become very aggressive if she feels her cubs are threatened. On one or two occasions the sow we were photographing warned us if we got too close to her cubs. Bears have very poor eye sight but the sense of smell is excellent.  In this photo she seems to be checking out who is nearby, friend or foe...

For more photos of Grizzly Bears and their cubs, click on Grizzly Bears

One afternoon a Bald Eagle flew into a tree near the lake.  We had golden light which only comes early morning or late afternoon.  Photographing eagles in strong light is a challenge because of the contrast between dark brown feathers on the eagle's body and white head feathers. This soft  light provided perfect illumination of the eagle's head. I spent more than half an hour taking portrait shots.  This eagle was quite a poser.  I was hoping the eagle would take flight so I could get a photograph with her wings extended, but she had more patience I. 

 
 On the 16th we took a boat over to Juneau, a couple of hours from Haines.  We lucked out.  Although it had been raining for several days, the sun came out of the 16th and stayed out all day.

The early morning view of Haineswas gorgeous.

 
 
On the way down to Juneau we saw several Humpback Whales.

 
We saw several Humpbacks diving, displaying their tail on the way down.

 
We also passed a variety of birds, including many Bald Eagles, a variety of Gulls and Oyster Catchers with their long red bills.  However, because the largest lens I bought on this outing was a 70-200mm, I didn't have enough reach to get a good photo.

This Sea Otter was perched on a rock..  This is the first time we had seen a Sea Otter out of the water.

 
As we came close to this buoy, we saw that it was loaded with Sea Lions, two of whom were bickering.

 
Juneau, with a population of 34,000, is the capital city of Alaska. In the summer it is also  a very active port for Cruise ships.  On the day we were in Juneau there were five ships in port.

We had lunch at the Twisted Fish Restaurant on the wharf, and watched this ship dock just a few feet away. 

 
If you get to Juneau, the Twisted Fish is a fine place to eat.   We had salmon and crab wrapped in a puff pastry.  Outstanding.

 
In the afternoon we drove out to the Mendenhall Glacier, just outside Juneau.

 
As we left Juneau we passed the M/Y Blue Moon, which recently sold for $39.5 million, and the Timoneer.  The sailing yacht Timoneer was briefly docked in Valdez while we were there.  We googled both boats on the web.  Not a shabby way to travel, for sure.

 
During our run back up to Haines in the late afternoon we experienced one of the highlights of our trip.  A pod of Orca Whales, AKA Killer Whales, was swimming a couple of hundred yards off our starboard side. 

 
After about twelve minutes they started to close on our boat, and then passed to our port side immediately behind the boat, maybe ten or fifteen yards off our stern. 

 
It only took a few seconds for them to pass  by, but what excitement for those few seconds. 

 

The sun low in the sky and to our right made for interesting effects with the spray.

 
 
In the fourteen minutes we were watching them I took over 350 photos.   The Whales were quite a distance away for most of the photos but as they passed behind us we took several photos that are interesting. This was one moment I was pleased that I had the 70-200 lens.  The 500mm lens which I used on other boat trips would have been way too much lens given the close proximity of the Orcas.

For more Orca photos, click on Whales

After visiting Haines, we had planned to drive back up to Whitehorse and Watson Lake, and take the Cassiar Highway south.  This would have taken us near Hyder, where we hoped to photograph bears fishing in a nearby stream.  However, there has been a large wild fire along the Cassiar. The last time we checked it was over 50,000 acres and the road was closed.  Our options were to drive back down the Alaska Highway via Whitehorse or take a ferry along the inland passage.  To put this in perspective, the remaining distance between Haines and Nevada City was equivalent to the distance between Nevada City and New York, two thirds of it on two lane highways. We opted for the ferry.  We'll leave this evening on the M/V Columbia, arriving Friday morning in Bellingham.  As a postscript, an Alaska Park Ranger told me the other evening the bears were not fishing near Hyder this year.  No one seems to know why.  Our decision to take the ferry now sounds even better to us.  Let someone else drive for awhile.

As usual, it is raining today in Haines.  We've had a lot of rain this summer.  Alaskans tell us there has been more rain this year than in recent memory.  A nice aspect about rain is when you do have a sunny day it's WONDERFUL!  Plus rainy days have given us time in the rig to process photos and write our blog.  And sleep in.  All welcome on a long trip like this. We really haven't minded the rain at all.

We'll no doubt upload another post or two before we get home.  I'll take this opportunity to say that although we are looking forward to getting back to our family, friends and community, we have more than a little  feeling of sadness as we leave Alaska.  The beauty of the landscape, the excitement of seeing and photographing such a wide variety of wildlife and the friendly and interesting people of Alaska have made this an outstanding trip.  I hope this blog has helped you to enjoy the trip along with us, and perhaps creat a heightened level of interest to come up this way. It is a great place to spend a summer.

Valdez

On July 30th, Margie's birthday, we drove 116 miles down the Richardson Highway to Valdez.  As we turned off the Glenn Highway to the Richardson, the Wrangell Mountains were on our left.  This mountain range has twelve peaks above 10,000 feet, including Mount Blackburn which tops out at 16,390 feet. What a spectacular view!  Except the mountains were covered in clouds.  Further down the Richardson is the Copper River Valley and the Klutina River, an area we would like to visit some day.  Also along the Richardson is the Alaska Pipeline, carrying oil to the terminal in Valdez.

Not far from Valdez we passed the Worthington Glacier.

We noticed these posts along several highways.  This is near Thompson Pass.  The posts are used as a reference point for trucks clearing the snow from the highway. 

 
 
With a population of more than 4,300 hardy souls, Valdez  is located on the Port Valdez estuary in the Prince William Sound.  It is the furthest north ice free port in Alaska, with good access to the interior.  Like most ports in southeastern Alaska, Valdez has an active commercial fishing fleet and attracts sports fishermen throughout the summer when the fish are running. 

 

Valdez first became established during the Klondike gold rush in the late 1890's.  80,000 miners in search of gold went inland to the Klondike  through Skagway, via the White Pass and along the famous Chilkoot Trail.  Looking for an alternate route, 5,000 miners came though Valdez in 1898.  The only trail out of Valdez at that time was over the Valdez Glacier. They had to ferry their gear twenty miles up to the top of the glacier pulling a seven foot long wooden sled.  A typical miner carried 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of gear and supplies into the interior. Because the average load on the uphill climb was less than 150 pounds, miners spent weeks moving their gear over the glacier. Many died along the trail. When they got to the banks of the Klutina River, little or no gold was found although the area was later found to be rich in other minerals including copper.

In 1899 the Army cut a trail through Keystone Canyon just a few miles outside Valdez and over Thompson Pass that led to the first glacier-free land route from Valdez to the interior, avoiding the difficult climb over the Valdez Glacier. Although efforts to find gold in the Copper River area failed, with the trail through Keystone Canyon open Valdez became an important ice-free port for shipping goods into Alaska as well as shipping gold from the Klondike out of Alaska. The community prospered.

Unfortunately, locating the town at the mouth of the Vladez Glacier flood plain was a bad choice. The delta area on which the town was built was mainly composed of poorly consolidated silt, fine sand and gravel. The epicenter of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake was only 46 miles from Valdez.  The seismic vibration during the earthquake liquefied the soil, causing a rapid displacement of an estimated 96 million cubic feet of soil right in Valdez. The ground around the town dropped nine feet and shifted sideways thirty feet, and caused a mini Tsunami that tossed the SS Chena, which has just tied up at the dock, upwards high enough that the engine screws were exposed.  The waves dropped the Chena on to the beach.  A subsequent wave picked  the Chena up and dropped her back into the bay.  The tanks in the Standard Oil facility nearby ruptured and caught fire. The combination of the oil tank fire and the mini-Tsunami resulted in 32 deaths in Valdez, mostly people who were near the dock area or at the Standard Oil facility.

After the earthquake, the town was relocated four miles away where the ground provided a more solid foundation.  Sixty houses were loaded onto this trailer, built for this purpose, and carried to the new Valdez. 

 
The remaining houses were set on fire and burned.  Today, only a few concrete slab foundations and the now rotted pilings of the old pier remain.

In 1977 the 800 mile Alaska pipeline was completed, to carry oil from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to the terminal in Valdez, where it was loaded onto tankers.  It was outside Valdez, in the Prince William Sound, where the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in March 1989, causing an 11 million gallon oil spill.   

Because a number of wildlife species in the Prince William Sound have been in decline since the 1960's, it has been difficult to identify the long term impact of the spill on local species.   Although many during our visit spoke about the Good Friday Earthquake and there is a museum with a  model of Old Valdez and many displays about the earthquake, we saw nothing about the oil spill.  The skeptic in me wonders if this is because more than 80% of the state budget is funded by oil revenues. For sure oil plays a very important role in the Alaskan economy.

New regulations approved by the Alaskan legislature following the oil spill limits the size of tankers that can use the Valdez terminal, and effective this year only double hulled tankers may enter the Port of Valdez.  Also, the law requires that two tugs accompany any tanker entering the estuary.  The second tug serves as a backup incase the first tug has a failure. If you look closely, near the port bow of the tanker is an armed Coast Guard patrol boat.  As they passed us the patrol boat pulled into the lead and led the parade down the estuary.

 

We parked our rig at the Bear Paw RV Park, across the street from the harbor.  This is a great location and the park is well organized.  We particularly liked being able to pop across the street to see what's going on in the harbor.

Like other towns along the coast that we have visited on this trip, Valdez is a great place for sea kyakking.

Gulls gather around the fish cleaning stations on the wharf and have a feeding frenzy whenever fish remains are tossed out.

They really get into it.

  
 
One day we went out on the Lu-Lu Belle to the Columbia Glacier. 

We headed down the gang plank.

 

And boarded the Lu-Lu Belle. 

 
Immediately after leaving the harbor we came across a large number of Sea Otters.  These two, in particular, caught my attention.

Photos of other Sea Otters we saw along the way, including a mother and pup near the glacier, can be viewed by clicking Sea Otters
 

Further along the shoreline, the Captain nosed the Lu-Lu Belle into a rock outcropping where there was a Horned Puffin waiting to greet us. 

We also saw  Puffins in the water.  This is a Tufted Puffin.

Of course you can't go out on the water along this part of the Alaskan coast without spotting a whale. Here a Humpback whale. I suspect it is a cow, with a calf to her right.

 
And down she goes.

And we saw Steller seals along the way.

 

We also passed Bligh Reef, where the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989.  In case you are wondering, this is Captain Bligh of the Bounty, although when the reef was named after him he was a young officer. Our Captain told us the Exxon Valdez was "only" six miles off course when she hit the reef.

Margie braving the chilly air with her trusty camera at the ready.

And Fred relaxing, knowing Margie will get the shot.

 
 
Boats cannot get closer than eight miles to the Glacier because of ice flows, so we were not able to see any calving, as we did on the Aialik Glacier near Seward. The boat trip into the bay and among the icebergs near the glacier was interesting.

The Lu-Lu Belle slowly worked her way through the ice bergs.

 

Despite the cool weather we enjoyed our outing on the Lu-Lu Belle.

Just outside Valdez is a wetlands area.  There were quite a few Mallard ducks in the pond.  We spent a couple of hours watching and photographing the Mallards.

To see more photos of these beautiful ducks click on Mallards
 

On the far side of the inlet is Allison Point, where the Oil Terminal is located.  Near the Oil Terminal is a fish hatchery. The abundance of fish this time of year attract both Grizzly and Black Bears in search of food.

Along the road we photographed this Grizzly sow with her three cubs.  As soon as we started taking photos they disappeared into the trees.

 
This little guy had a difficult time getting up the bank, but he finally made it.

 
Further along the road we came to a wetlands area that was full of salmon...

 
and a young Black Bear who seemed to be having a great time chasing and eating the fish. He doesn't look like he is lacking food.

For more photos of Grizzly and Black Bears click on Bears

Near the hatchery we watched a pair of eagles building a nest high up into the trees.  They made several trips to bring branches and other materials for the nest. 

 

For more Bald Eagle photos click on Bald Eagles 

The gulls are always fun to watch.

 

How about a little surfing with a Bonaparte Gull?

 
As a final comment, if you visit Valdez put The Magpie Bakery on your list of places to visit.  In fact, go daily.  They have a small but excellent selection of pastries and other baked goods. As the selection changes from day to day, it's important to visit each day. It's your civic duty to do so! Based on our research of Bakery's across Alaska, we would rate The Magpie among the top three.

After a wonderful six days in Valdez, we headed for Haines.  And more bears. And Eagles. Hope to see you in Haines.  If not, we're bound to see you somewhere else down the road.

 

Along the Glenn Highway

After getting the rig's wheels realigned in Anchorage and picking up new tires for the truck in Wasilla we drove up the Glenn Highway on the first leg of our trip to Valdez.  Two of the wheels on the fifth wheel were out of alignment, one on each side.   The tires on the truck had also taken a beating.  Given the lack of repair facilities between Wasilla and Prince George in British Columbia, we decided to replace the tires on the truck and start home with a new set.

The first night we stopped at Glacier View RV Park, near the Matanuska Glacier.  This was a good choice.  Easy in, good facilities and a decent restaurant.  After parking the rig we drove back down the highway to the glacier.  Access to the glacier was across this bridge and through private property, for a small fee.   

 
The Matanuska Gracier is 24 miles long and 4 miles wide at the terminus.  It sits on a valley floor, a little different than the alpine glaciers we had seen elsewhere on this trip.

 
We drove to a parking lot near the terminus and hiked out on the moraine. Although the moraine is part of the glacier, the ice isn't always easy to see because of the large amount of sand, rocks and boulders kicked out by the glacier.

Margie doing a balancing act.

Just kidding...

From the end of the trail we could see hikers on the glacier.

Driving back from the glacier we came across these white seeds pods along the Matanuska River. 

 
One of the rangers told us they were seed pods for Mountain Avens, a flower found in alpine areas including Alaska. Initially the pod looks like a dunce cap, round and pointed at the top.  When it opens, it looks like a cotton ball from a distance until you get close enough to see the delicate construct of the pod.

 
Along the highway we noticed coloration on the hillsides.  We found out it was stained gypsum.  Although gypsum is usually clear to white, this gypsum has been stained by small amounts of iron oxide.  The same hydrothermal system that created the gypsum also rusted the iron underground by exposing it to hot water and sulfuric acid.

 
Dall sheep are attracted to this area because of the gypsum, which they use as a lick to get needed minerals including calcium, magnesium, sodium and sulfur salts.  Although this area is known as Sheep Mountain, we didn't see any sheep.  I guess they were on the other side of the mountain.

The following day we drove to Tolsona Wilderness Campground, near Glennallen.  This interesting park is built along the Tolsona Creek.  Every campsite is on the creek. 

This magpie is wondering if birds have to register....

 
In the forest nearby is a mud spring.  In the afternoon we celebrated Margie's birthday by hiking to the spring. 

 
The hike took about an hour each way.  It was hard slogging because the trail went through an area of muskeg.

 
Muskeg is acidic soil common in Arctic and boreal areas.  The term muskeg is of Cree origin and is synonymous with bogland.  Muskeg normally has a water table close to the surface.  On this hike we frequently sunk into mud and water.

 
Muskeg forms because underneath the permafrost, clay or bedrock prevents water drainage.

 
It's difficult for large trees to develop a root system in Muskeg, causing stunted growth in the trees that grow there. We passed through areas that had a large number of trees that had been uprooted.

This fine looking squirrel wondered what we were doing in his forest.

 

This part of Alaska is at the northern edge of the termperate zone.  Long hours of summer sun and ample rain produces wonderfully rich forest ground cover, with a variety of plants.  Fred got up close to get these photos.  Anything for a photo!

 
Here are a couple of plants we found on the forest floor.  We've checked with several park rangers to find out what they are, but so far haven't been able to identify them.  We wonder if this is some sort of a lichen. Using the blade of grass, you can get a feel for just how small this plant is. And why Fred had to get on his belly with a macro lens to get the photo.

 
Here is another.

 
We also came across a variety of mushrooms.

We found this mushroom particularly interesting.

 

 We also went through an area covered with Willows, a favorite of moose.  We saw lots of Moose tracks, but no Moose.

In fact since leaving Denali we've only seen two or three Moose.  Here is one we photographed along the Glenn Highway, near this campground.

 
At the top of the hill we found the mud spring.

 
 Near the spring we found tracks from a large moose and bear. The cold, salty water flows all winter and provides an important source of salt for wildlife.

We think this is a bear track.  A big bear track. We could not get close enough to put a lens cap or other object next to it, as we normally do, to demonstarate the size.  But it was big. Take Margie's word for it.

 
 Here is a Moose track.

 
The gas bubbling up in the mud pond is 55.2% methane and comes from coal beds in Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic formations underlying the central Copper River basin.  As bubbles travel up through the earth to the surface, they pick up and carry fine particles of silt which over time have formed the hill from which the springs emerge.  

 

Double, double, toil and trouble...or something like that.

 
 In the evening we sat around the campfire and recovered from our afternoon on the Muskeg. We decided slogging through bogs is not for whimps!

 
The following day we headed for Valdez.

WHOOPS...I ALMOST FORGOT THE RIG!  SEE YOU IN VALDEZ.  
 

Cooper Landing & The Skilak Road

On July 22nd we left Soldotna, driving 53 miles down the Sterling highway to Cooper Landing.  Located at the confluence of Kenai Lake and Kenai River, Cooper Landing has a population of less than 400.  This was initially a mining community. Gold was first found here in 1848 by a Russian engineer working in the area. Joseph Cooper, for whom the town is named, later found gold in 1884.  Today, most businesses in Cooper Landing support sport fishing on the Kenai and Russian River.

 
We stayed at an RV park run by the Kenai Princess Lodge.  This is a great little RV park.  Directly behind our rig was a kennel of huskies, three adults and three very young pups. What a hoot!

In the evening we sat on the bank of the Kenai River to watch Mergansers float by.

 
 
On the other side of the river a fisherman caught a good looking salmon.

 
  
Later in the evening we walked in the forest near the RV park. We came across a couple of trees with large burls.  Burls are found throughout Alaska on Birch,  Spruce and other trees. They begin life as a gall, a small tumor caused by fungi, insects or bacteria.  Only a slight irritation can cause a gall.  The gall grows to become a burl.  Once started, the burl grows with the tree.  Burls are used to make furniture and are incorporated into houses, used as a column on a porch or entryway.

 

The following day it rained heavily until late afternoon, so we slept in and got caught up on chores inside the rig, including processing photos from Ninilchik.

We had been told by a Ranger at the nearby Kenai Wildlife Refuge that Skilak Road was worth exploring for wildlife.  The next morning we headed out early.  We never know when we go down a dirt road what we'll see.  Sometimes it's interesting while other times it is just a bumpy, dusty ride.  As soon as we turned off Sterling Highway onto the Skilak Road, we saw a Snow Shoe Hare. 

Then we saw an Ermine, small and sleek, run across the road.  This time of year they are dark brown.  In the winter, their coats turn a beautiful white and are much sought after for women's coats and stoles, as in "ermine and pearls." We saw quite a few Ermines over the course of the next two days. All ran too fast to get a photo.

Soon we saw a Grouse supervising the whole family crossing the road.  What a hoot.  Some flew across the road.  Others scampered across as though the devil himself were chasing them.  When all were safely across the road and into the forest, the adult also disappeared. Because it all happened very quickly, we only were able to photograph the adult, just before she disappeared.

A couple of miles down the road we came to a High Bush Cranberry bush, full of bright red berries.  Just the sort of bush to attract birds.  We parked our truck and set up our cameras.  Soon,  this little guy appeared. We bellieve it's a Warbler, but are not sure if it's a Yellow Warbler.  Or maybe a Wilson Warbler.  What complicates the ID is he is very young. Any thoughts? 

 

We also saw this Yellow Rumped Warbler.

Then, this juvenile Robin landed on a branch in front of us.

This bird flew in just before we left. Perhaps a Swainson's Thrush?

 

Meanwhile, just up the road a Coyote took great interest in what we were doing before disappearing into the forest. He looks a little hungry.

As we approached Hidden Creek, we stopped to speak to a couple of folks who were standing on the road near a culvert that ran under the road. They explained there was a Grizzly  in the culvert.  Looking at the creek, we saw a number of Salmon swimming close to the mouth of the culvert.

I had been photographing birds with a 500mm lens.  Margie had a 400mm lens on her camera.  Both too much lens for photographing a Grizzly at close range.  Before we could change our lenses,  a Grizzly appeared in the river just below. 

We took a couple of photos before the bear disappeared back into the culvert. 

 I changed to a 70-200 mm lens just as the Grizzly appeared on the other side of the culvert, heading up river. 

The bear didn't hang around for long, but we managed to get a couple of photos.  Most of them were butt shots, since the bear was heading upstream away from us.

We continued on down Skilak Road to Rock Lake, where we saw a pair of Pacific Loons.

 

 

 While we were setting up our cameras to take photos of the Loones, we noticed two tiny chicks nearby sitting on a warm rock enjoying the sun.  We were able to photograph both the parents and chicks for over half an hour.

These are very young chicks. What a great way  for them to spend a warm summer morning.

There were a number of ponds and lakes along Skilak Road.

 

If you look carefully, in the tiny inlet to the right are two swans. They were so far away that even with a 600mm lens they are hard to see.

 

Further up the road we wandered into a Birch forest.  Soft underfoot, the ground was damp but not boggy. It was quite beautiful. 

 

It really was an amazing morning. 

The next day we got up even earlier and headed back to Skilak Road.  Much to our disappointment, there were no Salmon in Hidden Creek.  No Salmon, no bears! In fact, the second day we saw very little in the way of wildlife along Skilak Road that had been so busy the day before. A local guide explained that the Salmon run in batches.  We had been fortunate the day before to be near Hidden Creek just when a batch went up the river.  And if there are fish, there are also likely to be bears.  She also mentioned the next batch of Salmon were just down the road near Sterling, and were expected to get to Hidden Creek and Hidden Lake in about two days. It must be the luck of the Irish!

Remember Tern Lake?  We posted a series of photos of Arctic Terns several days ago taken on July 11th.  After striking out on Skilak Road, we thought we would go back to Tern Lake, just up the road from Cooper Landing.  Although the obligatory Loon was still sitting on her nest, not a single Tern could be seen! We knew it was nearing the end of the season for them on the lake.  Time to start heading south, to the southern end of South America and the Antarctic. But we were surprised to find they were all gone.

Cooper Landing is our last stop on the Kenai Peninsula.  We spent twenty days on the Peninsula.  We felt that we barely scratched the surface, and could easily have spent two months or more. Lots to see for sure.

Next we go to Anchorage to get the rig's wheels realigned on Monday and to Wasilla on Tuesday to pick up new tires for the Ford before heading up the Glenn Highway heading toward Valdez.  

Dipnetting on the Kenai River

On July 17th we drove 76 miles to Soldotna.  We parked at the Diamond M Ranch RV Park, halfway between Soldotna and Kenai on Kalifornski Beach Road.  It turned out to be an excellent choice. 

Our first stop in Soldotna was "The Moose Is Loose,' a bakery recommended by my good friend Wayne.  He had also recommended "Two Sisters Bakery" in Homer. They serve outstanding apple fritters. There goes our diet!

This sign in front of The Moose is Loose reflects their great sense of humor.

 
 
The next day we visited the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai. The original church was built in 1846 by a Russian monk, Father Nicholai.  The current church was built fifty years later.

 
Religious Icons housed in the church were moved to Kenai's Visitor Center for the summer while the church is undergoing reconstruction.  The walls in the church are starting to bow out and need to be reinforced.

This is one of the most attractive Russian Orthodox Churches on the Kenai Peninsula.

 
 
Near the church is the St. Nicholas Chapel, built in 1906 as a memorial to Father Nicholai. The Chapel was built on top of Father Nichcholai's grave.

 
In addition to commercial fishing and fishing with a rod and reel, Alaskans fish with a dipnet.  Called the great Alaskan equalizer, only Alaskans are allowed to use a dipnet. 

 
With a net a maximum of five feet wide, the fisherman (or woman) wades into the surf and holds the net sideways until they feel a fish swimming into the net.  Then they twist the net, trapping the fish.

 
The head of household is allowed to catch a maximum of twenty five fish plus ten per each family member "in sight".  You grab your net and wade out into the surf, and wait for a tug.

 

The whole family heads for the beach during mid-summer's dipnetting season. 

 The objective is to help Alaskans to fill their freezers with fish for the long winter. 30,000 dipnetting permits were issued last year to fishermen who caught 339,993 sockeye salmon.

 
Some family members have something other than fishing in mind when they go to the beach.  This young lad got sucked into the mud. 

 
His friend pulled him out and suggested he stay away from the mud.

 
Whoops.  Here he goes again.

 "
"I can get out by myself! I know I can..."

 
His family caught a fish.  His job is to give the fish a good wack so it doesn't get away!  And stay out of the mud.

While at the Diamond M we worked with an rv repairman on our electrical system.  We lost power in some of our outlets way back in Anchorage on July 3rd.  The only RV repairman we could find on the Kenai lived in Soldotna, so we waited until we got to Soldotna to get it worked on.  Ten hours later...problem solved.  One of the wires leading to a breaker switch had a slit in it.  It probably happened when the rig was manufactured in 2007.  It took 27,000 miles of bouncing around to short out. 

With our electrical problem fixed, on July 22nd we headed for Cooper Landing.
  

 

 

Homer...Eagles, etc.

We heard there were moose and other wildlife to be seen early in the morning out on East Hill Road.  This road climbs a ridge north of Homer, with great views of Homer and the mountains surrounding Kachemak Bay. We got up early the day after our trip to Ninilchik to see if we could find any wildlife.  We struck out on the wildlife, but the view of Homer and the bay was terrific.

 

On the way into Homer we saw this Mallard floating near the road on Beluga Bay.  It seemed comfortable with our taking photos close up. 

Ducks are often skittish. This one ignored us.

This is my favorite bird.  This Alaska Air National Guard C-130 practiced landings most of the day at Homer's airport.

  

Nearby we found a Bald Eagle's nest.

  

Of course a Bald Eagle isn't really bald.  One of the characteristics of this great bird is a head of white hair.  The name "Bald" is derived from piebald, used to describe an animal with unpigmented hair.

 

The size of bald eagles varies by location, with the largest found in Alaska.  Weighing up to 17 pounds, the female weighs 15% more than the male.   Their extra weight and feathers are used to keep their chicks warm.

As with most raptors, the female is dominant.  Although they usually mate for life, if the pair doesn't produce any eggs after three years, the female may look for another mate.

Bald Eagles have 7,000 feathers, and can lift up to four pounds in weight.

Their nest is used for many years.  Each year the adults will add to it.  Overtime, the nest can grow to eight feet wide and may weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.

While they produce from one to three eggs, it is unusual for all three chicks to survive.

 

This young chick is exercising what one day will be a set of wings.

 Although his wings are beginning to develop, he is still a few weeks away from his first flight.

  

One of the two chicks we observed looked very frail.

Young eagles have insatiable appetites.  They add a pound of weight every four or five days.

The female eagle aggressively protect their young against predators, but may not step in if one chick kills its sibling.

 
In the 1950's the Bald Eagle was close to extinction.  The principle threat came from DDT, which interfered with calcium metabolism.  The eagles were not able to lay healthy eggs with shells strong enough to withstand the weight of the brooding adult.  Bald Eagles were taken off the endangered list in 2007. Close to half of the world's Bald Eagle population are found in Alaska. 

The following day we spent an afternoon on the Beluga Slough, near our RV park.  On our way to the slough we found Two Sisters Bakery.  A great place to stop in for a latte or a chai and pastry.

At the slough the head of a Sandhill Crane popped up near us.

 

We saw three pairs of Sandhill Cranes.  One pair was quite close to us, with a juvenile in tow.

 

In the winter adult cranes are largely grey in color. The cranes we saw in the slough were covered in reddish brown feathers.  It was explained to us that during the spring and summer months they preen themselves in the mud, which has a high iron content.  This provides the change in color which rubs off by the time the cranes head south in the fall.

Also in the slough we saw a family of Northern Pintails.

Belted Kingfishers are common up here. This was the first we had seen.

As a fitting end to our two afternoons on the slough, Whimbrels flew overhead.

 
 
 After a great six days in Homer, we are headed for Kenai and Soldotna.

Homer..A Visit To Ninilchik

After spending an hour or so photographing Arctic Terns at Tern Lake, we continued our drive to Homer 131 miles down the road.  We soon started to see Mount Redoubt in the distance, one of four volcanoes on the far side of the Cook Inlet.

Thirty miles or so from Homer we drove through Ninilchik.  This tiny little town has an interesting Russian Orthodox Church just off the road which we will visit tomorrow.

We pulled into the Ocean View RV Park early afternoon.  This RV park sits on a bluff overlooking the Cook Inlet. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

After getting the rig parked and hooked up, we took a walk on the beach.

We found this shelter built for beach parties.

As the tide went out there were a lot of people walking (and riding) along the beach.

This image, taken with a very wide angle 15mm lens, provides a different perspective.

We explored the tide pools.

Here is a close up of barnacles on one of the rocks. 

Later we walked into Homer.  While Seward is very much a fisherman's town, Homer has attracted many artists as well as fishermen.

There are many interesting restaurants and art galleries on Pioneer Street.

Reflections "in a golden eye?"

The following morning we left early for Ninilchik Village to catch the early morning light at the church we had seen the day before.

Ninilchik was established at the turn of the 19th century at the mouth of the Ninilchik River by "creoles, Russians, Aleuts, and Indians," according to a sign at the entrance to Ninilchik.  Russian fur traders first came to Alaska in the early 1700's seeking a variety of furs including sea otter, black and other foxes and fur seals.  Early Russian Orthodox missionary work began in the late 1700's, with the first priests arriving in the 1840's.

In 1847 a Russian Orthodox missionary, Grigorii Kavasnikoff and his family moved to Ninilchik.

Although Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, the descendents of the Kavasnikoff family remained in Alaska and today number more than 3,000. 

On a bluff above the old village is the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1901. 

 

This church continues to serve as a house of worship for the Russian Orthodox Community.

 
  
In the church cemetary is a simple memorial to both American and Russian veterans of all wars.

 
 
 Not to be confused with the descendents of the early Russian missionaries are several communities along the Kenai coast of Russian Orthodox Old Believers. Members of this reclusive religious group came to Alaska in the 1960's via Brazil and Oregon.  There are between two and three thousand Old Believers living in the southwest corner of the Kenai.   We often saw them on the streets as well as in stores and restaurants in Homer.  The women wear ankle length dresses and traditional headwear.  The men have long beards and wear traditional Russian collarless shirts.  They continue to speak Russian amongst themselves.

In the mid-1600's the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Nikon enforced reforms in church rituals and beliefs  which were not accepted by all, leading to the Great Schism in the Russian Orthodox Church.  The Old Believers held to the old ways.  They rejected what they saw as a growing western influence in their church.  To avoid persecution and torture they fled Russia. Eventually their journey brought them to Alaska, which in many ways closely resembles their homeland.  They live in small villages along the coast and are active in commercial fishing.

Out of respect for their wishes we took no pictures of the Old Believers we met in Homer.

On the bluffs near Ninilchik we saw several interesting homes.

At first we thought this was a light house.  After taking a closer look we realized it is a private home with a watch tower.

Nearby is another house which seems to have three levels of  watch towers.  I wonder what was going through the owner's mind when he built this house.

  
 
Along the highway near Ninilchik we saw a large field with a trail leading to a bluff overlooking the beach.

Grabbing our telephoto lenses, we headed across the field to see what we could photograph.

 

Below we saw dozens of people digging for clams.

In addition to salmon fishing, the coast of the Kenai Peninsula is famous for  razor clams. These clams are found on sandy tidal beaches from the Bering Sea to Southern California.  Of the eight known concentrations of razor clams along the Pacific Coast, four are on the Kenai Peninsula between Homer and the Kasilof River, including this beach near Ninilchik.  Each year 1.2 million razor clams are dug up from the Kenai beaches.

It doesn't take a lot of equipment;  a good pair of rubber boots, preferably hip boots,  a clam shovel or a clamming tube and a bucket. 

You have to work quickly.  A razor clam can dig an inch a second, so digging fast is important.  And you need to keep an eye on the tides so you don't get overrun by an incoming tide.

It's hard, dirty work.

But the results are rewarding.  Each clam digger can take home up to 60 razor clams each day. This couple has a good start on filling their quota for the day.

We also saw eagles riding the air currents above the beach, looking for food.

 

This juvenile Bald Eagle flew quite close to us on the bluff.

While below, just off the beach, three seals sat on a rock and watched all the action, seemingly with amusement.

We were told in Homer there is a Bald Eagle's nest across the street from MacDonalds, with two chicks. Tomorrow we'll see if we can find it.
 
 
 

Tern Lake

Driving from Seward to Homer on July 11th we stopped for a few minutes at Tern Lake and ended up staying more than an hour.  Nestled in the Kenai Mountains, Tern Lake offers views of a variety of birds and other wildlife in a spectacular setting.

Rumor has it that state law in Alaska requires that every lake have a resident Common Loon. In fact, I have it on good authority the Governor has appointed a Loon Patrol, called "Loonies" to make sure the law is enforced.

Here is the obligatory Loon for Tern Lake.

Of course, the Arctic Terns are the star attraction at Tern Lake. I started taking photos of the Terns with a 400mm lens.  Because they are so thin and move so quickly, I had difficulty getting them in focus. I switched to a 600mm lens, with better results.

I offer the following photos without comment.  They speak for themselves.

 

Just before we left a family of Green-Winged Teals passed by.

Shortly after leaving Tern Lake Margie spotted this Canada Goose and three goslings waiting to cross the highway.

On to Homer...
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kenai Fjord National Park

On Friday after several cold, rainy and windy days the skies cleared and the sun came out.  It was a glorious day to visit the Kenai Fjords National Park.  We had two options, both nine hour trips.  The first was to go on a 95 foot boat with a capacity for 150 passengers.  The second choice is a 53 foot boat with a capacity of 16 passengers.  We took the latter.  We could have also taken a four hour trip, but we rejected that out of hand.

After discussing the groups interests with Captain Sherry  of the Misty and First Mate Orion, we departed around nine in the morning.  With this particular cruise the Captain has the flexibilty of routing our trip to meet the interests of the 16 passengers.  In addition to seeing one of the Glaciers, most of us were interested in seeing whales and Puffins. And anything else that flys or swims!

Taking photos from the back of a small boat is a challenge.  Both the boat and the subject are moving in different directions. Plus the boat is bobbing up and down in the surf while the deck is getting soaked with the spray from the waves.  What a hoot.   

There were fishing boats  and sight seeing boats of all shapes and sizes on the bay.

 

We saw several Mountain Goats on the slopes high above the bay. Tricky footing. This first photo demostrates just how steep the the cliffs are.

We watched the goats move quickly across the face of the mountain with strong footing and a sense of balance.  Not a good spot for anyone with acrophobia!  I wonder if goats ever get acrophobia?

Here is a nanny goat with one of her kids.

 
 
 We also saw a number of Bald Eagles nesting high up on the mountain side.

Mid morning we transited Spire Cove. The combination of water, rock and forest is beautiful.

 

Enroute, we saw several humpbacked whales. We stopped each time to watch them perform.

In the morning we didn't see much more than whales surfacing, exhaling air through their blow holes.

Here is a photo Margie took of a cloud of mist and water left behind after the whale dove below the surface.

In the afternoon the whales were more lively, leaping into the air after surfacing from their dive.

Margie got the shot of the day with this humpback leaping out of the water.  Like salmon climbing a fish ladder, timing is every thing with this image. 

Here is a final wave goodby. 

 

I was amazed to see this tiny boat near one of the whales.  I wonder if a whale ever tries to capsize a boat like this?

As the sky becomes overcast, the reflected light on the water also turns gray.  Bright blue in the morning  with full sun and gray and overcast in the afternoon.

Here is a family of Surf Scoters.

And a Common Murre.  Depending on the angle, it looks almost like a Penguin.

And here is a Pidgeon Guillemont.

Three Red Faced Cormorants and Gulls

Here is a Peal's Peregrine Falcon. The Falcon just captured a Common Murre on the water. A Gull is flying overhead in attendence.

With this closeup that Margie took, it is easier to make out the shape of the Common Murre.

Here is a Sea Otter enjoying the warm summer sun.  We will later see hundred's of Sea Otters off the beach at Homer.

Here are more Cormorants, at their rookerie.

The Horned Puffins in their nests were sometimes hard to spot in the grass.

In rocky habitat the Puffins are easier to spot.

This little  Puffin seems to be waiting for the throngs to gather so he can make a speech.  I wonder if he uses a teleprompter.

Here is a  Puffin in flight.

We saw several groups of Steller Seals.  Unlike other seals, they have developed the capacity to climb on rocks. For reasons not yet understood the population of Steller Seals is currently 20% of what it was in 1960.

Here is a Common Murre rookerie.  Don't they remind you of Penguins?  Not even a little?

A Common Murre in flight. 

Here is a real find.  A pair of Parakeet Auklets. Very rare in this area.

 

 

Margie took this photo of a Parakeet Auklet.

 

As we drew closer to the glacier the landscape began to change. 

 
In the distance we saw icebergs.

We began to see ice in the water.

Our Captain placed us right in front of this 500 foot tall glacier.

Margie took a series of photos of the glacier calving.

 

 

 

Looking back on the Aialik Glacier we took in the majesty of the Kenai Fjords.

 

To finish off a very interesting day, on our way back to port we raced three Porpoises for fifteen or twenty minutes.  Running at nine or ten knots, the Porpoises criss crossed just in front of the ship's bow.  Standing on the bow I took these photos of the Porpoise just a few feet away. With the lens I was using they  filled the frame.

 

 

At the end of the day Margie still had a smile on her face. Wonder what she knows that I don't know. 

It was a great outing.  We are looking forward to similar trips in Haines and Valdez in the coming weeks. But first, we are going to Homer and Soldotna to see the other coast on the Kenai Peninsula.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Seward, Ak

On July 5th we left Anchorage for Seward, 122 miles away on the Kenai Peninsula.  Traffic in Anchorage was light on this holiday Monday, although once we were on the Seward highway holiday traffic returning to Anchorage from the Peninsula was steady.  Shortly after leaving Anchorage the Seward highway runs along the north shore of the Turnagain Arm for the first  47 miles. 

The wind was strong with gusts up to 40 miles per hour and there were rain squalls in the distance.  The surrounding snow capped mountains moved in and out of view.

I parked the truck along the road to take a quick look at the view. With the wind I didn't stay out very long.

 
 
 The tide was out, revealing mud flats with interesting patterns shaped by the waves. There was a warning to not walk in this area because of the "quicksand" nature of the soil. It looks like if you tried to walk on it, with one giant sucking sound you would disappear!

 

We saw stands of dead trees along the road.  The 1964 Good Friday earthquake caused the land to sink eight feet in this area.  Spruce trees had their root system invaded by salt water when a Tsunami hit the Alaskan coast following the earthquake.

We arrived at Stoney Creek RV Park shortly after mid-day. 

Stoney Creek is six or seven miles inland from Seward.  It is a great little park on a small river surrounded by snow capped peaks and forest.

After parking the rig we went into Seward to find out about boat tours into the Kenai Fjords National Park.  Although the weather was cold and rainy with a similar outlook at least until Thursday, keeping our fingers crossed we booked two seats on a nine hour trip to visit one of the glaciers and several bird rookeries for Friday.

While driving into Seward we spotted this Moose cow and two youngsters walking in a river just off the road.

With a population of just under 3,000, Seward is the home of the Mount Marathon race. Around 1908, two sourdoughs got into an arguement as to whether they could run up Mount Marathon and back to Seward in less than an hour.  They agreed to try it, and the loser would buy drinks.  In fact, they completed the circuit in sixty two minutes.  This race has be held annually on July 4th since 1915.  The winning time this year was 59:31.

This photo of Seward from across the bay will give you an idea of the steepness of the ascent to the top of Mount Marathon, 3,022 feet above sea level. The total circuit is 3.1 miles.

 

After booking our seats on the bay excursion we drove out to Lowell Point, an area on the bay south of Seward.  We saw a small boat that we liked.  I think with a little paint and a dab of grease here and there it should be just fine. But I couldn't talk Margie into buying the Santa Flavia.

Near the  rv park is a weir on a small stream.  We watched salmon as they climbed the fish ladder. Taking the photo precisely when the fish made its jump was tricky.  Margie took this photo at just the right moment.

 
 
We often saw Bald Eagles flying near the rv park. Here is an adult and a juvenile flying overhead.

Here is a juvenile Bald Eagle that sat on this branch near our rig for three or four hours one afternoon watching the world go by.

 

Seward has a wonderful aquarium, the Alaska Sea Life Center, that features birds, fish and other wildlife found in this area.  We visited the aquarium on Tuesday.  We took  photos of several birds that we hope to see when we take a boat trip into the park on Friday. We fdound all of these birds to be fascinating. 

Here is a King Eider.

This is a Harlequin Duck.

This is a Tufted Puffin.

This is an Oyster Catcher.

This is a Rhinocerous Auklet.

 
 

After visiting the aquarium we went to the Seward Library to view a film about the great earthquake of 1964. Late on the afternoon of March 27, 1964, Good Friday, Seward was destroyed by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.  The movie included interviews with a number of residents of Seward who survived.

Alaska has an active Tsunami warning system. Here is a warning siren.  We saw these along the Kenai coast.

We also saw tsunami evacuation signs. This one on Lowell Point. 

 

Wednesday it rained all day, so we slept late and got caught up on photo processing. 

Thursday afternoon we drove out Nash Road on the other side of Resurrection Bay from Seward.  One of the staff at the Kenai Fjords National Park visitors center suggested it might be a good area to photograph birds.  Jackpot!

 We saw the usual gulls snacking on bits and pieces of fish left by fisherman.

 

There were aslo Arctic Terns flying just off the beach.

The highlight of the afternoon was a "David and Goliath" struggle between a gull and a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree nearby. 

The gull made several passes at the eagle.

Finally, in frustration, the eagle flew off chased by the gull.

 

We hopeFriday's weather will improve  for our boat trip on the bay.  We'll cover that trip in our next post.