Was not eaten by bear
And here's the bear to prove it.
Her brother didn't eat me, either. There was plenty of salmon instead.
The scenery was spectacular.
So was the local color.
Especially the graveyards.
The wildlife was abundant.
Nice flora, too.
An ice age was ending.
I saw everything I said I wanted to see -- whales (smooth white belugas spotted from an airplane at the mouth of Beluga River), glaciers (see above!), mountains (everywhere), salmon (on my plate and in my luggage as well as in the claws of bears) and bears (see above. Also, a young black bear that was not photographed, frightened my traveling companion, and thrilled me). I also met loads of interesting people: there was the forestry services worker and his buddy who challenged us to pool; the independent-minded woman at Indian Mine who queried us on our politics and shared her views on God, family, Sarah Palin, antibiotics and the Federal Reserve; the circle of sport fishermen and hunters who told riveting adventure stories around the campfire; the Russian Old Believer who cooked us dinner, poured us tea, put us up and shared her world; the gregarious, salty fisher captain and his engineer who bought us drinks and told us about a harrowing life at sea; and plenty more. And there was all the overwhelming nature and wildlife. Moose, hawks, ducks, eagles, sea lions, seals (including the curious one that followed my kayak for some time, to my delight), porpoises (including the one that spooked the seal and finally scared him off), otters, red squirrels, foxes, jellyfish, gulls, geese, swans, cormorants, magpies, and ravens.
It was a good trip. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime.
Iris at the mouth of Wolverine Creek.
Her brother didn't eat me, either. There was plenty of salmon instead.
Yukon enjoying a pink salmon.
The scenery was spectacular.
Fall colors along Resurrection Pass Trail.
A mountain vista near Portage Glacier.
A front-row seat to Prince William Sound.
So was the local color.
The saloon-styled facade of the Diamond M Ranch. And yes, that's a red British double-decker bus in the back.
The crowded Whittier harbor.
Unexpectedly, a perfect 50's-style ice cream parlor in Sterling.
Especially the graveyards.
The Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik, with its picturesque picket fence and graveyard.
A jungle of graves.
Athabascan spirit houses in the graveyard of another Russian Orthodox church in Eklutna.
The wildlife was abundant.
A kittiwake on the shore at Whittier.
Sea otters at the end of the rainbow.
A juvenile bald eagle.
Nice flora, too.
One of the few wildflowers still blooming at the end of the season.
Still Life With Mushroom.
Another firey floral find.
An ice age was ending.
Exit Glacier, steadily receding.
The path to romantic, windswept Byron Glacier.
Bits of Blackstone Glacier falling off into the sea.
I saw everything I said I wanted to see -- whales (smooth white belugas spotted from an airplane at the mouth of Beluga River), glaciers (see above!), mountains (everywhere), salmon (on my plate and in my luggage as well as in the claws of bears) and bears (see above. Also, a young black bear that was not photographed, frightened my traveling companion, and thrilled me). I also met loads of interesting people: there was the forestry services worker and his buddy who challenged us to pool; the independent-minded woman at Indian Mine who queried us on our politics and shared her views on God, family, Sarah Palin, antibiotics and the Federal Reserve; the circle of sport fishermen and hunters who told riveting adventure stories around the campfire; the Russian Old Believer who cooked us dinner, poured us tea, put us up and shared her world; the gregarious, salty fisher captain and his engineer who bought us drinks and told us about a harrowing life at sea; and plenty more. And there was all the overwhelming nature and wildlife. Moose, hawks, ducks, eagles, sea lions, seals (including the curious one that followed my kayak for some time, to my delight), porpoises (including the one that spooked the seal and finally scared him off), otters, red squirrels, foxes, jellyfish, gulls, geese, swans, cormorants, magpies, and ravens.
It was a good trip. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime.
Labels: Alaska, photos, solipsistic, travelogue
brewed by Jess Haskins at 09:00
