The Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Thu, Jul 27, 2017

Yesterday was our last in Victoria as we boarded the ferry for the short ride to Port Angeles, Washington.  Our Alaska adventure is winding down.

We drove south and I took the route over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as I’d never seen it before.

I don’t recall how old I was when I first saw the video of its collapse but it’s really stuck with me.  Why?  Perhaps because I couldn’t believe that they’d build a suspension bridge that would collapse barely four months later.  Or because of the horror of the guy who was able to get out of his car and crawl to safety.

The replacement bridge is on the left and the new one, to double the capacity, is on the right.  I wasn’t able to get a picture of the narrows itself.

Pacific Playground

Sun, Jul 23, 2017

Today’s drive from Port Hardy on the northern end of Vancouver Island to Pacific Playground RV Park just south of the city of Campbell River.

The RV park is on the Oyster River and about a 3 min walk to the beach.  And it’s a blue bird day for a change 🙂

Last Ferry on the Inside Passage

Sat, Jul 22, 2017

We arrived Prince Rupert, BC last night and then were up early for a 16 hour ferry ride to Port Hardy on the northern end of Vancouver Island.  Unlike Alaska’s 50 yr old ferries, this one belongs to BC Ferries and was commissioned in 2009.  It was nice and our berth was very comfortable.  A necessity for a 16 hour voyage 🙂

More cloudy weather hid the Inside Passage mountains but it was still a treat.

This shot off the stern gives an idea of the width of the passage.

One of the many fjords along the route.

And finally one of the lighthouses.

Goodbye Alaska, Hello BC

Fri, Jul 21, 2017

Today was an early one as we had a 6:45 departure from Ketchikan, AK to Prince Rupert, BC via Alaska’s ferry.

They wanted us to be there two hours early.  Sorry but our arrival at 5:45 should be sufficient.  And it was as we didn’t get loaded until 6:30 😦

This was out fourth ferry ride as we’re working our way down the Inside Passage.  The weather has been cloudy so the scenery has been rather bleak.  Wish I could have seen it on a clear day.

Here’s Ketchikan’s waterfront on our way out.  And of course the ever present cruise ships.

Prince Rupert is in Canada so we had the pleasure of being the last off of the ferry and then a two hour wait to drive through customs.  Yuck 😦

Ketchikan’s Totem Poles

Thur, Jul 20, 2017

Wiki says that Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles and I’m not one to argue.  On this morning’s ride, I detoured through the Totem Bight State Park for a quick look.

Most of the totems are recarvings of older poles but still pretty cool.   Here’s an example:

And another:

Clover Pass Resort

Wed, Jul 19, 2017

Today was a six hour ferry from Wrangell to Ketchikan, both Alaska cities on the Inside Passage.  Ketchikan’s main businesses are fishing, tourism and logging.  Here are some examples.

We’re camped at the Clover Pass Resort that also has a very nice RV park.  Wifi speeds of 30 mbps that is unheard of in campgrounds.  We can even stream our favorite shows.  The Open Championship early this morning for me, at least until Carol got up.

Clover Pass’s main attraction is fishing and they have a really nice dock.  Plenty of boats for rent and all the fishermen I talked to came in with limits (6 salmon and 1 halibut).  One guy went out with his wife and 8 yr old daughter and came back with 18 salmon and 3 halibut 🙂

Here’s their rental fleet:

And some of the bounty.  The staff was cleaning all afternoon and evening.

Tourism in Ketchikan means cruise ships.  Big ones.  What makes it possible is the deep port along the city’s front street.

They aren’t the biggest cruise ships in the world.  Just the biggest ones that can fit through the Panama Canal.

And finally logging.  I’m told that industry isn’t doing well but there’s been plenty of logging over the years.  Here’s what it looks like as we were approaching town.

Gill Netting for Salmon

Tue, July 18, 2017

We were cruising back from Anan to Wrangell when we came upon a fleet of ships that were gillnetting for salmon. The way it works is to drop about 100 yards of nets in a straight line and the fish will swim alongside looking for a way around. Apparently, the gills become entangled in the net and the fishermen pull them in.

Here’s a salmon about to tumble into the ship.

And I’m told this is the prettiest gillnetter on the waters.  She’s friends with Brenda, our guide from Alaska Charters and Adventures who’s piloting our boat.

The Ravens of Anan

Tue, July 18, 2017

The ravens may be near the bottom of the food chain but they do very well.

The bears, after all, have it so easy that they’ve become picky eaters. Some will just open up the belly of a salmon and eat the roe and then go get another fish. And the eagles and ravens are the beneficiaries.

Here’s a spot where we watched a bear munch four fish in a row.  By the last, (s)he was just taking the good stuff and then he waddled away. Good news for the ravens.

And a close-up of one with a meal ready to eat.

The Eagles of Anan

Tue, July 18, 2017

Eagles like salmon as much as the bears and there are a lot of them at Anan.

Here’s a baldy that gave us a nice flyby.

And another:

With eagles, piracy is a way of life. So when one gets some scraps, others move in for the kill. Here’s one with a bit in his talons and another in close pursuit. In this case, the owner held on and didn’t lose his food (of course, he might have stolen it from another eagle).

Bald eagles don’t get the white feathers until they’re four or five years old. Here’s a juvenile with some salmon scraps.

And finally, coming in for a landing.

The Black Bears of Anan

Tue, July 18, 2017

Viewing the black bears at Anan is awesome as the park service has done a great job of building an observation deck and blind.

Here’s a sow with her cub and they were only about 20 ft away.  That rail is part of the observatory deck.

And a close up of the cub.

The main attraction was watching the bears fishing for the salmon. Some of the older ones were really good and could catch one within a minute. Others, especially the juveniles, had a much harder time and could take 15 min or more.

Here’s one of those juveniles fishing in fast moving waters. You can just see the frustration as (s)he would swipe at the fish.

And success. Sushi doesn’t get any fresher than this 🙂

Because of so many bears along the shoreline, the bears would take their fish up the trail to get away from other bears. This particular bear was kind to us as (s)he decided to eat about 8 ft from the rail. Nice.  Notice the ever-present raven in the background?

Brown bears (grizzlies) rule but for whatever reason, they don’t feed here otherwise they’d boot the black bears. But these two juveniles, likely just kicked out by their mom, made a cameo appearance.  And then turned around when they saw all of the black bears.

The Pink Salmon of Anan

Tue, July 18, 2017

As we were walking up to the Anan bear observatory, we noticed the pink salmon in the creek.

Shooting into the creek is tough due to the glare. But I had a polarizer that reduces, but doesn’t eliminate, the glare.

The salmon in the front are clear but all those dark things in the back are also pink salmon. This is what the bears are after.

Anan Wildlife Observatory

Tue, Jul 18, 2017

In Alaska, bear viewing is a big deal and one of the best spots is Anan Wildlife Observatory.  I’d never heard of it before I got to Wrangell but it’s only an hour away.  So I started calling around and got lucky with Alaska Charters and Adventure.  It turns out that someone cancelled and I got their permit (only 60 people per day).

Just like the more famous Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Anan is located at a falls on the Anan Creek in the Tongass National Forest. The creek supports a huge run of Pink salmon and that brings out the bears, eagles and ravens.

Brenda runs Alaska Charters and Adventure and was our guide.  She’s been doing this for nearly 30 yrs and was awesome.  Here’s her boat and she’s a quick one:

An island on the way to Anan.

The creek where it empties into the ocean.  When we came in on high tide, it was a lagoon and no islands.

And the falls. When I took this picture, it didn’t occur to me to wait until a few bears where in the shot LOL

Wrangell, AK

Mon, Jul 17, 2017

We sailed 13 hours last night on the Matanuska, a ferry constructed in 1963 to serve on the newly created Alaska Marine Highway. This was only four years after statehood.

The overnight trip was smooth with typical cloudy Alaska weather so I can’t confirm the beauty of the mountains.

It’s a small town with a natural harbor and lovely people.

I Go Where I’m Towed To

Mon, Jul 17, 2017

We loaded our rig on the Juneau ferry for the overnight trip to Wrangell.

And guess what was next to us?  Another R-Pod with the catchy phrase on the back.  I suspect this owner also knows that ‘happy wife, happy life’.

The Mendenhall Glacier

Sat, Jul 15, 2017

Just 3.3 miles up the road is the fabulous Mendenhall Glacier.  We’re just 12 mi from downtown Juneau, Alaska.

Here’s the glacier from the visitor center trail.  As recently as 1930, the glacier extended to the point where I’m standing and there was no lake.

Glacial ice is blue because blue light has a short wavelength and is able to penetrate the ice, reflect and make it back to your eyeballs.  Green, yellow, orange and red have longer wavelengths and are absorbed.

It’s the same reason that lakes are blue.  Water is clear but the color is from light that penetrates to the bottom, reflects and makes it back out.  Green, yellow, orange and red can’t.  Blue can.  The deeper the lake, the bluer the color.  You should see Crater Lake.  That blue will blow you away.

Humpback Whales

Sat, Jul 15, 2017

Woke up to sunny skies today and the timing couldn’t have been better.  Why?  Because I’m going whale watching 🙂

The Inside Passage is home to Humpback Whales and Juneau is no exception.  These beautiful animals spend their summers in the Alaskan waters gorging on krill and other small fish while building their fat reserves.  Then they migrate to warmer waters to raise their calfs where they’ll fast all winter (it’s not that they want to fast, it’s that there’s no food for them to eat).  Hawaii and Baja are two popular destinations.

We saw a number of whales and it didn’t take long to see a pattern.  They’d surface and blow 4-5 times to catch their breath and then dive for 5-10 minutes to feed.  If you want a shot of them, better be ready for the dive.  These whales are building strength so they don’t breach or do anything else photogenic.

Humpbacks got their name because they bend their spine creating a hump when they dive.  Here’s what it looks like:

The shot above is of Flame, one of the whales that live in the area.  She’s a big one and has successfully raised 12 calfs, this per the naturalist on board.

She’s easily recognized by the ‘check mark’ pattern on the bottom of her fluke.  I got a great shot of it.

And finally a parting dive before we had to leave.  See the barnacles?

Exploring Juneau

Fri, Jul 14, 2017

We went into Juneau to check it out.  And we were warned about the cruise ships.  Luckily there was only one in town so it wasn’t a zoo.  But we were told there were six on Tue and yikes, I don’t even want to think about it.

The weather was heavy so no views of the mountains for us.  But boy oh boy the potential.  Mountains all around.  A channel separating Douglas Island.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings 🙂

But we did find Tracy’s King Crab Shack for some crab cakes and crab bisque.  Yummie 🙂

The Inside Passage

Fri, Jul 14, 2017

Sailing the Inside Passage has always been on our bucket list but has never been high enough for us to pull the trigger.  So when we decided to take the ferry back, we were able to get two birds with one stone.  And save 1,100 miles of towing through the Yukon, Alberta and British Columbia.  Win win.

Alaska operates a Marine Highway that connects the cities in Southeast Alaska.  Since none of the cities are connected by roads, the ferries really are essential.

On our first leg, we ferried from Haines to Juneau where we’re camped at the Spruce Meadow RV Park.  We ‘enjoyed’ the typical Alaska weather, i.e. rain and a low ceiling.  Still pretty in its own way.

One of the many glaciers in the area.

Last Day in Haines, AK

Thu, Jul 13, 2017

We enjoyed our five days in Haines and why not?  It’s a beautiful location that sits on a penensula formed by the Chilkat and the Chilkoot Inlets.   Skagway is around the corner and is the northern end of Alaska’s Inside Passage.

Today’s visit is to the Chilkoot Lake and Chilkoot River.

Chilkoot Lake is glacial fed so it has that characteristic green color.  Green because the glacial silt absorbs the visible spectrum except the green frequencies that are reflected.

Here’s the lake and the green didn’t really come out due to the sun position.

And here’s the river that flows out of the lake and the color is really nice.  This is an iPhone picture so I couldn’t use my polarizer to reduce the glare 😦

Another shot of the river.  This is someone’s back yard.  Nice 🙂

On the left is a homemade dry dock and the Chilkoot Inlet is to the right.  To use dry dock, just wait for the 25 foot tide and then pull right in.  You’ll have about 12 hours to make your repairs and then sail away on the next high tide.  Alaska.  I love it!

Hummingbird Moth

Wed, Jul 12, 2017

We’ve moved to the beautiful Haines Hitch-Up RV Park and boy is it nice.  A five star park if I’ve ever seen one.

And guess what flew into the local garden?  A hummingbird moth!

I’ve seen pictures before but never in real life.  So I ran for my Nikon 800 and 200 f2 lens only to learn that this lens isn’t one that has a close focus.  Slaps forehead (duh).  Then back to the rig to grab my 85mm lens. [Edit: I had the focus range limited to 5m – infinity. Slaps forehand again.]

They fly and move just like hummingbirds. Like them, they can remain suspended in the air in front of a flower while they unfurl their long tongues and insert them in flowers to sip their nectar.

I always thought they were hummers that look like moths but they are moths that look like hummers.  You know, they start life as caterpillars.  I learn something new every day (sadly, I forget something every day too).

These critters are small, half the size of a hummer, so it’s not like I have a full frame of one.  This is heavily cropped and was shot at ISO 400, 1/4000 sec and f 2.0.

Another view.

Rafting the Tsirku

Tue, Jul 11, 2017

We’re in Haines, AK and I thought it’d be fun to raft the Tsirku River.  It’s a tributary of the Chilkat River and mergers just upstream of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

So I signed up with Chilkat Guides for a four hr trip that’s actually 90 min on the water.

Today was typical Alaska weather, rainy and cloudy, but the word was that that means a lot of eagles would be out.  The thinking is that eagles prefer cloudy weather because they are better able to see the salmon without the harsh reflections.  So off we went.

And here we’re in our rafts.

We saw a lot of eagles.  Like 60 or 80 of them.  They were everywhere.  Our guide said it was the most he’s ever seen (yeah, I know).

Here’s a typical scene.

A mating pair?  The lack of clarity is from the rain 😦

And a closeup of an eagle looking at us.

Further on, we came upon a salmon kill and it was mayhem.

Piracy is a way of life with eagles.  He who catches the fish is not necessarily the one that eats.

Here are seven birds and one trying to maintain control.  Good luck with that.

This is a few seconds later.  Check out the bird on the bottom.  Fully vertical, talons ready.  Trying to hold ’em off.

All in all, it was a great day on the river.  Thanks Chilkat Guides!

Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

Tue, Jul 11, 2017

Nineteen miles up the Chilkat River is the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.  It’s what Haines is famous for.

What makes the Chilkat unique is that hot springs vent into the river at the 19 mile mark and it’s open all winter.  The only Alaskan river that doesn’t freeze in the winter.

Chum salmon have taken advantage of the water and evolved to run late in the year.  Like in the dead of winter.  At a time when there are no other salmon for the eagles.

So guess what?  They’re hungry and they all show up in Haines.  Thousands of them.  The highest concentration of bald eagles in the world.

If you google some pictures, you’ll see trees full of them.  Here’s a shot I grabbed off the web:

I hope to be here one winter.

Juvenile Bald Eagles

Mon, Jun 10, 2017

A salmon washed up on the shore near our camp and it didn’t take long for the eagles to get here.  And for the first time, I saw some juveniles.  Here’s one inbound.

The plumage of a juvenile is a dark brown overlaid with messy white streaking. It’s usually the fifth year before a bald eagle looks, well, bald.

Here’s the landing and you can see that that fish has been picked nearly clean.

Check out the look on that juvenile waiting his turn.  He doesn’t look patient.

This guy was on the sidelines and also had the ‘look’.

Rainy Weather In Haines

Sun, Jul 9, 2017

We’re in Haines, AK and last night’s weather was pretty nice as you can see from this shot of the marina.

But this is Southeast Alaska where rain is a frequent guest.  So it was no surprise when we woke to the pitter patter of rain hitting the roof.  Here’s the lovely morning view. Yuck 😦

On the Road to Haines

Sat, Jul 8, 2015

Today was a long 300 miles as we drove from Discovery Yukon Lodging to Haines, AK.  Long because of all of the frost heaves, not the miles.  Although we don’t normally drive 200 miles even with good conditions.  We’re retired.  What’s the rush?

We spent a night at Discovery Yukon on the way up and again on the way back.  A really nice RV park although pretty much off the grid.   All power is from their generator and there’s no cell service and no cable tv.  She does have a bit of internet but don’t expect anything more than a 20 min download of the Marin IJ.  Nonetheless, lots of grass and great people so we really enjoyed it.

Then it was off into the rain.  Here’s the first shot of the day.

Later we were treated to views of the Kluane mountains.  Loved it.

Then a bit of a surprise.  We were on the Haines Highway climbing a hill and I caught a glimpse of something.  Because of the slope, they were silhouetted against the highway.  Totally blended in.  Right smack dab in the middle of our lane.  But I jammed the brakes and saved them.  Trumpeter swans.  They mate for life.

And then we arrived at the Oceanside RV Park in Haines.  After settling in,  this showed up.  Nice 🙂

A Bad Day on the Alaska Highway

Jul 7, 2017

Carol and I left Alaska and crossed back into Yukon this afternoon. That means we’re back dodging frost heaves and related highway damage. These things are axle busters so we’re driving slowly and being real careful. But not everyone slows down as much as they should.

We came upon this scene where 20-30 cars were parked on the side of the road and everyone was carrying boxes of fruit and vegetables. Scavengers move quickly.  And why not, this produce isn’t making it to market.  Here they are.

When you see people pulled over on the side of the road, you just know what was going to be down in the ditch and sure enough, a destroyed big rig. Ouch!  Heard on the news that it was a Fred Meyer grocery delivery and that the driver was OK. Whew!

Back To Tok

Thu, Jul 6, 2017

We pulled out of Fairbanks this morning for Tok (rhymes with smoke).  We arrived here Jun 4th on our way into Alaska and now we’re here on our way out of Alaska.  This trip is blowing by 😦

Halfway between Fairbanks and Tok lies Delta Junction, the official terminus of the Alaska Highway.  Let me plagiarize from Wiki:

“During World War II, the United States aided the Soviet Union by sending airplanes and supplies through Alaska into the Russian Far East. The Alaska Highway was built to connect an existing road in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada, with the Richardson Highway in Alaska, a distance of 2,290 km (1,420 mi).  The Alaska Highway met the Richardson Highway at a place that became known as Delta Junction.  This connection created a motor route between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.”

The route follows the Tenana River so it’s relatively flat and an easy drive.  But there are frost heaves so I have to be careful since my Cayenne is loaded to the max.  I don’t want to break anything.

Here’s the Tenana and it’s a wide one.

Five Easy Days in Fairbanks

Wed, Jul 5, 2017

Carol and I pulled into Fairbanks on the 1st for five easy days.  Not much going on around here so we’re just chilling.  Rather nice, actually.

I’m not even running or cycling.  Those that know me know that’s not normal since I’ve been going pretty much non-stop for 34 years.  The reason?  I have recurring pain in my right hip.  It’s dull and I can run through it but my body is telling me something.  And yes, this is the hip that has the two giant screws in it from my rebuilt right femur.  That from a cycling accident in Sept, 2013.  I’ll be seeing the doc when we get back to Marin next month.

We’re staying at the River’s Edge RV Park and it is a nice one.  They also have these awesome cottonwood trees.  At least that’s what I think they are.  But boy do they make a mess 😦