The Mountain

Anyone who says "The Mountain" around Alaska means Denali.  Well, this is where the mountain should be visible, but wasn't-AGAIN.  But would have towered about a foot above our peak!

Kimberly and Lindsy left Alaska last night, both on a red eye express leaving close to midnight.  In a couple minutes we head toward Ohio.  It will be wonderful to see friends again. But-I will be very sad for this wonderful trip to be finished. Alaska is a place where I see God's creative hand in every mountain, flower petal, and drop of water.  What joy!
Helen

More Denali photos



Mile 66 on Denali Highway




Female Willow Ptarmigan with young birds




Lindsy, Kimberly and Helen photographing flowers at Mile 66

 We did get to see "the mountain" from the highway north of Anchorage on July 28. The scenery on the Denali Highway the next day was striking because of the clouds, fog and drizzle. I finally saw my first Willow Ptarmigan that day - the state bird of Alaska.

Dall Porpoise seen from the boat out of Seward, July 27, 2011



Rhinocerus Auklet




Sea Otters near Seward

 

Dall Porpoise just under the surface of the ocean



Dall Porpoises are among the fasted swimmers in the ocean, making them difficult to photograph. Sea-birds and Sea Otters were common on this Aialik Glacier/National Parks trip out of Seward on July 27, 2011

Orca Whales and Humpbacked Whales seen on a glacier trip out of Seward



Humbacked Whale identification patterns

 

Female Orca and young Orca



F


Humpbacked Whale blowing


 Orca and Humpbacked Whales - we were fortunate that with our photos the captain could identify which individual whales we were seeing by comparing with a photo database on his laptop. On the Orca it was the patterns of marks on the dorsal fin while the Humpback had a unique pattern of white and black visible just as the whale dives.

Aialik Glacier - National Parks Trip by boat from Seward

Aialik Glacier

Aialik Glacier



Bear Glacier




Holgate Glacier

 Lindsy and I went out on the 6 hour trip while Helen and Kimberly took the 9 hour Northwestern Glacier trip (we had discount tickets but couldn't use them on the same trip). This was my favorite day of the summer as far as seeing glaciers. Memorable..

Sightings at Denali, July 29, 2011

We had some refrigeration problems and I ended up leaving on the Denali bus an hour after Helen, Kimberly and Lindsy - we traveled back together in the afternoon. It was a great day for seeing wildlife but a cloudy day for seeing Denali.

On to Exit

Exit Glacier is one of the many coming down out the Harding Ice Field in Kenai Fjords National Park.  After the Homer day we headed toward Seward and arrived at Exit Glacier, starting to climb around 3:00 PM. That was a little late in the day to start a long hike. as on our As we ascended, most everyone else was coming back down.  The  four mile, 3000ft. climb was on a trail alongside the Exit Glacier. Our goal was to see the Harding Ice Field.  We hiked through cloudy weather, a bit of misting rain, some fog.  The weather was changeable, as it always seems to be here. 

We started hiking in forest, went through the brushy areas, on to tundra, and finally to snow fields. 

The trail rapidly rose above the glacier.

Exit Glacier emerges from the ice field and heads down the valley. We reached the top, looked at what we could see of the ice field (it covers miles and miles of many mountain's upper areas) but clouds and fog obstructed part of the view.  Coming back down, we hiked back though the snow fields. 

We were the last of the day's hikers.  It was getting dusk, so we sang and yelled and generally made lots of wild animal deterring noise.  The down hill steepness was a challenge after a long hike.  All of us ended with sore muscles the next day. One regret-we didn't have time to sit and absorb the glorious views for hours.
Helen

Traveling with Kimberly and Lindsy

The two came to Anchorage for the wedding of a college roommate, Kirsten.  The seven women have a tradition of spending a day together before one's wedding.  Alaska style, the group hiked a mile into a mountain park and stayed the night in a yurt.  These pictures were taken at the wedding. 

We headed down the Kenai after the wedding and the next afternoon arrived back in Homer.  We met Cindy Detrow for a picnic and then headed out to Diamond Gulch for a walk on the beach.  On the way back, we stopped at the Homer overlook. Lindsy and Cindy are looking toward Cook Inlet.

The beach was an interesting mix of large and small rocks.  The rocks of the other beaches we had walked along the Cook Inlet were more uniform.  I like the rock that looks like a whale coming ashore.

                                          Cindy and Jake.

                                          Lindsy Glick

Kimberly usually has her camera along.  We await her new blog posts, or her photography website which should be active soon. She takes some awesome photos.

The evening farewell to Cooks Inlet caught Iliamna out in glory.

Helen

Color coordinate it, please

Helen

White and Blue

Found our fist wild larkspur a couple days ago.  It was alongside some Monkhood.  Love that deep, deep violet blue.

Monkshood with yarrow.

There are hedges and hedges of this in bloom.  I was told it's Spirea, obviously a new variety for me. 

Helen

Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai

After Bruce wore his arm out fishing for Salmon, and his legs, standing in the cold rushing waters of the Kenai river, we went exploring the area.  In the old town of Kenai, the Russian Orthodox Church that was built in 1980 still stands in the center of town.

The retired priest told us about it's history.  The art, chandelier, and bible came from Russia in the days before this land became part of the USA. 

The paintings were cleaned and restored 20 years ago.  When this priest came, they were all greyed and dulled by the smoke from the incense and candles that were burned over the years.

There was also a Saint Nicholas Memorial Chapel built over an old graveyard.

Helen

An odd lot

Anyone want to purchase a art piece, doll with polar bear fur coat? (notice the price tag?) It was displayed in the Museum of the North's gift shop.

We've seen quite a few wonderful vegetable gardens.  This one was at a private souvenir shop and campground.

Most of the rustic lodges are decked out with flowers. This one is Chatina Lodge, north of Fairbanks.

Helen

A walk on Deep Creek Beach

We camped at Ninilchik View again.  Such a wonderful place on a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet and the string of mountains across the water.  Then we drove to the Deep Creek beach where fishing charters begin their journey into the Inlet. 

Deep Creek is on the right, Cook Inlet on the left. We walked to the end of the spit, and a mile and a half in the other direction also.  When we arrived at noon, a quarter of a mile of flats were hosting myriads of gulls and shore birds.  By high tide at 7:30, all had to find resting places elsewhere.

A walk in the other direction had cliffs along the beach.  There were wonderful sounds as little stones and dust came down the side in a slow earthfall, just like a waterfall.

Across the bay Illiamni shone in the sun.  Bruce's bird telescope brought the view of the mountain a lot closer.

From the top of the cliff the view of Mt. Redoubt also was bright in the light.

Deep Creek is also the place where Ninilchik's charters put in the water.  This one just came out, fishermen climbed out of the boat using a stepladder.  There is no harbor so the boats are put in and taken out with big tractors, backing them in. 

Helen