If you ask the locals (ok - if you ask Robert too), we haven't had a summer this year. Nope - None. We went directly from break up to mid-August with nothing in between. I am pretty sure Anchorage has had a total of 6 sunny days since the late snow in April and the rest of the time it has been cloudy and rainy. Robert is starting to grumble about not seeing the sun. I just tell him we will catch it this winter! :) Of course, this just goes back to the old adage...there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!
The really important thing to note is that if it is raining in town, depending on how cool it is, it could be snowing in the mountains. Our first termination dust arrived last week - July 22/23. (This is normally a September event.) We are honestly worried whether we will get any raspberries, apples or tomatoes this year because of the cooler weather.
Friday, Robert and I had the chance to tour an oil tanker in Valdez. Those are really big ships and it is amazing they only need 20 - 30 people to run everything from top to bottom. Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures due to security issues and the fact by the time we got off it was too dark to take a picture. If you come to my house, we will have a really nice picture of the ship though hanging on the wall!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Katmai - WOW - Part III (videos)
(I know - too many photos and movies! Oh well! Skip to the next post if you want to see the stills and Part I to read the commentary!)
View from the Ripples looking back towards Brooks Falls. Sometimes you just have to smack the water!
Dining in the water with other bears coming to check out the menu
Baby bears learning to be big bears - listen to those growls. This one also shows how close we were.
Don't worry - Mom did get the fish back (Junior knows when to behave) and the little one got a bite before it was all gone.
One last shot from the Ripples looking back to the Falls - bears, bears everywhere! :)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Katmai - WOW - Part II (still pictures)
Where's the fish? (Brooks Falls)
This family was right below the observation deck. It is SO hard to be a cub - must snooze lots!
Got one!
And the other bears check out the catch!
Even the birds can pull one up - but they quickly lost it to a bear!
SO tired!
Mom caught lunch!
The family fest!
Remember - Grizzlies don't climb trees - HAHAHAHAHA
A different family in camp - 3 cubs again.
Flying home - the tilted mountains - and yes, the camera was level!
Augustine Volcano - the cloud cover is actually caused by steam vents.
This family was right below the observation deck. It is SO hard to be a cub - must snooze lots!
Got one!
And the other bears check out the catch!
Even the birds can pull one up - but they quickly lost it to a bear!
SO tired!
Mom caught lunch!
The family fest!
Remember - Grizzlies don't climb trees - HAHAHAHAHA
A different family in camp - 3 cubs again.
Flying home - the tilted mountains - and yes, the camera was level!
Augustine Volcano - the cloud cover is actually caused by steam vents.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Katmai - WOW - Part 1
It started out a bleary, drippy day. Our pilot said we had a 70% chance of getting to the park. Thanks to his excellent flying and a break over one of the mountain passes, our 8 passenger Cessna float plane made it with out a snag and only a few bumps. Since I had never been in a float plane before, I was intrigued to see what it was like to land on water. However, I missed the whole landing because as we were coming in over the water, a mother bear and 3 cubs were on the beach and had my total attention.
After exiting the plane, we had to go through about 30 minutes of storing food (NONE - no gum, candy, soda, flavored water, etc. allowed out of camp), orientation and lectures about how to act around the bears. We got our orientation pin (must wear or risk citation) and were off. After a short 30 minute hike (with potential to meet up with a bear at any time) we made it to the viewing platforms.
Upon arriving to the Brooks Falls area, we put our name on the waiting list to go to the actual falls. The entire park gets about 300 visitors a day and only 40 are allowed to watch the bears at that location at one time. To help pass the time, we went to the Ripples area which is just below the falls. This is where the younger bears hang out. Only the big'uns have a positiong at the falls!
It was FABULOUS!!! The bears are so close to you and don't pay any attention to you. They are after salmon and when they get one, it can be a quiet snack or a lot of growling, positioning and fish stealing. It is also a great place to look down at the falls and see all of the big bears hanging out.
At last it was our turn to get to the Brooks Falls viewing platform. It is almost indescribable. (Luckily we have 45 different videos and 201 pictures. :) ) There were the master fishermen and the teenagers trying to encroach. At one point, I counted 16 bears either in the river or on the bank. We even had a momma and 3 cubs stationed right by the platform which is pretty unusual. Male grizzlies have a tendency to kill cubs and momma did not leave her babies except to fend off males (we have it on video) or to grab a fish every now and then. (OK she was actually the best at fishing.) About once an hour, she would wait and watch, jump in the water and come out with a fish immediately. The babies would pounce on the fish and rip it apart. It was very easy to see which cubs were dominant. They were learning how to be bears.
Our hour on the platform absolutely flew by. Once we had to leave, we went back to the Ripples again and this time saw a momma with 2 cubs being chased by a male. Believe it or not, the two cubs ran up the tree for safety. (Ya - right grizzlies don't climb trees!) I'm sure we spent another hour there before heading back to the lodge.
Sure enough, on the way back to camp, we rounded a corner and people across the river started to yell "BEAR". Four of them were just beyond us out of sight...thanks to whoever yelled and stopped us!!!
Back in camp, we heard there was another mom with cubs by the cabins. Of course we had to check it out. Sure enough, there she was, laying on her back resting with the cubs on top of her. Unfortunately, I'm not sure those pictures turned out as she was in an awkward location and we had to stay at least 50 yards away from them at all times. (All bears - not just cubs.)
We even stumbled across a bear with cubs when heading back to the plane. Of course, the bears have the right - of - way and humans wait. No matter how long it takes.
Our pilot was fantastic. On the way home, he took us by St. Augustine Volcano for a few shots and also the tilted mountains (named because of the tectonic upheaval) and is best shown with a picture (to come). Luckily the weather had cleared quite a bit for the flight.
An absolutely incredible experience I recommend.
Pictures to come once we cull!
After exiting the plane, we had to go through about 30 minutes of storing food (NONE - no gum, candy, soda, flavored water, etc. allowed out of camp), orientation and lectures about how to act around the bears. We got our orientation pin (must wear or risk citation) and were off. After a short 30 minute hike (with potential to meet up with a bear at any time) we made it to the viewing platforms.
Upon arriving to the Brooks Falls area, we put our name on the waiting list to go to the actual falls. The entire park gets about 300 visitors a day and only 40 are allowed to watch the bears at that location at one time. To help pass the time, we went to the Ripples area which is just below the falls. This is where the younger bears hang out. Only the big'uns have a positiong at the falls!
It was FABULOUS!!! The bears are so close to you and don't pay any attention to you. They are after salmon and when they get one, it can be a quiet snack or a lot of growling, positioning and fish stealing. It is also a great place to look down at the falls and see all of the big bears hanging out.
At last it was our turn to get to the Brooks Falls viewing platform. It is almost indescribable. (Luckily we have 45 different videos and 201 pictures. :) ) There were the master fishermen and the teenagers trying to encroach. At one point, I counted 16 bears either in the river or on the bank. We even had a momma and 3 cubs stationed right by the platform which is pretty unusual. Male grizzlies have a tendency to kill cubs and momma did not leave her babies except to fend off males (we have it on video) or to grab a fish every now and then. (OK she was actually the best at fishing.) About once an hour, she would wait and watch, jump in the water and come out with a fish immediately. The babies would pounce on the fish and rip it apart. It was very easy to see which cubs were dominant. They were learning how to be bears.
Our hour on the platform absolutely flew by. Once we had to leave, we went back to the Ripples again and this time saw a momma with 2 cubs being chased by a male. Believe it or not, the two cubs ran up the tree for safety. (Ya - right grizzlies don't climb trees!) I'm sure we spent another hour there before heading back to the lodge.
Sure enough, on the way back to camp, we rounded a corner and people across the river started to yell "BEAR". Four of them were just beyond us out of sight...thanks to whoever yelled and stopped us!!!
Back in camp, we heard there was another mom with cubs by the cabins. Of course we had to check it out. Sure enough, there she was, laying on her back resting with the cubs on top of her. Unfortunately, I'm not sure those pictures turned out as she was in an awkward location and we had to stay at least 50 yards away from them at all times. (All bears - not just cubs.)
We even stumbled across a bear with cubs when heading back to the plane. Of course, the bears have the right - of - way and humans wait. No matter how long it takes.
Our pilot was fantastic. On the way home, he took us by St. Augustine Volcano for a few shots and also the tilted mountains (named because of the tectonic upheaval) and is best shown with a picture (to come). Luckily the weather had cleared quite a bit for the flight.
An absolutely incredible experience I recommend.
Pictures to come once we cull!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Moose Mama
She's awful skinny...raising twins must be tough.
One of the twins that wasn't camera shy.Friday, July 04, 2008
Moose Babies!
We finally hit 70 degrees this summer on July 2 and we had 2.5 sunny days in a row.
That hasn't happened in a several months!
BTW - The photo is courtesy of Natalie...Thanks Natalie for letting me use it!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
I got a new toy!
Robert surprised me with a new computer yesterday! It works GREAT! I should be able to blog at lightening speed now. It is very sleek and fast. I will spend hours with it!
Robert had dental surgery yesterday. So far, all has gone well. It will be very tough at the BBQ tomorrow though. He isn't really supposed to eat solid foods!
We have company with us now. Robert's niece is here for a few days. We have gone hiking by the gulf, in the mountains and on Matanuska Glacier! (OK - that was pretty cool!) We also have pictures of the moose twins but they are still safely on the camera!
In case you missed it, there was a serious bear attack about 1.5 - 2 miles from our house this last week. http://www.adn.com/bearattacks/story/454296.html Luckily the girl should live. Then there was a fire along the same creek in town this week. We assume that pushed all of those bears closer to our house. Squirt just has to be on alert!
Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!!
Robert had dental surgery yesterday. So far, all has gone well. It will be very tough at the BBQ tomorrow though. He isn't really supposed to eat solid foods!
We have company with us now. Robert's niece is here for a few days. We have gone hiking by the gulf, in the mountains and on Matanuska Glacier! (OK - that was pretty cool!) We also have pictures of the moose twins but they are still safely on the camera!
In case you missed it, there was a serious bear attack about 1.5 - 2 miles from our house this last week. http://www.adn.com/bearattacks/story/454296.html Luckily the girl should live. Then there was a fire along the same creek in town this week. We assume that pushed all of those bears closer to our house. Squirt just has to be on alert!
Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!!
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