Thursday, June 26, 2008

Off to the Kenai


Well friends, it's goodbye for a couple of days as we leave beautiful Valdez, Alaska and head down onto the Kenai Peninsula for a week of playing. Tomorrow morning we take the ferry to Whittier and then get a car in Anchorage for the week. No solid plans except maybe trying some ocean kayaking and a bit of hiking. Our plan is no plans.


Spent today on an 11 hour cruise around Prince William Sound looking at birds, mammals, the site of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Columbia Glacier. A great way to end a wonderful ATEEC Institute. Lots of pictures to share later. One of the ubiquitous birds here is the Glaucous-winged Gull. This shot came from down by the docks where these guys spend most of their time feeding off of the charter fishing boat scraps. Very easy to get good looks. Also have lots of Mew Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes. It's tough to keep track of all the cool stuff sometimes.


I'll leave you with a view of the harbor in Valdez. This is a quiet little town that survives in a pretty harsh environment but for 3-4 months of the year it is gorgeous!
I understand why so many people dream of living in Alaska but I wonder how many really know what it's like.

More when I have a chance...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope to visit Alaska one of these days . . . love hearing about the trip!

Anonymous said...

Am enjoying your Web site, as always.

Have you seen any wood-warbler species in Alaska?

Best wishes, Daniel Edelstein

Ecobirder said...

Brings back memories. My wife and I went to Alaska for a couple of weeks back in 2001, we got back 2 days before 9/11. We had a great time and I still am planning to go back. Sounds like you probably feel the same.