Category: Alaska Activities
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Alaska in September
A number of people have asked about a good time to visit Alaska. I am guessing July will be my winner, but I will consider one month at a time. Since most of the folks asking live in Virginia, this week is a good time to post about September. The recent weather here in VA…
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Days 3 and 4, Valdez
We are spending 3 nights in Valdez. September 23 and 24 we slept in both mornings, lovely. Two more beautiful days with sunshine and negligible rain. We watched wildlife near the fish hatchery – sea lions, black bears, sea otters, seals, and bald eagles. I hiked out Dock Point Trail and looked at the…
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Day Two, Palmer to Valdez
Beautiful day! It was shockingly sunny, barely rained at all. The scenery was gorgeous – snowcapped mountains, sparkling rivers, shimmering waterfalls. We saw various stages of fall color throughout the day, often brilliant yellow, but sometimes all green and sometimes past peak. We stopped for two glaciers. The Matanuska is a relatively stable glacier that…
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Coho Count III
Total salmon for 3 days: 10 coho and 1 chum. M 2 coho, C 8 coho and one chum. Running total for 5 trips this summer is 2 sockeye, 33 coho, 9 chum and at least 10 pink. We released most of these fish, but enjoyed eating or giving away others. Sept 8 – Sheep…
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Perky Pikas
I worked hard to see my first pika back in July. The two this week were much more cooperative! I was even able to quietly run get C who was looking for sheep, come back, and watch one who was still busily harvesting and eating vegetation. These little rabbit relatives are so cute as they…
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Alaska Sealife Center
While in Seward last week I managed to go to the Sealife Center three times. I especially liked the bird habitat where the birds are used to people and let you get really close. After months of trying to identify unfamiliar birds that won’t sit still, I greatly enjoyed this exhibit. If I lived…
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Coho Count II
C and I caught 12 coho salmon over a 9 day outing. I caught 2 coho (both on the last day!). C caught 10 coho, releasing 2. It rained 7 of 9 days, sometimes raining very hard. Those 2 days without rain were marvelous! August 22 – half day of fishing at Sheep Creek Slough. …
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Sea Otters in Seward
This evening I watched 2 sea otters for awhile. C pointed out the first one while we were walking. Then he headed further down the beach to fish for salmon. It is drizzling, a great improvement on the driving rain we have been getting off and on the past 3 days. If it had rained…
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Sandhill Crane Festival
I spent much of the day at the Sandhill Crane Festival in Fairbanks (while C was working). First I spent several fascinating hours at the Alaska Songbird Institute’s (ASI) bird banding station during a busy morning of banding around 60 wild birds. The birds are caught in mist nets, then gently banded, measured and released.…
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Long Weekend with Coho Count
Salmon: 11 coho, 5 pink, 1 chum Rain: 6 out of 6 days (never all day) Foraging: red raspberries, highbush cranberries, sea lettuce seaweed Glaciers: Lots! (At a distance) August 10 Melissa worked in a.m. then we drove south to Montana Creek. Lots of pinks and chum, not many coho though we saw someone catch…
Me & C 