Category: Birds
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Slow Start

Mornings are better in retirement. I like a slow start so much that I try to avoid scheduling anything before 11 am. While I usually get up between 7 and 8, there’s no pressure to do so. Sometimes I set an alarm, but if I don’t want to get up, I just shut it off. …
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Greenhouse from Costco

We have been home just over a month and spent a chunk of that time building a Yardistry 8′ x 10′ greenhouse from Costco. We have lots of rocks on our property so used them before adding the landscape stone that we purchased. We chose to install the greenhouse on a flat area near an…
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Sandhill Cranes and White-sided Dolphins

We are in Kearney, Nebraska, which would be a great place to visit during the Sandhill Cranes Spring Migration. Maybe some year we will get here to see (and hear!) thousands of cranes along the Platte River. Both C and I loved hearing their distinctive calls overhead in Alaska. I enjoyed watching Sandhill Cranes dance…
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Wyoming

While we started the day in Laurel, Montana, most of our 360 miles of travel was in Wyoming, ending in Douglas. The best part of the day was the Thermopolis area with Hot Springs State Park and Wind Canyon. It was fascinating to walk around the park with the hot water, sulfur smell, and surreal…
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MV Columbia, Day 2

Today we were onboard the ferry all day except for 1.5 hours onshore in Sitka. While the skies have been heavily overcast, it hasn’t rained all that much since breakfast. At Sitka we toured the Raptor Center. I borrowed the below photo caption from a poster near some bald eagles (“I AM Smiling”). The Raptor…
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MV Columbia

We are on the ferry somewhere between Haines and Juneau. We met some interesting people both in the forward observation lounge while looking at scenery and in the cafeteria getting our supper. I had delicious sausage and kale soup while C had a bacon cheesebuger, and our total supper, including sides, was less than $20! Earlier…
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Destruction Bay, Fall 2025

We have begun our road trip back to Virginia! We anticipate taking a bit over 2 weeks, arriving in late September. We didn’t take many photos today, so below I added 3 highlights from earlier trips on this section of the Alcan Highway. We didn’t see any bears on this stretch today (September 13, 2025). …
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Healy Cabin, 2 weeks remaining?

We spend almost all of our limited time in Healy sorting and packing. We’re either packing for our next fishing trip (leaving again tomorrow!) or packing to move home to Virginia. In the last 24 hours, we have been distracted occasionally. See the three photos from our upstairs north window taken in the past day. …
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Northwestern Fjord

We had a spectacular 8-hour boat tour with Kenai Fjords Tours. We had attempted to get to Northwestern Fjord and Glacier on June 1, but rough seas turned us around. It may have been for the best, as we had an incredible day on July 31. We saw plentiful marine mammals – many Harbor Seals,…
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Glaciers and WEIO

We finally made a trip to Portage Glacier, staying 2 nights at nearby Williwaw Campground. Thanks to lovely weather, we saw many glaciers. The above glacier and waterfalls were visible from the campground. We took the $49 per person glacier cruise out to see Portage Glacier. It has receded significantly since 1986 when I last…
