San Elijo Lagoon

I returned to San Elijo Lagoon yesterday afternoon to see what might turn up.  There was nothing out of the ordinary, but I did get to take a few shots with the new cam.

 Black Phoebe waiting for a flying insect.

 A Snowy Egret catching a fish.

 ... and another fish.

 Patiently waiting for another.

 A group of Northern Shovelers

 Black-necked Stilts resting.

 My guess is Long-billed Dowitchers.

Long-billed Curlew

 That long bill way down in the mud.

New Camera and Lens!

This week I updated my camera gear and so far am pleased with its new capability.  I gave it a little road test yesterday in the backyard and down at the San Elijo Lagoon.

 Anna's Hummingbird

Goldfinch

 Great Egret

 Great Blue Heron

 Kildeer and Black-necked Stilt

 Black-necked Stilts

 Snowy Egret

American Kestrel

Red-tailed Hawks at Calavera Preserve

This morning I watched 3 Red-tailed Hawks circling and diving at each other for about 20 minutes or so.  I took a little iPhone video.  They appeared to be juveniles.  One went out of its way to dive at a passing Northern Harrier.

Alaska: Part Seven

Our Last Full Day

Sunday, and we go home tomorrow.  We wanted Sarah to show us where she volunteers cuddling babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Sarah has been doing this for several years, and the stories she tells are amazing.  

The NICU serves the whole state.  Many of the parents live in remote parts of the state, and cannot stay with their babies for great lengths of time.  The Cuddle Corps gives these infants life saving human contact.  Some weigh barely over a pound. Many come into this world addicted to drugs and have to go through withdrawal along with their other issues.  What Sarah and the other volunteers do makes a profound difference on the babies outcome.  They also free up the nursing staff to do their medical work.

Madeline, a former NICU patient herself, gave us a little tour of the unit.  We were very impressed by the level of care offered to the babies and their families.

Well, the sun was shining, and Gail and I wanted to get one more hike in.

 We decided on Falls Creek Trail, down on the Turnagain Arm.  This is Devil's Club with its berries.

 We hiked up the steep trail that started in a birch forest.

 We had bear bells, bear spray, and shouted, "Bear,bear, bear", and other things in places like this.

 I sure do miss the water!

 The Alaskans have a saying, "When fireweed turns to cotton, summer will soon be forgotten."

 We climbed about 2,300 feet, had lunch, and then headed back down.  The trail was very slippery, and we're not used to mud.

In the evening, Sarah hosted a little dinner party for us and a couple of her good friends, Pam and Janet.  Well, our trip was coming to an end.  Thanks so much, Sarah!  I think we'll be seeing you again in Alaska!

Alaska: Part Six

Denali Flight

 Leaving Anchorge, we knew we were in for a treat when we saw Denali (Mt. McKinley) which is about 125 miles away from this point.

We checked in for our flight and then went up to the Princess Lodge for snacks and the view.

 That's Mt. Foraker on the far left, and Denali between Gail and me.

Our pilot, Patrick, who is also an aerobatics instructor in L.A.

I got to be co-pilot, thanks to Sarah's finagling on the tarmac.

If Patrick needed to, he could swing that yoke over to my side for backup.  Our plane was a
De Havilland Otter converted to turboprop.  The Otter was built from 1951 until 1967 and is still in high demand today.  It is a short take-off workhorse of the bush, and can be fitted with skis or floats.  It can carry 10 or 11 passengers.

After taking off in Talkeetna, we were soon flying over huge glaciers.

Feeling kind of small about now.

Patrick guiding us through.

50 MPH winds are blowing the snow off the top, which is 20,310 feet in elevation.

We are actually going to land down there on that glacier, which is base camp for Denali expeditions.

 Crevasses, some of which are 600 feet deep, according to Patrick.

 Going in.

The landing.

A life altering experience, I do believe.

There were two other planes on the glacier while we were there.

 Patrick is one of only 38 pilots in the world certified to do glacier landings.  He flies climbers up in the spring, and does other trips into the bush.  His wife is a graphic artist with studios in New York and Los Angeles, and is also a pilot.

 Glaciers carry a lot of dirt and rock, and have various patterns related to their movement.

Can you imagine the difficulty trekking across one?

 Converging glaciers.

 Flying back to Talkeetna, we could see vast areas of bogs that are covering the permafrost.

Sarah has flown in these planes numerous times, but still gets a thrill out of it.

Thanks, Sarah, Patrick, and K-2 Aviation!

Over to Wildflower Cafe to decompress and relax.  What a perfect day!