Alaska Raptor Center

The Raptor Center is way cool. The folks there bring in birds of prey that are injured, treat them, and train them to return to the wild. At left is a permanent resident of the Center and below is a temporary one. It's just an amazing place. Birds that cannot be returned to the wild are sent to zoos in "the south" (the lower 48); they also are taken to schools throughout the US to talk about raptor preservation.

We learned early in our vacation that bald eagles in Alaska are kind of as common as crows (not quite, but there are a lot). They were never endangered in Alaska because there is so little agrculture (no DDT). So Alaska is the supply center for bald eagles everywhere. And they are giant birds. Something like two feet high with a seven foot wong span. It's just so strange to see such huge beasts flying around.

Sitka hike, 2

Three things we saw on our hike -- a stream opening up into the bay, a whale eating a human, and an eaglet struggling with a salmon. The eaglet won.

Sitka hike

This is Jeff on vacation. He stops to eat. Below is a file of happy hikers. Can't you feel the excitement?!

Way below is just a cool gnarly tree trunk.

Wrangell, 2

Two more "real" Alaska pictures. Jerome took the first -- most of the docs and harbors looked something like this, not exactly very paradise-y. The second is mine, and we would have stayed here, if only Moon Guides had recommended it (read the signs).

Wrangell

We had a 45 minute stay-over in Wrangell, complements of the Alaska Marine Highway. To the left is a picture Jerome took that he says is the "real" Alaska (another one is coming). Below is a stone pictograph. We don't know what it is, what it means, or when it was created. Nonetheless, we raced from the ferry to get a pciture. Are we tourists, or what?! Farthest below is a mural that depicts Wrangell from the earliest known times to the future. So we did not need to see anything else or talk to anyone. We got it all from the one mural. :)

Ferry view

Jerome captures the mountain view off the ferry deck.

Day 4 -- Ferry to Sitka

This was taken on the uppermost deck on the ferry. Jerome took the picture, which Jeff and I think is a vision of the future. In the foreground are two young guys sacked out on plastic lounge chairs and sleeping bags, with their guitars next to them. In the background are pitched tents on the ferry deck. Ways to avoid the cost of a room on the ferry, which Jerome thought for sure Ben and Tim would want to know about.

Other Misty Fjord sites

To the left is simply a rock wall of the fjord convered in moss. There are a number of bird nests which cannot really be identified. But sites like this make you realize you are in a rain forest. Below is a pictograph -- you can see at the center of the photo are some red markings. They look like a stick figure or something of a man. The pictograph marks the grave of a shaman, who was buried in a nearby cave.

Misty Fjords

Jerome's picture of the clouds reflected in the water -- looks like a quilt.

Harbor seals, Misty Fjords

The lumps on the little island are harbor seals (John photo).

Eagle's nest

This is picture of an eagle's nest with two eaglets in it. If you look at the top of the tree, you will see what looks like a large clump of leaves and branches. On top (the little branch above) you can see an eaglet flapping his/her wings. Right below this is the other eaglet just hanging out.

OK. So here is an update. This photo was taken on day 3, during a boat trip to Misty Fjords National Monument, out of Ketchikan (after Mary and John hooked up with us). We are now in day 6, which means I have some catch-up work. Jerome has also taken over as photographer, so some of these photos will be his. Jerome is really interested in fog and mountains; I am mostly interested in trees and moss. So that will help you guess who is taking what.

Creek Street. Ketchikan

More tomorrow. It took an hour to get these loaded and set (trials and errors). And we need to get to the ferry for Sitka.

Totem Bight state park, near Ketchikan

First Alaskan wildlife siting

A lovely green slug . . .

Try first picture

This is Jerome and John last year at Dinosaur National Park -- just being eaten by a dinosaur, would there be a problem with that?