Cretaceous Park Doesn't Have The Same Ring!

So, the weather was less than cooperative on Thursday. We awoke to a thicker than Pea Soup fog that didn’t seem to left all day. I watched for a bright spot, hoping for a bit of sun but to no avail. All week we’ve been driving by this closed miniature golf course at the end of the street. The appeal for me was the place was crawling with dinosaurs. Okay, not really crawling but there were a bunch. I thought this might make for an interesting photo or two. And throughout the week, we always had things to do and places to go. But not today. So, during a time when the light coming through our windows seemed to brighten, I grabbed my camera and headed for the corner. Upon arriving at the closed golf course, I noticed a bunch of activity. There were people ripping up the old carpet, cleaning the “fairways” while others were laying new carpet and putting fresh paint on some of the other props. I walked up to a couple of guys manning a rake and a hose to ask if they knew who was the owner or in charge. They indicated I could speak with them. Now, I don’t consider myself a bold individual but I am getting a bit more backbone when it comes to asking for access to what I want to shoot, especially when it involves private property. This is a key piece of information for all of you shutterbugs. Any shot you can achieve from a public place, park, sidewalk, road, etc. is fair game but the moment you step onto private property, even if it’s in the driveway, you must have permission from the landowner. After procuring the necessary permission with a warning to keep off the carpet, I began trying to capture these dinosaurs. Easy, right? Wrong! This is a busy street corner in a major city. There are wires over head. It’s a place set up for the public with lots of lighting because theoretically one could play the course during the evening hours. All of these things add to the difficulty in trying to capture a “believable” image. Now, I know there are no more dinosaurs but hey, I really wanted to get something I could turn into a note card to sell. I have dozens of photos young ladies find interesting but very few photos equally interesting for young men. And who doesn’t love dinosaurs. Four of the creatures were relatively uncomplicated; the velociraptor,  brachiosaurus, T-Rex and the frilled and hooded Dilophosaurus. Proving much more difficult were the two armored dinosaurs and most difficult was the stegosaurus, the image I wanted most to bring home. By evening, the sky finally turned mostly blue with a few wispy clouds. We grabbed a quick supper and headed off to grab a sunset before heading home in the morning. We found a lovely spot just over the Maryland-Delaware border and waited. The timing had been perfect. I had enough time to set up the tripod, police the area for stray branches in the way and take a few test shots. About 3 other vehicles pulled in with the same idea, to enjoy a beautiful end of day. As I am fond of saying, “I enjoy taking sunrise and sunset shots. There is one of each every day but each is very different.” And I wasn’t disappointed this evening. The orange ball slowly slunk away from the daylight tossing a bit of color to the immediate vicinity but no further. I waited for a full half hour after the sun was below the horizon knowing the show, the best color, hangs on until the last. But it wasn’t meant to be on this evening.

A Couple Great Days

Okay, so I have aching muscles and sore feet to remind me of how much fun I’m having in Ocean City, MD. I mean, when was the last time I walked 3 miles? It doesn’t matter the walking was on the boardwalk, all one level and at a leisurely pace. It just matters there was that much energy expended. We enjoyed a quick lunch at a restaurant called Gordito’s Burritos for, what else, tacos and a side excursion for a couple of souvenirs. That pretty much took the bulk of Saturday and although there were few photo ops, I did manage to snap a couple of interesting pics. Now Sunday was a totally different matter. We traveled about 15 miles to Assateague Island, home of the Atlantic Barrier Island Wild Ponies. There is some speculation how they came to be there but genetically, these animals started out as horses about 300 years ago. Start with harsh weather conditions, add a poor diet consisting of mostly salty cord grass and no new blood introduced in that 300 years and you find yourself with an extremely hardy ruggedly built and sure footed easy keeper with the stature of a pony and general physical characteristics of a horse. Assateague Island is divided at the Maryland-Virginia state line by a post and rail fence. The bands on either side of the boundary number approximately 150; the herd on MD soil belonging to the National Park Service and the ones on VA soil the property of The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. The VA bands are rounded up every July and the foals are auctioned to help maintain the maximum number allowed by the Park Service’s grazing permits.  The MD bands are not thinned in this manner but their reproduction is controlled by a hormonal injection given to select mares each year. All my life, I have longed to visit these incredible and durable horses ( ponies ) and on this day, April 14th, that dream has been realized. We approached the island by way of the Verrazano Bridge. I wondered out loud how long it would be before we saw our first pony. I had voiced a similar question of the Bison in Yellowstone. There it had taken just 30 minutes before that first massive beast appeared. This time it was only about 1 ½ minutes. We weren’t even off the bridge when I spotted  a small band of three in the distance and another group of two just a couple minutes after that. All five were quite a ways from the road so we passed on these hoping for a closer viewing opportunity. That first contact with an observable family group or band, about 20 minutes later, was at the Old Ferry Landing. There, just across a narrow shallow waterway, were 8 mature ponies, some grazed while others stood in the warm April sun just soaking it in. At first I couldn’t determine mares from stallions due to the distance but some time later, while observing them from another vantage point, I could see the chestnut with the flaxen mane and dark tail standing off to one side was clearly the one in charge. We roamed all the drivable parts, walked a few of the trails and even stopped by to check out the campgrounds. And as it happened, in one of these campgrounds, we found another small band of 4. After lunch and a check of the beach to see if there were any ponies building sand castles (j/k) we headed off with the intention of going home. We hadn’t traveled more than a mile outside the park when we had one more opportunity to observe another average sized group. This one had 7 members with one of them being much younger than the others. We took a bunch of photos from the road but then Carl suggested we might try working our way through the woods out onto a spit of land halving the distance to them. Not only did we find ourselves closer but from that vantage, we observed most of the band were slowly grazing their way closer to us. In fact, before we were done, 3 of the members would walk off the salt marsh right past us, close enough for me to reach out and touch but I kept my finger on the shutter happily snapping away. We backed out of their way and allowed them to pass without incident. You see, these are truly wild animals and no matter how used to people they have become, something can change in an instant resulting in people being bitten, kicked or run over. And sometimes the ponies’ interactions with people have lead to their deaths. Cars are the aggressor on the island where there are no natural predators to concern them. I went home a happy photographer after sighting  25 different ponies. Today, the weather was against us with a forecast of showers and cool temperatures so we decided to stay close to home. I got some much needed housekeeping done before we zipped off to the movies to see “42”. Tomorrow, the plan is to travel to the VA end of the island.  More photos of wild ponies coming up!

____ Miles From Home

If we fill in the blanks, our trip began much like this. 50 miles from home, the snow completely disappeared. 100 miles from home, there was a distinct greening of the grass beside the highway. By the time we had traveled 150 miles from home, we could see the first signs of leaves fighting to wake up on the trees. When we found ourselves 200 miles from home, the Forsythia bushes were in full bloom. And it was exciting to note that when we reached 250 miles from home, the daffodils and flowering trees were vibrant in their yellows and pinks. And although the entire trip was highway miles, it was not a boring trip. We saw many Red tailed Hawks which, it turns out, are camera shy. We tried backing up on Rte 91 for several hundred yards as the Hawk, in the photo, flew from tree to tree, just out of reach of my lens. Later in the day, I missed a beautiful tom Turkey displaying for a small group of hens. It’s very difficult to slam on the brakes when you’re going 65 mph in 4 lanes of traffic. I now understand why the state name for NJ is the “garden state”. This part of the Garden State Parkway we traveled this evening is downright rural, complete with small herds of black tailed deer and salt flats. We are staying at the Econo Lodge in Somers Point, NJ. It’s not much but then it’s only a place for Carl to recharge his batteries from his 500 plus miles of driving.
Tomorrow we’ll drive to Cape May and get on the ferry to take us to Lewes,  DE. From there, we’ll drive to Ocean City, MD to spend the week. I’ll post more later, I promise!

Dreary With A Chance Of Overcast

The results of last night’s game was not as exciting as the previous night but the weather has modified a bit today. There is still a serious pileup of clouds which will be with us for a while.  At least the driving rain has let up so we’re off today to visit a couple more lighthouses as well as some of the beautiful fishing fleets, harbors and beaches on both the Atlantic side as well as the bay side. We started with a visit to the Nauset Light, another of those moved back from the original position because they were threatened by serious cliff erosion.  Since most all ships now have GPS, the role of the lighthouse has slipped further back into the history books. Gone are the days of the lonely keeper ever on duty to provide a beacon to ships in danger of piling up on the rocky coast. From there we drifted on over to the Chatham Light next to the Coast Guard Rescue Station. Signage here told of the Mayflower’s trip from England, their landing near Provincetown to take on their first fresh water in more than 65 days and their eventual trip northward to Plymouth. Maybe I was absent from school the day they talked about the original land charter being nearer to the mouth of the Hudson River but due to a rip current, they had to turn around. The history of this area would be very different otherwise. During a short stop at the commercial fishing harbor in Yarmouth, we visited with a fisherman who was repairing holes in the drag net he uses to fish for squid. We talked about the bum rap most drag net fishermen get. His little net does not disturb the bottom or wreck coral. In fact coral, if it were even in the area would do more damage to his nets. He even commented on the impact the huge commercial drag net operations have on his livelihood. These factory ships impact the fisheries regulations as well. At another little harbor, I got permission from the harbormaster to go out on the floating docks to get closer to a resident swan, recently returned from it’s winter grounds. I took more than 20 photos over a 15 minute period but all she did was preen her feathers. Actually, I think she was a bit camera shy.  I can’t say enough good things about the local Chamber offices we visited. The one in West Yarmouth helped us find a place to fill our propane tank for the camper and directed us to a little out of the way place called Gray’s Beach. The Bass Hole Boardwalk juts out into the marsh area allowing access to tidal flats one wouldn’t normally be able to view. We watched several shore birds wading through the canals searching for bits of crab, clams and fish. The sun popped out just in time to turn the incoming water from that flat cloud cover gray to a bit more interesting steel blue. The dunes in the distance provided an interesting contrast. The patches of blue disappeared almost at once making my question to Carl about sunset photos moot. There will be no sun visible to set. Our last stop for the day was at the Truro Vineyards where I enjoyed a wine tasting seminar, including commemorative glass for just $10.00. This isn’t the way most vineyards we’ve visited do things but it was effective. I became convinced I had to buy a bottle of  a semi-dry white. Turns out this particular wine isn’t even made here.

It's Official-We're Weather Jonahs!

The Red Sox won last night which makes me a happy camper. What doesn’t make me happy is the meteorologist chose today to get his forecast right. We’re getting hammered with high gusts of wind and driving rain from the southwest. Now, our plan of attack for today is to find an information booth that’s open for directions to stores and restaurants. No luck on that search but we did eventually find the Provincetown Chamber Of Commerce after driving the wrong way down a one way street ( with a policeman’s permission ) and backing into a parked car’s rear tire ( Thank God ). No damage done from either event. We found the local Stop and Shop for a few groceries, ate at Napi’s Restaurant and had what I considered to be the best Clam Chowder I’ve had in a very long time and managed to get soaked while grabbing a few photos of the Atlantic side of the shoreline.  A small break in the weather provided us the opportunity to grab a quick photo of the Highland light, near our campground, which has been moved several hundred feet back from a seriously eroded cliff.  The rain continued at an impressive rate aided, no doubt, by the wind so we called it an early day.

Day 82- Travel Back To PA

I was only 25 miles down the road when I remembered the first thing left behind. I have shirts embroidered with my company name as well as our first names on them. I meant to grab a couple of them but they will spend the next couple of weeks in the closet in NH. I was further down the road by several hours when I remembered the other things I left in NH, my rubber boots, a spare pair of heavy socks and the umbrella. Does it sound like I was planning on bad weather? Well, you’re right. I’ve heard what could be a lousy batch of weather over the few days we’re at the Honda Gold Wing Rally. In fact, today, we’ve driven in and out of rain for more than 300 miles. I drove about 150 of those miles. As we’re paying our $1.00 toll to pass from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, I notice a very long line of utility trucks passing through one of the booths. The signage on the door read North Houston Pole Line, Texas. There were more than 50 trucks, bucket trucks, pickups, equipment haulers and even trucks with lots of ladders. I suspect they were returning to Texas after helping get the power back on where Irene had passed through. We’ve stopped for the night at the Towne Place Suites by Marriott in Easton, PA. The room was very reasonably priced and quite nice. And, there’s a Sonic at the end of the driveway. Now, don’t laugh when I tell you we drove to Sonic because it’s a Drive-In and kind of cool. You pull up to a flashy board, make your decision and then push the button. A voice asks for your choices and then they bring the food to the car. We could have eaten it right there but decided to return to our room. Now, it’s relaxation time. Weather permitting, we’ll be going to Hershey tomorrow. I am told the whole place smells good enough to eat.

Day 81- More Of The Same

Now, the work begins. I have to decide what to take to PA with us for the show. It’s been so long since we’ve packed for a show, I want to make sure we have everything we need, including enough paper and ink since I’m taking the printer with me for this one. And, it’s really muggy out so I don’t feel like moving. The only way it could be worse is if we were at a local show today in all this humidity. When I opened the door to the studio, I almost screamed. There were bugs and cob webs everywhere. I have to send in my exterminator before I can work there. Okay, so the bugs were mostly flies but where there are cob webs, there are spiders. I heard this trivia fact a while ago which says you are never more than 6 feet from a spider at any time. If that’s true, I’ll be lifting my feet from the floor quite a bit. It took quite a while before I made the decision on which photos to take and while I was repacking the blue plastic covered bucket, Carl put the racks, tables and tent into the truck. It took even more time to load everything else because my glasses kept fogging up and everything in the studio had steamed up too. The air conditioner in the studio works really well but we had to leave the door open for the loading process. By the time we were finished, the sky was black as night and we could hear the distant rumbling of what promised to be a whopper of a storm. And even before it started raining, we were drenched with sweat. I hit the shower which felt really good and spent another hour trying to figure out how to get a downloaded template from Avery to work on Microsoft Word. Avery uses the Word platform and I am unfamiliar with the program. I’d prefer to use Works which I’ve used for years. No go on the application so I asked Carl to come upstairs to get the printer which was the very last thing to be packed. I have one last thing to get tomorrow, ink. The photo was taken by my step-mom, Adena, while we were in WA state.

Day 76- The Bridges Of Lancaster County

We slept much later than usual. It had to be a combination of a couple of things. First, we were beat last night and second, the site we have at Western Village RV Park is under a lovely canopy of trees so it stays a shaded (overcast) level of light all day. Then, we had a leisurely breakfast and spent some time pouring over the 4 maps of the area we have. The plan was to drive over to Lancaster County and photograph some of the 30 bridges in that part of the state. Before we left NH I had bookmarked a website with 5 driving routes to help us enjoy the countryside, experience some of the Amish charm, sample bits of the local fare and get those photos I’ve been thinking of for a long time. So, I’m wondering why I didn’t print these directions out. After using Carl’s planning skills one more time, we roughed out directions to Lititz which is where the starting point of one of the driving tours began. We hoped the Visitor’s Center would either have the printed directions or would be able to print them for us. In fact, they couldn’t help with anything other than to give me a printed list of the bridges with their GPS coordinates. Armed with another map, Carl plotted a route to 4 bridges and I wrote the directions out longhand. So, off we went and found the first bridge with no problems, the second one proved a bit more elusive and we got lost looking for the third one. The map wasn’t proving as helpful as we thought. Not all roads were represented and others didn’t exist. We were told to go to the end of Farmersville Road and turn left onto Gristmill but when we got to the end the road was Sykes. We accidentally found a bridge we hadn’t been looking for. The day trip fell into a rhythm. I would jump out take the photos of the bridge and whatever else was in the area while Carl sat in the truck and plotted what he hoped would be our next move. Then we’d drive to the next destination, miss a road or find the road wasn’t there and then I’d have to set the camera down and try to figure out where we were on the map. It was all very frustrating. By the third time we were “not quite aware of where we were” , we were pretty frustrated. We found our way back to one of the major routes and the Oregon Dairy Restaurant and Ice Cream Stand for lunch. It was 2:30. After lunch, we set off to try to find one last bridge. It was on the edge of a campground on Red Run Road and was in really bad shape. It was twisted, closed off at both ends, missing side boards and wasn’t over any water that I could see. I passed on this one. Carl worked out how to get back to our RV Park and we immediately couldn’t find one of the roads. After another frustrating few minutes, the highway was in sight and we discovered we were 20 miles further away from the camper than we thought. Once more, poor Carl was beat. He fell asleep sitting up during the first couple of innings of the Red Sox Yankees game. No supper for either of us tonight. The photos we took today were not bad. We did see the classic horse and buggy trotting down the road. After 5 bridges, I realized they all look alike and that’s because they are all Burr Arch Truss construction and built by the same type of craftsmen. Today’s travels took us through Lititz, Manheim, Brownstown, Farmersville, New Holland, Goodville and Blue Ball. Perhaps, tomorrow will reveal a different type of bridge in the Strasburg area.

Day 74- Oh! Is For Ohio

Last night was awful. Before I shut off the lights, there was only one tractor trailer in the rest area with us. But, by the time I climbed into bed, there were about 50, including one who pulled up right beside our open windows. And even though it was still uncomfortably warm, the exhaust was blowing right into our camper so I had to close the windows. The trucker let his truck idle all night long and before morning, another truck had pulled up on our other side just not quite as close. All that noise kept both Carl and me from getting the rest we needed to push on in good spirits today. For the first time, I was concerned we might not make the 400 + miles Carl had set as our goal during this push from Moab, UT to Gettysburg, PA. But push we did and continued on through the last of Illinois and into Indiana. I have to confess I don’t know much about Indiana. In fact, other than hosting a couple of very important races every year and my favorite NASCAR driver, Tony Stewart, claims Rushville as his home town, the only other trivia I can recall is Larry Byrd lives in French Lick, Indiana. So, today, I was enlightened with the knowledge that Indiana also claims Abraham Lincoln as one of it’s own. Apparently, Abe lived here as a child. But, as far as the scenery is concerned, if it weren’t for the big sign welcoming me to Indiana, I couldn’t tell it apart from the section of Illinois we drove through. Rte I-70, surprisingly, cuts through some really nice agricultural countryside in several states. So, if you take photos of fields of corn in Illinois, well, Indiana corn and Ohio corn for that matter, looks about the same. What I’m trying to say is I had a photo drought today. I did discover part of I-70 has been dedicated at the USS Indianapolis Memorial highway. For those of you who do not know the story of the Indianapolis, it was the aircraft carrier that was responsible for delivering the atom bombs to Tinian which helped to end World War II. It was such a secret mission no one missed them until they were 4 days over due. The ship had been torpedoed and sunk, putting almost a thousand men into shark infested water. Only a few hundred were pulled out almost a week later. The story was first brought to light in the original movie, Jaws, but since then it’s been the subject of several documentaries. We’ve been traveling some pretty rough roads all day, some just as bad as the Alaska Highway while others were giving Wisconsin’s pot holes and washboard concrete a run for it’s money. And to top it off, yesterday’s encounter with Jon El’s BBQ had an unfortunate side effect on me today so I asked Carl to pull over so I could use our traveling rest room. When I got into the camper, I was met with a minor disaster. One of those nasty dipsy doodles had tossed everything in the bathroom about, stuff in the sink and all of the recyclable bottles and cans had been thrown onto the floor plus a brand new gallon plastic jug of water had ruptured and emptied onto the floor. The water had run the entire length of the camper soaking the carpeting and rugs by the sink and door. We had a small dry braided garlic hanging over the bathroom door, a gift from Dad and Adena, was also on the floor. Sadly, it wasn’t dry any more and now the camper reeks of garlic. Let’s just say I won’t be getting any visits from my Twilight favorites any time soon. Carl’s goal of reaching the other side of Columbus came one step closer when we drove under this huge arch welcoming us to Ohio and another sign a bit later stating we had just entered Clark County, the birthplace of 4-H. Now, in Ohio, they must take their pipe smoking rather seriously because at one of the convenience stores where we got gas today, they sold 5 blends in 4 different size plastic bags with a press and seal closure. The flavor that got my attention was a generic version of Paladin Black Cherry in a 16 ounce bag. Our final destination was a rest stop about 50 miles east of Columbus but after our troubles last night, we were a bit leery of a second night with little sleep, we opted for a Wal-Mart near the highway. It’s been a while since we’ve stayed in one.

Day 72- To Topeka, Kansas

Our stay at the truck stop was brief. Carl couldn’t relax enough to fall asleep with all the trucks running. It really was quite loud so we moved. First Carl thought he’d drive to the next rest area but when he went out front where the restaurant was closed, he noticed a couple of buses and campers parked there. That’s where we spent the night. And it was considerably more quiet than it would have been among the 50 or so trucks out back. As we got closer to the Colorado Kansas border, we began to see evidence of corn, lots of corn, which brought out a conversation about the number of varieties of corn there may be very much like the potato. We even posed the question to one another, is it a special breed that produces baby corn or do they just pick it immature. I suspected it was it’s own variety. We must have been in high spirits because the levity continued with guessing why towns were named the way they were or in the case of Bovina, CO, I broke into very bad song, “ Nothing could be finer than to be in Bovina in the morning”. Carl didn’t get it so either I sang badly or he isn’t a fan of that musical genre. Our very first stop in Kansas was at the Visitor Center where we found out overnight parking was welcome at all rest areas which was good news for us. We checked the area out and could see a lovely paved loop away from the road noise with covered picnic tables and fire pits for charcoal cooking. At the end of the parking area, just before rejoining the highway was a dump station to empty your tanks before heading on your way. It was perfect but way too early for us to pull over. Carl estimates we must make 400 miles every day on our push from Moab, UT to Gettysburg, PA. The very nice ladies at the visitor center also told us where I could find sunflowers in an unfenced field with their heads held high. It was a short but productive side trip. I spent about ½ hour in the field shooting and all the while wishing the sun was out. Everything else was perfect, several acres of accessible flowers in all stages of blooming, complete with honey bees and butterflies. On our way back to the highway, we passed a Wal-Mart out in the middle of literal no where in a tiny little out of the way community of Central Brewster, KS. Back on the highway, we were treated to long views of corn which you’d expect in Kansas plus several more large fields of sunflowers but none as nice as what I had been able to roam in freely. What we didn’t expect to learn is that Kansas is called the Wheat state. We didn’t see any wheat but we did see miles of fields that had already been harvested and I suspect those were the wheat fields. Another surprise was the amount of oil wells we saw during today’s travel. And the people of Kansas sure do like their museums. I should have counted the number of signs proclaim thing the way to the Cavalry, Oz, Stover, Zoo and farm machinery museums to just name a few. Carl was only slightly tempted with the Stover factory store while I really was interested in the Cavalry museum. We even passed the Eisenhower Museum and Presidential Library. And there were so many other claims to fame, counting 3 astronauts and many collegiate championships. Fort Riley, home of the Big Red 1 appeared on our left, a couple of miles of sand colored vehicles, tanks and other items needed overseas. Towards the later part of the afternoon, I spotted a beautiful church off in the distance, the sign read St. Fidelis Church, one of the 8 great wonders of Kansas. I can’t wait to discover what the other 7 might be.

Day 71- From The Desert To The Mountains

Two states, Utah and Colorado share a border and a river but similarities, at least for the beginning of the day , ended there. Once we left Moab and got onto Rte I-70 East, the land flattened out into those rolling dry plains like so much of the Southwest is made up of. I made a comment to Carl how there was a good looking hunk of a young man behind every tree. Of course, there wasn’t anything larger than a 3 ft tall bush in site. What I was seeing, however, were these metal step ladders placed over the 4 strand barbed wire fences every mile or so. At first, I thought this was strange but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I mean 4 strands of barbed wire is nasty business so if you need to get over to the other side, well there are limited options. Farmers and ranchers tend to frown on cut fences and people in need are not happy about getting clothing and skin shredded to bits. Shortly after crossing into Colorado, we began to notice several of those rocker arm pumps bringing oil to the surface. Wherever these are, there are also a collection of tanks and sometimes a little tool shed. One of these had a red light glowing by the door and we couldn’t help but laugh. Customers would be few and far between in that district. Those gently rolling plains became high sandstone mesas with huge skree piles on all sides. Off in the distance we could see what I considered to be serious mountains. And sure enough, we began to climb gradually at first. We pulled off in Rifle, CO for some gas. I mention this because the guy I used to work with, Ernie, lived in Colorado for a while and Rifle, specifically. The mountains loomed closer and ski are signs with names like Copper, Steamboat Springs and Breckenridge popped up. Now, we’ve become somewhat of a whiz in finding Wal-Marts. Call it a second sense if you will. But, here in the Vail area, we didn’t have a clue. When all of a sudden, on the highways signs that point out services such as gas, food and lodging, there was the familiar bright blue Wal-Mart name and logo so we turned and sure enough there it was only ¼ mile off the highway. We pulled in to get the few provisions we needed to take us to Gettysburg, PA. We had no intentions of staying the night but wouldn’t have been able to anyway. We had just encountered our 2nd “No Camping or Overnight Parking Allowed” store. After a 45 minute break, we hit the road once more and began seeing signs about a 3 day Bike Race in the area which list traffic restrictions, road and exit closures and parking bans through Vail Pass. I’ve since found out it’s the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. As we drove, we caught glimpses of support vehicles laden with spare bikes, riders peddling like crazy, motorcycle escorts, a helicopter for aerial coverage, the banners over the course announcing the near finish of the race and finally the finish line. There were thousands of spectators strung out over miles. We figured the winner of the stage had already come in because hundreds of amateur cyclists were leaving the area including one tall lanky fellow who I could have sworn was Lance Armstrong ( not racing, watching ). Did I mention during this whole exciting bit, we were still climbing only now it was much steeper. Most of the tractor-trailers were down to 50 mph and so were we. Finally, we leveled off just before entering the Johnson Tunnel, finished in 1979, at 11,158 ft above sea level. As we came down the other side of the Rockies, I looked down to see chairlifts below us. You know you’re up high when you look down on ski lifts. And as much as I enjoyed the desert with all of the impressive multihued rocks and weird weather and water worn shapes, I just love seeing full sized forests all over the place. After a time, we reached Denver and wouldn’t you know, it was just 5:00 PM, rush hour. The west bound lane seemed backed up in real good order so I was feeling pretty good about our east bound lane which was still moving steadily. Carl mentioned it might change when we hit the middle of the city with people leaving and sure enough, not 2 miles later, traffic slowed to a crawl. There was an accident up ahead. We hit the choke point in time to see a car being loaded onto a tow truck. The front end was smashed pretty good. That was in the high speed lane while in the breakdown lane was a utility trailer just sitting. It looked undamaged except attached to the ball hitch area was an entire Reese Hitch system, the receiver portion having been ripped off whatever vehicle it had been attached to. After we passed this exit, traffic resumed it’s normal pace and we were out of the city about 15 minutes later. Clear of the city, the landscape was now more agricultural and grazing lands. The were small farms or ranches on the horizon, but there were also quite a few abandoned homes and falling down barns near the highway. Anytime you have grazing lands, there is the probability of grazing animals so I wasn’t surprised to see large herds of beef cattle and saddle horses. I mentioned to Carl how strange it was to have such a drastic swing in just 40 miles. It was nearing the end of the day and we started looking for a rest area. We found one which was closed to overnight parking and another in the west bound lane so after driving an additional 45 miles, we pulled into a Flying J Truck Center along with about 50 big rigs. Our little camper is backed in next to a “no parking” zone where trash barrels are. That way, we take up only one spot and can still open the slider without getting into any of the truckers’ ways. Space is so tight, Carl doesn’t dare to leave our steps open all the way. It ought to be an interesting night. Yesterday was the end of the 10th week and we have traveled a total of 12,236 miles so far.

Day 67- Arches National Park , August 21, 2011

There is no way to describe the incredible works of nature before my eyes. It’s hard to believe this area was all under water a couple hundred million years ago. Eventually, with upheaval, rain, wind and time, these breathtaking formations were created. It’s a very slow process, even by geological time. My photos are poor substitutes for the grandeur in front of my lens. We slept too late to get out and tear into the park so we ended up doing exactly what I had said I wouldn’t do, hike in the park between the hours of 10 and 2 when the sun is the strongest. By the time we took care of a little bookkeeping error on the part of a Yellowstone Ranger, it was almost 11. We drove in, stopped at a few places on the way, the Three Gossips, Sheep Mountain, Balanced Rock, The Windows and then we arrived at Delicate Arch. We hiked into the viewpoint at high noon and by the time we got ¾ of the way up, I was toast so Carl took the camera and went the additional distance. When he returned, he said it was only another 200 yards or so. I was really angry with myself for not pushing further especially when I saw the photos he took. It’s his picture attached to this blog entry. It’s a good thing we have three more days, in the park. I want to be at some of the more famous arches at the right time of day. This is going to mean hiking in before daylight or hiking out after the sun has set. We went back into the park sometime after 6:00 PM. My time is vague because we had a sudden thunderstorm which delayed my decision on where to go, when to go and even if to go. We got some nice late afternoon sun on the Courthouse Towers but by the time we made it to Balanced rock, the sun was obscured behind a wide band of very dark clouds. We waited about ½ hour and then it happened. The sun broke trough for one glorious finale, splashing that gorgeous afternoon light just where I needed it. The down side to this was I used up all our time before sunset and I was out of position. Carl always has some good ideas so up onto a high layer of racks we went to find something interesting in the foreground of whatever sunset we were blessed with. Sadly, the day was spent and so was I. we ate our supper sandwiches right where we parked as the last rays of light faded. The alarm was set for 5:00AM with a decision made to go to Double Arch for sunrise.

Day 66- Salt Lake or Bust

The road through Idaho was more or less uneventful so we started guessing what sorts of crops we passed. I thought I spotted Beets and Alfalfa but was delighted when my eyes picked out the now infamous Idaho Potato plants with their tell tale mounding of soil around them to stimulate more tubers. We did have two final impressions of Idaho. One was of a burned out car on the westbound brake down lane. That in itself should be noteworthy for I can’t see the highway department leaving an immobile hulk there for very long. It was the man sitting on the edge of the grill that caught both Carl’s and my attention. We were past it so quickly I couldn’t get a shot and since my mind was already on “did this just happen” or “where’s the rest of his belongings” and I think I even thought “where did the engine go” ? If not for the camper, I just know Carl and I would have turned around at the next exit to backtrack for the photo. Oh, well, you can’t have everything. I’ve gotten used to having the traveling bathroom with us. Sadly, the last impression of Idaho was two bad experiences with rest area toilets. The one in Twin Falls was so bad you felt you needed to wash your hand before you used it. Carl said, “It’s like they schedule a cleaning once a year and tomorrow’s it” . And the one after that was also bad. The ladies side reeked of chlorine to the point of burning my eyes and Carl said the urinal had no water running to it. Just before the Utah border we came upon an unnerving sight. In the meridian, facing the wrong way and almost into the east bound lane was a truck and travel trailer. It appeared to us, they were traveling west bound, perhaps passing another vehicle and caught the soft shoulder. What we couldn’t see was if a blowout was involved. We do know both people in the truck were out and walking around, shook up, I’m sure. And a few minutes later, we saw police responding to the scene. We hadn’t been in Utah very long before we saw our first pronghorns. Remember, they are not antelope as most people say. We learned that in Yellowstone. These were noteworthy because the small herd was grazing just a couple hundred feet from an irrigation line. I sure hope the farmer is a tolerant man. A visit to the Visitor Center got us information about Moab and a couple of other things to do besides visiting Arches National Park. He suggested a side trip to Antelope Island which is in the Great Salt Lake. I thought that would be a nice diversion and I could get photos of the lake while we were there but Carl didn’t see the value in the stop. Unbeknown to me, he had a plan to drive through Salt Lake City before rush hour so my impressions of this huge and sprawling city are just that. It’s huge and sprawling. There are gated communities where the church is built first and then the houses are built around it, much like in early settler times ( minus the gates, of course ) because the church was the center of all activities. I spotted a huge domed building which I made the assumption was the capitol building and I caught a glimpse of the Great Mormon Tabernacle high up a contour overlooking the city. Carl asked if that’s where “The Choir” sang and I had to admit I could only guess the answer was yes. One of more annoying novelties of our trip has been billboard watching. Since New Hampshire outlawed them on our few hundred miles of high speed roads, I don’t miss them. In our travels, they have been prevalent in many states. Carl spotted this one and we both laughed. The words “Eat More Chicken” were scrawled across the board. The last “n” had a paintbrush sticking out from it with a 3 dimensional Holstein cow trying to balance on the shoulders of another cow who was on a ladder. The whole affect was quite amusing to think cows would be suggesting another alternative. What most people probably missed from this cut little tableau was Holsteins are milking cows and not beef animals. I’m sure they used the characteristic black and white spots which most people use to illustrate the “cow idea”. I mentioned Salt Lake City is huge and sprawling. What I didn’t tell you was the temperature was low 90’s and I had been pushing the fluids. We were more than an hour into the cross town travel when I had to go. I waited, hoping to get out of the city so Carl could pull over easily but the city just kept on going and so did we. Eventually, it got too much for me and I had to ask him to get off the highway so I could go. The very next exit was a Wal-Mart so we took that opportunity to get the rest of our groceries for our desert stay and I went to the bathroom not once but twice. And then, the most amazing thing happened. Off in the distance, the sky looked ominous, clouds were building against the mountains and I could see wisps of rain falling. We’re in the desert and it’s raining. But, it was the lightening that grabbed my attention. I set out to capture it on film, no easy task in a moving vehicle I might add. After about 50 shots, I managed one photo and I’m very proud of it. As we moved closer to Moab, the landscape became way more impressive with tall pinnacles and huge cliffs of multicolored sedimentary rock, some heaved up at an angle from all the tectonic movement. The finish to the day was a gorgeous rainbow falling against an equally hued rock butte and a sunset like nothing I’ve seen during the 10 weeks we’ve been on the road. I grabbed a shot in the rear view mirror but Carl was the one who made the decision to stop on the side of the road and told me to get out and take the photo. It was well worth the few minutes we were delayed. I love that man!!!! We saw lots of flashing lights ahead of us and had to slow down for single lane traffic. A police officer was doing his best to be seen in the pitch black and controlling the traffic flow past an unrecognizable large object, perhaps a motor home or a tractor trailer, that was burnt on the side of the road. The emergency response people were still on scene pouring water on the skeletal remains of the vehicle. It certainly put a damper on the last 15 miles we had to travel to the Arch View RV Park. We almost missed it but Carl remembered the lady on the phone mentioning a Shell gas station.

Day 61- Arrival In Bellingham, WA , August 15, 2011

We had a beautiful drive through the Fraser River valley and stopped at Hope, BC for lunch and to make several phone calls. I wrote a couple of post cards and we were off. I was amazed to find signs on lots of the creeks and streams tell users they were in salmon habitat. We were a couple hundred miles from the ocean. Boy, those fish sure have their work cut out for them. I missed a turn somewhere near Lyndon and we drove unfamiliar roads for a while until I found a landmark I knew, Rte I-5. Then, I knew where I was and we arrived at my dad’s with no further delay. It’s actually going to be a little weird sleeping in a real bed. Laundry and showers are all taken care of and we got down to some serious catch up on gossip and family matters. We were up a little later than usual but geared up for another great day tomorrow. It’s off to the Northwest Washington County Fair in Lyndon. BTW, Hope's claim to fame is the first of the "First Blood" movies with Stallone was filmed here. There are Rambo cutouts all over town with a face missing. Come and be John Rambo for the moment.

Day 57- Additiional

We’ve just arrived at the first terminal, Juneau. We are about 14 miles from the city so we stayed on the boat. The ride has been smooth, the food is cafeteria food but reasonably priced and we talked with a couple from Ontario who were plagued with mechanical issues all the way to Alaska. We’ve been lucky by others’ standards. I just looked out the window and it’s officially dark at 10:05 PM. I think I’ll read for a bit and then go to sleep. We’ve been told the best time to see whales will be about 5:15 AM tomorrow so I guess I’ll be there. I just hope the whales get the memo. Oh and I forgot to post that we’ve been on the road 8 full weeks now and have traveled 9,764 miles. The big question now is do I add the 500 nautical miles being traveled on the ferry or not. Any thoughts?

Day 56- The Lake, The Park And Other Things

My personal alarm went off at about 7:00 this morning. Carl announced he was up and if I wanted to find those bears I’d better get up, too. So, we each brewed a cup of our favorite morning beverage, I stuffed pop tarts, bananas and bottled water into the cooler and we were off. I chose left at the fork in the road, towards Chilkoot Lake State Park. By the time we got to the bridge I could see grizzlies. We pulled over just pass the bridge to see one sow and two year plus cubs. We watched, I took lots of pictures and we played leap frog with another photographer. He had a much bigger lens than I’m shooting with. It wasn’t long before a third cub popped up from the deep grass. There’s always one that strays further from mom than it should. The sow was digging up roots and tearing into logs while the cubs seemed to favor the taste of the berries growing along the shoreline of Haines Bay. I think we watched for more than an hour when the sow headed back towards the bridge. I was up on the bridge when she and the three cubs came up the side of the river and passed directly under the bridge. Both Carl and I crossed over just in time to watch mom swim into view, grab a salmon and begin ripping into it. Two of the cubs worked their way along the shore, taking tentative steps into the cold water while one of them buried it’s head deep in between the large boulders lining the shore. Then, the family moved up the river. You could tell where they were by how quickly the guys fishing in the river moved. We jumped back into the truck and drove up river to where I would have a nice opportunity to get a few more photos. There was a weir spanning the river with a guy in yellow rain pants tending it. I didn’t realize until the guy started yelling at us to get our truck out of the way. There were signs explaining the bears need their space and there was no parking allowed between the signs. One of the cubs tried to cross the planking on top of the weir and Mr. Yellow Rain Pants grabbed a shovel and started banging on it spooking the family into the woods. The ground where we stood was a mixture of bear scat, fish guts and uneaten heads. We followed the river further up stream to the mouth of Chilkoot Lake. There we parked and waited. I figured eventually the bears would work their way to that spot but after two hours there was still no sign of them. While I waited, I had an opportunity to take a photo or two of the area, a Bald Eagle in the tree in front of me and a pair of birds that I can only describe as black cardinals with indigo blue wings. When they flew, that brilliant blue just grabbed your eyes. I also chatted with a couple from Texas who had arrived on the Holland America cruise ship we saw in port earlier. I finally decided the wait had been long enough, we said goodbye and headed back towards the bridge. On a hunch, I asked Carl to go left, back over the bridge, and sure enough, there was another grizzly in the marsh grass. We spotted two older cubs with this sow. I had hopes this sow would be a bit more cooperative but moms are so protective. The first sow had been collared and one of the three cubs had been tagged. Sure enough, this sow also wore a tracking collar. Nothing I could do about that. And just like the first family, this one also worked it’s way towards the bridge and followed the path under the bridge. But, one of the cubs tried to come up on the bridge. A ranger arrived to help redirect bear traffic although she didn’t have to do anything because one of the guys in the small group of people who had gathered made lots of noise and told the cub to get lost. It worked and off it ran back under the bridge to catch up with the rest of the family. And just like the first bear family, this one also worked their way up the shore of the river towards the weir. It was then my battery died in the camera so we headed back to the truck. I didn’t feel too bad. The bears were out of my reach with the 28-300mm lens I have. I changed batteries in the camera and my heart sunk. I got an error message flashing on the camera. Nothing I did changed this and my heart came up into my throat. I’m thousands of miles from home, my camera is malfunctioning and no camera shop within 500 miles. It was a pretty quiet ride back to the camper. I’m not exactly sure what I did to stop the error message but it involved putting another battery in, changing the memory card and then formatting the card. Well, if I could do that, the camera wasn’t dead. I tried to take a photo in the camera and, at first, the auto focus wouldn’t work. I took the picture anyway and all of a sudden, the focus worked, the error message disappeared and I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I remembered when I put the new battery in I hadn’t shut the power off on the camera. Here’s a lesson for you. No matter how long you’ve been taking photos, there’s always something that can go wrong and there’s always something to be learned. Now, it’s lunch time and I’m downloading 154 bear pictures. I promise I won’t post them all on face book.

Day 54- Ready, Set, Go!!!!

Even I realize I’m sounding like a broken record, here, but it was still raining when we got up this morning. So, if life hands you lemons, well, you try to do something with them. You haven’t got any sugar in the house and it’s definitely not lemonade weather. Still, there was a plus, at least for me. I got to see what actually happens when we bring in the slide out room and it’s been raining for two days. There is a squeegee gasket all the way around plus an awning to keep most of the rain of the roof so I thought everything would be great. And it mostly was. However, when you bring an outside room inside, well there is a certain amount of water that comes with it no matter how good that squeegee is. A quick breakfast and a well practiced pack up saw us off in good time and as we passed by the site of Old Valdez, wiped out by the earthquake and Tsunami of 1964, I caught site of the grain silos in town. Captain Stan, on the boat, told us the town built these gorgeous silos and a bridge to get to them with anticipation of shipping Alaskan grown grain out of the port. Here’s where the story has one of those good / bad things going on. The good news is all of the grains grown in Alaska stay in Alaska and the bad, well, Valdez has this eyesore on their horizon that sits pretty much empty all the time and the townspeople are reminded everyday of the cost the entire facility, bridge included, has set them back. The trip through Keystone Canyon and up over Thompson Pass was not the sunlit and photographic experience I’d hoped. In fact the weather was worse today than it was on Friday when we came in. So, no great photos of the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls. I also could truly get a feel of how majestic the scenery was around us. We would get small glimpses as clouds and fog rolled in and out, but it was just a tease. I could imagine how very beautiful the Chugach range was, though. As the road continued on to Tok, we passed this “gas station” where I saw absolutely no sign of any pumps whatsoever. There was a satellite dish and the driveway was not blocked with debris like so many other places we’ve seen that just dried up or withered away. Still, it’s been a while since it was in operation. How do I know ? When was the last time gas was $1.45 9/10 per gallon? Sometime before noon, we came upon a 12 mile stretch of road construction complete with two flag people holding traffic up while 3 state workers literally leaned on shovels and brooms. Carl and I got a chuckle over this for a couple of miles and we were still laughing when a pickup truck coming towards and by us threw up a rock and hit our windshield. We’ll be looking for a glass replacement shop when we get to Washington state. Right in my line of sight are not one but two craters with spider webs. Eventually they will work their way into full blown cracks. Carl wished he’d packed the super glue. That might have helped to hold the little devil together a bit longer. Most of the mileage driven today was a repeat from earlier but we did have new territory from Glenallen to Tok and I declared that today would be the day I’d find that bull moose. At the time, I had no way of knowing this stretch of road would contain the best moose habitat we’ve driven through. And all I saw was one cow very far off from the road. I am beginning to think there are no big bulls in the state of Alaska. And now, we’re back in the Yukon for the rest of today and part of tomorrow. While I was trying to convince Ms Moose to come closer, I looked up at the mountains to see a fresh snow fall happening which reminds me, on last night’s local news broadcast, they mentioned Denali National Park had a substantial snowfall this weekend. I told you the signs were all there for an early and harsh winter. This photographer has to fess up with something. Today, we drove past an airplane in one of those pull outs they put every so often so you can get off the road and let faster traffic go by. Why is this noteworthy, you ask? Because we were in the middle of no where and there was no runway. This plane landed on the road about mile 101 and taxied to this paved pullout. There was a pickup truck there and it appeared to us as we drove by, they were working on either the tire or the strut. And I didn’t think to take a picture. Camera on the front seat right beside me and we continued on our trip. I’d say his landing was definitely “off airport” and I suspect that’s how he’ll be taking off again. These bush pilots are an amazing and hardy bunch with nerves of steel. They will and do put down almost anywhere from a gravel airstrip or sand bar in the middle of a river. For a boring day, it was pretty exciting.

Day 53- Captives Of The Rain, August 7, 2011

I never actually said it in yesterday’s post but we spent almost an hour at the base of the Meares glacier and observed almost no calving. There were several groans and cracks from it’s movement but that’s was it. I guess, if you look at it from another perspective, calving equals the death of a glacier so if the glacier isn’t putting too much ice into the bay, then there’s hope for it’s survival. I did mention the rain that began to fall as we returned to the dock and it has been raining steady all night, turning the footing on any of the trails we might have walked today into slippery, muddy messes and more. So, after a breakfast of Banana Pancakes, I’ve used the time to get caught up on editing photos, writing these blogs and posting everything on line. Later, we’ll hit the grocery store in town for the last few perishables we need. On Monday morning, Carl wants to hit the road early. It’s about 700 miles from Valdez to Haines where we will get the ferry which is part of an extensive Marine Highway system. There are so many places only reachable by either airplane or boat, the ferry system here is a lifeline to some of the more exotic islands like Unalaska or more mundane places like the state capital, Juneau. Anyway, in Haines, Carl may go fishing one more time. I’m going to try to get more bear photos and there is that inevitable laundry to be done. We’ll have 36 hours on the ferry and I plan to spend as much time as possible up on deck taking photos. I’ve always been interested in traveling the Inside Passage and this ferry trip will allow us that opportunity. Later today, if the weather clears, we’ll get out and explore a bit more of the land side of Valdez.

Day 51- First Day in Valdez, August 5, 2011

Neither of us slept well last night. Me, it was the medicine. I get weird dreams but also don’t feel like I’m actually asleep. Carl reported the same symptoms but I know he didn’t take my headache pills. We are both baffled by our inability to get consistent sleep. I mean it’s the same mattress, pillows and bedding. It’s just the place we park that’s different each night. Anyway, it was a late start to the morning and didn’t leave Tonsina River Lodge much before 10. Valdez was only 79 miles so we weren’t too concerned. In fact, we’re a whole day early so we hope the people at Eagle’s Rest Campground and RV Park will have room for us. The weather for the beginning of our drive today was wet but as we got closer to the Chugach National Forest, we could see some really impressive mountains in spite of the low ceiling. Up ahead of us was a break in the mountains. Later we learned it was Thompson Pass at 2,680 ft. We knew we had a long way down because Valdez is at sea level. We passed by Worthington Glacier, easily visible from the road, but still a couple miles from it’s terminus. There was a tiny community of businesses nearby specializing in ice climbing and treks to the glacier. We traveled several more miles, all downhill and arrived at Keystone Canyon. For just a brief second, I was whisked back to the Hawaiian Islands again. So many waterfalls everywhere you look. One of the most impressive drops is called Bridal Veil Falls followed closely by Horsetail Falls. Both have large volumes of water, both have a drop of more than 200 feet but Bridal Veil has several channels than fan down over the rock while Horsetail comes down more than half way before it divides into thin strands the rest of the way to the bottom. Some of the water cascading down is seasonal while others are year round glacial melt water and it’s difficult to tell which is which, especially with the large amount of rain this area gets. Once we’re checked in at the RV Park, the lady at the desk tells us about a Hatchery with a fish ladder over on the Dayville Road. She puts the icing on the cake by mentioning the area is frequently visited by bears. Sure enough, we head over about 6:00 and are amazed by the immense numbers of salmon waiting at the mouth to the weir. We’re told by a fellow who lives here the fish are being made to wait until the eggs are ripe. Normally this process would happen over the weeks it takes the salmon to travel from the ocean into the fresh water streams to the place where they were born, to the place where they will spawn the next generation. By the Hatchery creating a generational crop, they are assured of the fish returning to “their place of birth” to be harvested for canning. It’s an amazing process, a new form of aquaculture that is catching on in many places and it just makes sense to let nature feed and house your livestock for four or five years before they come home. They do have their natural perils such as eagles, gulls and bears. In fact, while we were sitting there, a small black bear came down from the mountains, walked under the bridge and proceeded to the water’s edge to grab a few fat salmon. Then, as easy as you please, he headed up to the bridge, crossed the river by using the pedestrian walkway and climbed two fences to get into the fish ladder for easier picking. Then it was up over one more fence and out onto a large rock in the bay surrounded by thousands of fish waiting for their turn at the ladder entrance. He fought off a flock of about 50 gulls and grabbed another couple of fish before heading off to another part of the shoreline. Apparently, he decided there were just too many humans around watching what he ate. It was getting late and I was hungry so we turned for home only to come up on a bear jam. On the right side of the road was about a dozen people all with cameras so I grabbed mine and asked what was up. I was informed there was a black bear sow with three cubs feeding at the base of a really pretty waterfall. There were hundreds of gulls and crows, all standing around making a racket and sure enough, out of the thick brush on one side of the creek, came Mama Bear. She would go to the creek, grab a salmon and take it back to the bushes. The scene was repeated several times and then she disappeared. I though the show was over but all of a sudden the sow burst from the bushes, sending a screaming cloud of gulls skyward. Behind her, we could see one of the cubs. I never did see all three. It was definitely a nice day. We’ve decided to go on a 9 hour Prince William Sound wildlife and Glacier tour tomorrow. I hope the weather will be good.

Day 49- Last Day In Soldotna

The weather is a bit better today. It’s only occasionally raining but it poured last night. They have issued flash flood watches for some areas. I don’t really want any more gray day photos but I may never get back this way again so we head off. First to the Soldotna Landfill to get rid of the fish guts and carcasses and to find the eagles the guy at the Kenai River Boardwalk told us about. Getting rid of the fish stuff was the easy part. There was thousands of gulls and ravens all over the place and try as we might, we couldn’t find any eagles. Then, just as we were headed for the exit, I spotted one in a tree. Carl grabbed the tripod and I got set to get some great eagle shots. We watched the bird at the very top of a spruce tree for about 20 minutes. I muttered under my breath that it was time for him to fluff up those wings and take off. And sure enough, about 5 minutes later, that’s exactly what the eagle did. The shot turned out okay but would have been much better with a blue sky and a few puffy white clouds in the background. A photographer like skiers are never satisfied. There is some prime moose habitat between Soldotna and Homer. It’s too bad the moose haven’t heard about it. In fact, I am very disappointed by the lack of moose sightings since we’ve been in Alaska. We saw the cow and calf and another cow on the Dalton Highway and then two distant bulls in Denali. That’s it! I keep looking though. The high point of the day came when I spotted not one but two nests with fledgling eagles on them. Of course, I have to stop and take pictures even though the trees make it difficult to get just the right shot. Eventually the road turned towards the Cook Inlet and we arrived at a beautiful overlook. In the distance, there was the merest hint of the high mountains in the Katmai National Forest, cloud shrouded, of course. And somewhere in the distance is three of the most active volcanoes in North America, Spur, Redoubt and Illiamna. I know where I should be looking thanks to a carving of the panorama before me that someone made, painted and numbered years ago. The weather is taking it’s toll but I get the general direction I should be looking. And while I’m on the subject of sky conditions, every so often, there is the smallest hint of blue that pops through and the sun threatens to show itself but then the clouds prevail once more and it starts to rain. The run into Homer and out onto Homer Spit doesn’t take any time at all from the Scenic Overlook. We go all the way to the end, looking for the commercial pier in hopes the Time Bandit, one of the crab fishing boats from The Deadliest Catch, is in port today. I asked the silly tourist question of our server at lunch and she replied it was true but she hadn’t seen them all summer. They must be at their other home port. There are, however, two shops with the words “Time Bandit” over the door so I wander over to one of them and find an 8 foot by 8 foot crab pot on it’s side by the front door. Carl leans against it for one more cheesy tourist photo and I set out to find the one thing our son, Dylan, asked for- a sticker that reads “eat crab“. He saw it on the wall of the Hillstrand wheelhouse. Can’t find it there but the shopkeeper does tell us where we can find it or something like it. While on the way to Redden Marine to see about the sticker, I spot a third nest with fledgling eagles in it and I mention to Carl we’ll stop on the way back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it going in the opposite direction and when we pass by the nest nearest the road where one of the youngsters had been testing it’s wings, it was gone. We missed his first flight and the one remaining juvenile was looking pretty lonely. So all together, that was four nests, two with two juveniles, one with three juveniles and one empty nest and three single adults all day. It was a pretty good eagle day. Tomorrow, we head for Valdez. Carl says it’s a very long drive so we will probably stop in a parking area for the night. I wonder where it will be this time. It certainly won’t have internet so this will be my last post for a couple of days. I’ll catch you up later, though. Oh and it’s the end of our 7th week and we’ve traveled 8,555 miles and loved every minute of it.