Friday, July 14, 2017. Dayville Road about six miles north of Valdez offers an opportunity to view bald eagles and other wildlife. The sea lions come in during high tide for the fish near the hatchery. So do the seagulls. Did not expect to see an open carry gun. Fear is the word that comes to mind!
Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Beautiful driving to Valdez. Takes Horsetail Falls! Took the self-portrait with the Musk Ox at the Valdez Visitor Center. Love the artist 30 foot wood carving in town. That’s my space with the MyPod and Pacifica at the Bear Paw RV Campground!
Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Caught my reflection in the window of the Anchorage Visitor Center downtown. While purchasing a new memory card at Stewart’s Photography, I asked the sales person to take my picture under some of their photos just like last year! I love the Don’t Trash Alaska signs. Took some pictures of the planes near the airport. Found this moose along the trail near the airport. But, did not find the world famous largest Bull Moose that the lady at the visitor center told me about!
Monday, July 10, 2017. Traveled from Homer to Anchorage. Saw the cow moose and her calves early in the morning before leaving the Kenai Peninsula. In Girwood, the other birds did not want the bald eagle in the neighborhood. So, after quite a bit of harassment, he left! Before getting to Anchorage, I was fortunate not spot the mountain goats. Look carefully at the picture of my tripod and big lens to see the white dots on the ridge far of in the distance.
Sunday, July 9, 2017. Pilot Tom flew me and a fellow from England in a Cessna 206 over to Silver Salmon to visit the bears hunting for clams along the shoreline. The cloud ceiling was to low to risk flying into Hallo Bay as originally planned. Captured the first image of the bears from the plane. The second image I took after getting out of the plane along the beach. We joined the group from the red Cessna to photograph the bears. I asked Pilot Tom to take a picture of me with Ranger Ken. I’m very pleased with the bear images I captured here. We noticed some of the bears were getting a little too close to one of the planes. So, we all walked over to the area to make sure they did not attempt to do any damage. If you look carefully, you will notice my MyPod trailer at the Baycrest RV Campground waiting for me to return from my flight. The sow and her cubs gave me a Beatles Abbey Road picture, all in a straight line following mom. Although a little snug, Valentine (my bear traveling buddy) seems pleased with his new Alaska sweater!
Saturday, July 8, 2017. Ricky, our pilot from Bald Mountain Air flew a me and a group of other folks from Homer, Alaska over to Katmai National Park so we could visit the brown bears fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls. Took the first image of Homer Spit from Skyline Drive and the second one from our plane. The next image of the glacier was taken from the plane. The image of Brooks Falls with lots of salmon trying to leap over the falls was taken before the first bear made his way up the stream. Only saw four bears in the vicinity. None positioned themselves on top of the falls. No iconic shot today. One bear seemed to enjoy the fishing and catching much more than the eating. Maybe he was already full from yesterday. The sow and cubs were down by the bridge, away from the falls.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Left the Golden Nugget RV Campground in Anchorage and traveled to the Portage Valley. Found a campsite in Black Bear Campground in the Chugach National Forest. Spent the day photographing the animals at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center about 65 miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway. I always enjoy visiting this place when I am in Alaska!
Tuesday, July 4, 2017. Yesterday was a travel day for me from Denali National Park to Anchorage, Alaska. Today I enjoyed visiting the animals at the Alaska Zoo here in Anchorage. Although the zoo is not a large one, they have quite a variety. They have a natural creek that flows through the zoo. It is usually cool here in the summer. Although the weather forecast called for more rain, I did not have a drop fall on me the whole day.
Sunday, July 2, 2017. By the way, I am doing my blog posts today from Sarah Palin’s home town, Wasilla, Alaska at Starbucks. Another great grizzly bear day in Denali. Took one self-portrait in the Polychrome area The other at a rest area with the antlers and a Park Ranger. The cub watching Momma try to dig up an Artic Ground Squirrel (unsuccessfully) was taking from Eielson Visitor Center. More close-ups of the grizzlies near our bus, like yesterday! Another “Smith Luck” day! Only about an eight hour day!
Saturday, July 1, 2017. Another good grizzly bear day. The male Willow Ptarmigan was a nice bonus picture in the Wonder Lake area! No sight of Denali today.
Smith's Uncommon Adventures 