Old Photo Albums > July 2004- The Mom's Trip (42)
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010brianandliz.jpg
The very first thing we did after both moms arrived was go to the botanical gardens there in Anchorage to see the flowers. This was taken there.
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020purpleflowers.jpg
Alaska has some of the most vibrant flowers in the world, due to the near 24 hours of daily sunlight required to make those colors really pop.
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060devilsclub.jpg
Stephanie holds up a plant called Devils Club. It's a broad leafy thing on the top side, but the underside is covered in spikes.
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080foursome.jpg
This is at Beluga Point, south of Anchorage and on the way down to Kenai. Belugas are said to be commonly seen in the background, but we didn't see any.
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120yukonriver.jpg
During our 24 hours in Fort Yukon, we managed to make it on to the river. Here is Liz, Kathy and Stephanie in the boat with Pastor BP at the wheel.
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140bearprints.jpg
Fresh bear tracks follow a cut bank on the Porcupine River. The following winter, this is the same place Neub and I camped at 20 below, and where I made my infamous snow cave for sleeping.
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230brewhouse.jpg
This is the interior of the Brewhouse in downtown Anchorage, and one of my favorite pictures. I like the color and the blur.
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400boateagle.jpg
As soon as the boat pulled out of the harbor, we saw this eagle sitting on his perch. A year later, when Liz and Susie made the same trip, they said that eagle was still sitting there.
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420boatpwsdolphins2.jpg
Our boat captain was even excited when we saw these... Pacific White-Side Dolphins.
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440humpy1.jpg
This is the same humpback whale in the next four pictures. Our boat captain said this was probably a young male who was acting up.
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450humpy2.jpg
Humpback whales migrate between the coast of Alaska in the summertime, and down to the Hawaii area in the wintertime.
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460humpy4.jpg
Down in Hawaii, it's mating season for humpbacks. They don't eat much of anything, but the males do this agressive breeching in order to attract females. In the summer, they come to Alaska to feed and pack on the pounds. There is very little breeching, as they are conserving their energy, and not too interested in mating.
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470humpyglacier.jpg
So it's a little rare to see a humpback breeching like this... but leave it to a young male to be goofing around. Note the glacier in the background.
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570otter.jpg
Stephanie had been wanting a good look at a sea otter since we left Washington. So finally, she got her wish.
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620kittiwakes.jpg
Kathy and Stephanie and I drove to Whittier for a little kayaking outing. Here, Stephanie and Kathy paddled by a waterfall with a kittywake rookerie. There was an unbelieveble number of birds flying are perched on the rocks, with spray coming from the waterfall. I had my camera in a Pelican case, and was trembling as I pulled it out to take a quick picture, fearing capsizing with camera in hand. Just recently, Stephanie and I watched the Alaska Imax movie and immediately recognized this spot when it appeared on screen.
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670mountaingoats.jpg
Despite the filename, these are actually young dahl sheep, taken from the road back to Anchorage from Seward, very near beluga point.
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680denalihghwy.jpg
This is the 135 mile long Denali highway. The Denali highway is a dirt and gravel east/west road that connects the Parks highway with the Richardson. Stephanie and I were driving north from Anchorage to Fairbanks when I though about John's burger stand in Delta Junction. So I asked Stephanie, "You hungry?" We turned right and drove 3.5 bumpy hours for a burger, fries and a shake. It was a nice view.
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700roadkill.jpg
Dead marmot
