BACK ON TRACK, MORE OR LESS, Connie and I haven’t had a lot to post recently. Our lives this summer were pretty much the same as everyone else’s—time spent with friends sprinkled with visits to doctors, dentists, attorneys, accountants, financial folks and such—I think Thoreau called it “quiet desperation.”
Alaska from the Air
Alaska from the Air
We left Colorado on Labor Day when we were supposed to go on a birding trip to Brazil. When the birding trip fizzled we decided to revisit Alaska where we had spent the summer in 2007 tent camping. Older now—and seemingly wiser—this time we eschewed the infamous AlCan Highway, masked up “just in case” and flew into Anchorage. The views of the snow-covered mountains as we approached Anchorage almost made up for the three hour lateness of the flight.
Substitue Bears
Another wonderful AirBnB—Kenai
The drive from the airport was uneventful except for the black bear sow with twin cubs that crossed the highway and it was just about dark when we arrived in Kenai. With an uber-expensive Hertz SUV instead of our old Subaru and a fabulous AirBnB rather than a tent for shelter from the inevitable rain, we’ve settled in for the next 2½ weeks.
Mt. Redoubt from Homer Spit
Alaskan Uber
We have vivid memories of the summer we spent here in Alaska (photos, too) but had to refer to our old hand-written journals to put the “wheres” into “when” order. I kept getting Homer and Seward mixed together so we took advantage of some rare sunshine and set out for Homer at the end of the peninsula, trying to sort out the confusion.
Cold-blooded Kite-surfer
Fire Basket Festival on Homer Spit
Fire Basket Festival (Internet photo)
While a few hearty souls were kite-surfing in the freezing water some locals were building a huge basket on the beach, a newish tradition we learned. Later that night they would set it afire—a way of saying goodbye to loved ones and releasing burdens of the heart.
Bald Eagles are as common as Crows
Two-barred Crossbill male
Femaile of the Species
Eagles in Alaska are about as common as crows in the “lower 48” but it’s been a while since we’ve seen Two-barred (formerly White-winged) Crossbills. I wonder if the birds were consulted about the name change.
