A few nice pictures, and some stories

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know why you don't want to enter the photo of the week contest. Many of these are worthy.

 

[Alasgun]

Thanks for the encouraging words @Ridgerunner but i already won the prize, being able to go there, be in those places and spend time. Creation is a wonderful thing that i never tire of!

Over the years folks have told me “gee, you should make a calendar or enter them in the State fair etc. I did put them all on a thumb drive and feel good about just sharing those moments with others. I’ve given a lot of C.d’s to folks who wanted to have nice, untouched photos for screen savers etc.

Hopefully i don’t “exceed the limit”, at 3 a day this can go on for another couple weeks!

 

[Carol Dee]

@Alasgun Thank You so much for sharing the Alaska you know and love. It has been a buck list item for DH and I . Now it is moving to the top!

 

[Alasgun]

Thanks @Carol Dee, Alaska makes it to entertain folks. Do some homework well ahead of time and you’ll have a memorable experience!

 

[Alasgun]

Today we’re looking at some of the places we anchor for the evenings.

Bettles bay is scenic but buggy later in the year. I only stay there if im up in that area shrimping, long before the bugs come out.

Mink island is my favorite, it’s very secure and quite scenic. The focal length adjustment is off a bit on this shot as i had greenery 5ft in front of my face and the boat a 100 yards out. The goal was to capture the many hue’s of green!

Another of Mink Island, from on the boat. Each spring a group of lesser Canadian geese raise young in this bay. They’re always up before me and it’s always nice to listen to the “goose talk” as they swim by foraging for breakfast.

 

[majorcatfish]

looks like a wonderful place to visit and get your personal bearings straight......thank you for sharing

 

[digitS']

@Dirtmechanic says that he missed trees growing up in coastal Bethel, Alaska.

Your pictures from anchoring are about the same line of latitude but there is dense evergreen forest. How does the local climate vary so much from Bethel area that it supports such a different environment?

Cringing at the idea of you experincing over 18 hours of daily darkness during some weeks of winter ...

Steve

 

[Alasgun]

@digitS' , that would be a question for our creator, but bear in mind were talking about a land mass more than twice the size of Texas! A land mass equal to 1/3 of the total United States.
Now, east and west Texas are also similar using latitude logic and yet one is very bleak and the other fairly forrested.

As to the weather patterns, when i leave home hauling the boat to either Seward or Whittier, i pass thru 3 different weather zones. Once the boat’s in the water i can pass thru 3 more if i’m over in Prince William Sound! And im not talking subtle differences, in the spring i’ve seen 4 ft. Of snow at the tideline and 40 miles further south not have any snow up to about 1,000 ft. Elevation.

18 hours of darkness along with cold and snow are what keep it liveable for the locals and then summer rolls around and everyone wants to be here and that’s another story.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Oh we had trees around Bethel sort of, because down here you would equate them to a young to mid aged crepe myrtle. There was a lot of willowy willows. And I believe it was possibly colder then, given that we had permafrost that was not that deep. Nothing like the deep shading hardwoods around my house now.

 

[Alasgun]

Good morning, today were looking at a small hook out of Seward where i like to stop and clean fish on my way back in. It’s not unlike a thousand other suitable places except that it’s right on the path taken by all the tour boats as they move about the bay showing tourist the popular sights. This one is right next to the seal rocks so the tourist still have they're cameras out when they come around the corner. I always position the boat with her best side seward and as they pass i’ll hold up a nice one or let a grandkid “beep the boat” (blow the horn) and this always draws hooting and high fives from those less fortunate souls listening to the captain droll on and on about everything under the sun.
i‘m pretty sure im in more Japanese home movies than our Governor!

Deep water bay, is just a pretty place to eat lunch, too open to anchor and little wind protection if one comes up. Out around that left face the cliff continues for some distance and we’ve caught yellow-eye fishing along the steep drop to roughly 200 ft.

And lastly, a nice jelly. In Quillian bay, off Ester Island they must breed / raise young as i’ve never found another place where they are as prolific. In the spring there will be 1,000,000’s of them from this size (12 in) down to dime size everywhere you look. They are so beautiful and nothing exude’s tranquility to me more than one of these Gals sauntering along doing what ever jelly do when no one is looking!