Blog

Fall colors called for a road trip today… heading north east, most of the trees were already stripped of their leaves by recent rain and wind… so I turned south and started for the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet south of Anchorage Alaska… Girdwood sounded like a good destination… it’s a ski resort town nestled at the base of mountains… and yes the colors were better but… on the way we passed Potters Marsh… there right beside the very busy highway were people taking pictures… I had to stop… and there was Swaney… A trumpeter swan strutting his stuff… Enjoy…

I was stunned when Everest in full flight passing in front of these old harbor piers in the city of Craig, Alaska on Prince of Wales Island. As Everest left his perch on an abandoned pier he reached this spot with his wings fully stretched out... just as he was passing in front of the rustic piers. It all made for this dramatic flight... some may like the appearance of wings in other poses but this is my favorite... I hope you find it inspiring as well.

Did you ever dream of having a series of pictures the size of a half sheet of plywood (4 feet by 4 feet) with a larger than life size eagle taking off across the series... well... I do... but... That's why there is a collection of Everest the Eagle's take off here on this site... a lot of bird photographs have the bird at a distance but Everest managed to give me full frame shots in this series... so I just couldn't pass up the change to provide a series of detailed photographs that can be used for large prints... yes, smaller prints are possible, but sometimes big prints are not possible. So if you decide to create a panel with a series of take off shots... Hey, let me know...
email: [email protected]...

Everest finally posed for me... Well that's what I call him... He had been sitting on a metal boom watching some fishermen clean some fish when I saw him fly to these old pilings in a little cove next to the harbor. The rustic piling with the fresh greenery growing out of it made for a unusual setting for Everest to settle into. But when he turned this profile he seemed to be saying with pride, this is my place.

Everest lives in Craig, Alaska, population 1036, on the Prince of Wales Island in South East Alaska. The city of Criag is the largest city on the Prince of Wales Island and is named after Craig Miller who established a fish saltery nearby in 1907.

I followed Everest to a little cove near the Craig, Alaska harbor on Prince of Wales Island. He sat on old pilings taking in the scene. He studied the surroundings and gave a striking pose from time to time and then hunched down a launched... This take off was beautiful! A green seedling growing out of rugged pilings lashed together with steel cable made for a picturesque launch pad for his next flight. With a powerful down beat of his wings he lifts off his perch... Gosh I love watching eagles... Go
Everest!

Is it intense camping or camping in tents???

So where do you expect to find a tent?? On the stern of the MV Columbia?

Well, Yes, that is a very likely place to find a tent... the Alaska Marine Highway is a unique transportation system that connects the island and mainland communities of South East Alaska. Passengers sleep on deck chairs, or staterooms, or camp on a bench in the observation lounge, or even set up their tent on the stern of the ship. Tape is used to hold the tent down instead of tent pegs. Some passengers may be onboard for one or three nights.

On a calm day it's sometimes hard to take in the fact that you are on the North Pacific Ocean passing between islands in Alaska... and there is somebody camping in a tent! Pretty intense!

Surprise! It is always a surprise when you drive around a turn and see the deer. And they are surprised to see a car. But, when it is a Fawn and Doe in a field of Daisies the surprise can be inspiring. We were driving on Prince of Wales (POW) Island in South East Alaska from Coffman Cove to the Sarkar River on Forrest Service Road 30 when we encountered this fawn and doe. We slowed and they met us with a almost indifferent but curious gaze. Part of the enchantment of POW are the encounters with the wildlife... we even fawn over it... LOL

By the way in case you might want to know... Prince of Wales is 150 miles long and the third largest island in the United States. It is part of the largest intact temperate rainforest system on earth. You really should see it for your self.

The sun comes up about 4:30 am at Whale Point in Coffman Cove, Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, in July. My room looked on on the Pacific Ocean channel running between Prince of Wales and the Etolin Island in South East Alaska. This morning the sun came streaming into to my room on the beach and woke me up... I stepped out side to take in the fresh morning air and was startled with a loud explosive breath from somewhere... as I looked over the surface of the ocean and saw a humpback swimming nearby and blowing steamy jets into the morning air... I ran inside and grabbed the camera and for the next few minutes the humpback continued to blow and then the he swam nearby with his humpback high out of the water and then he dove. The morning sun caught this waterfall coming of his tail as dove and swam away from shore. WOW!

We arrived in Coffman Cove with no place to stay... well at least we had not made reservations... we had been on Prince of Wales Island for the weekend and had set out to explore more of the island. There is no internet coverage on the island so we had to go to the library to find out what might be available. Whale Point was at the end of town and when we drove into the driveway the sign said vacancy.

I knocked on the door of the main house... yes he had a place... he preferred cash... we agreed on two days... when we walked in to the room a huge picture window faced the ocean channel running past the Island. A set of binoculars sat on the window sill. We ended up extending our stay and spent 4 days taking in the magnificence of place. One evening I stepped out on the porch and saw this awesome view to the north facing the Clarence Strait.

But... the sunset lied...

The sailors saying is... "Red at night, Sailors delight!. Red in the morning, Sailors take warning"

Well this stunning view stunned us with a major storm the next day. LOL.

The Sunset was better than the fireworks at Klawock on the 4th of July.

After a 600 mile drive through Canada and 300 mile ride over night on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry Columbia we stopped in Klawock, on the Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. The city had scheduled fire works for 11 pm at the harbor. But this awesome sunset was better than the fireworks!!