Drake & Ducks at Woodland Park In Montana

Yesterday I took Drake to Woodland Park in Kalispell Montana. I used to take my other Lab Bubba there a lot when we used to live here. There are many species of waterfowl that live there and it is a beautiful park. Here is a picture of Drake wondering why I took him there and wouldn't let him go after any of the ducks!

Images from my new front porch in Montana

I love my new home in Montana. It is great to be back. I especially like taking weather pictures. Here are a few from my front porch.

Trip South on the Alaska Ferry

The trip south was really fun. The weather was glum the first half but turned quite nice after we arrived in Petersburg. We encountered 25 foot seas on the cross gulf portion from Yakutat to Juneau but luckily it was at night so it was a matter of loading up on dramaine and going to sleep. Here are a few pics of the trip.

We saw several groups of humpback whales but they were all too far away for decent shots. The orca were another story. We also saw several porpoise and tons of sea birds.

Montana Bound

Can you believe it - we are actually leaving Alaska! I never thought this would happen, but here we are packing up and heading south. I love Alaska and will miss it and all my life long friends, but it is time to go.

The only place I've ever wanted to live is Cooper Landing. Unfortunately, it is turning into a little Lake Tahoe and has become to expensive to remain. So, off we go, back to Montana. It really is beautiful there and is the next best place, so it will be fun. And the upside is that there are more roads. For as huge and remote as Alaska is it has become too congested since everyone travels the same roads and fishes the same places. Too many people and not enough infrastructure to support them. It will be nice to head off into the woods and not see another person!

We are leaving tomorrow - Wednesday, August 26th. It will be a 9 day trip traveling on the Alaska Ferry. I expect we will be in Montana on the 4th of September and then will have to make arrangements for our phone and internet connection. I should be back on line by the 2nd week of September and will have tons of photos from our trip.

Think good thoughts for us on our trip. Uneventful is a good word to use. I will be back in touch with you all soon!

Rhonda

Foggy Fishing on the Kenai River

I took this picture a few days ago. The temperature has begun to drop at night and makes for some beautiful foggy mornings on the water. Folks are still fishing for silver salmon, rainbow trout and dolly varden making for some great images.

More Alaska Photos

Here are some photos I took on my last trip to Anchorage. I think the one of Turnagain Arm turned out great. And I really like the fast motion blur of the one of my dog Drake chasing a stick!

Move day is just around the corner. Can you believe I will be leaving Alaska in two weeks? We are getting things finished up around the house and then off we go. I sure do hope the trip is relaxing and uneventful.

Back Surgery Weekend

Surgery was a success. I was able to walk out of the recovery area under my own power and have spend the last few days resting on the couch and sitting in the yard with my pup. After several days of rain we have had really nice weather the last few days and I was able to snap a couple of nice pics of the fireweed and other wild flowers as well as a decent shot of Cecil Mountain and fireweed. Hope you enjoy. I'll be spending the rest of the week packing light boxes that I can lift during my recovery and kicking back on the couch. Too bad that the silver salmon are in and I can't go fishing!!!!!!! All in good time I guess.

Feeding Time - Baby Tern, how cute!

I didn't realize it has been almost 10 days since my last post! Not much going on lately. I've been doing a lot of fishing but haven't really seen much wildlife. And the weather has been dark and rainy so even scenic shots are not very good these days.

I did get luck when I took my dog for a swim a couple of days ago. A pair of Terns had taken one of their babies out for lunch. They had it perched on an old piece of lumber that sticks out of the river and they went out to catch it some fish. One of the adults would chase off the seagulls and the other would catch fish and bring them back to feed the youngster. I love the burst mode on my camera - I can shoot 5 frames per second which helped me get these great pictures.

FYI - my back surgery will take place on Friday 7/31. I'll be out fishing until then and will write more a few days after surgery.

More Wild Flowers

It's the time of year for wildflowers so I went out yesterday to get a few more shots. Here we have Common Harebell, Fireweed and Yellow Paintbrush.

Well, it's decided - I will be having back surgery for my bulging disc. It's done on an outpatient basis so I will get to go home after I wake up. The procedure is done endoscopically so I should be feeling pretty good in a couple of weeks. The downside is that I won't be able to go back to work for a couple of months, but at least the pain will be gone and I will get to go back to work. Here is a picture I found online of the procedure. I will know the date of surgery next week.