Alaska

Throwback Thursday – August 1, 2013

August 1, 2019September 15, 2019Posted in Alaska, Glaciers, RVing, TravelTagged Fifth Wheel, Memories, Throwback Thursday, Valdez14 Comments

I originally started the Wandering Dawgs blog as a way to keep friends and family updated as we traveled from Georgia to Alaska in 2013. Six years later, the blog is still going strong. We’re not traveling as much in our RV anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

On this day six years ago, August 1, 2013, we were nearing the end of our stay in Alaska. That day, we drove from Glacier View, Alaska, to Valdez, our last major Alaska destination. I remember that drive was one of the most spectacular drives of our Alaska journey.

There were mountains and glaciers along the way.

20130801Day-78Glacier-View-to-Valdez-(4) — On to drive to Valdez

We could see Worthington Glacier from the highway about 30 miles from Valdez

We had lunch with a view.

We had lunch at Willow Lake with a view of Mount Wrangell

As we got close to Valdez we descended a long steep grade through Keystone Canyon and saw jaw dropping scenery as we drove by. We couldn’t stop while towing the fifth wheel so I took these waterfall phtotos the next day when we drove back up the highway for a closer look.

Horsetail Falls waterfall in Keystone Canyon

Our four days in Valdez were a great way to end our Alaska adventure before we began our return trip to Georgia.

To read more about that day, visit my original Wandering Dawgs post at Beautiful Drive to Valdez

Bald Eagles of Alaska

August 16, 2018Posted in Alaska, Birds, Nature, Photography, RVing, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Photo Challenge, Wandering Wednesday16 Comments

Five years ago we were wandering around Alaska in our RV. As we traveled I was always on the lookout for wildlife and we saw plenty of it.

Along with the many land and sea animals, I enjoyed seeing the birds. The Bald Eagles were my favorite and there were more Bald Eagles than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. We saw them perched in trees, soaring overhead, and even in a nest in front of the Homer Post office. The most unusual sighting was seeing one fly right beside the truck as we drove along the Homer Spit. I was so busy watching him keep up with us that I didn’t get a chance to take his picture!

He was looking at me — Bald Eagle on Ninilchik Beach

Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK

20130621Day-37Fjordland-to-Juneau-(177) — Bald Eagle in the Lynn Canal between Haines and Juneau

20130621Day-37Scale-Eagle — Bald Eagle in tree beside Eldred Rock Lighthouse in the Lynn Canal

Mama and Baby Eagles across from Homer Post Office — Mama and Baby Eagles in Homer

Eagle soaring over bluff at Russian Orthadox Church in Ninilchik

Pair of Eagles — We spotted this pair of Bald Eagles as we cruised by on a wildlife and glacier cruise from Valdez

Inspired by Ingrid’s Wandering Wednesday photo prompt – birds

Favorite Alaska and Canada Wildlife Photos

June 13, 2018Posted in Alaska, British Columbia, Road Trip, RVing, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, black bear, Grizzly, Humpback Whale, Live Laugh RV, moose, Orca, Photo Inspiration, Puffins, Stellar Sea Lions43 Comments

Five years ago this week we were on the road to Alaska from Georgia. Once we crossed the border into Canada, I spent every day looking for wildlife. There were many “WOW” wildlife sightings in both Canada and Alaska.

I’ve been thinking about posting some of my favorite wildlife photos from the trip and today I finally got the boost I needed to put it all together. When my friend Ingrid at Live, Laugh RV posted that the theme for her very first Wednesday photo inspiration was wildlife, I immediately started going though the thousands of photos from the trip.

If you would like to participate or see other posts inspired by Ingrid, click on over to Ingrid’s post Wandering Wednesday.

Here are just a few of my favorite wildlife photos from our Canada and Alaska adventure.

Elk in loop 63 — Elk near our campsite in Jasper National Park, Alberta

Bear in British Columbia — Soon after entering British Columbia we were in Mount Robson Park and saw this grizzly beside the road

Black Bear eating Dandelions — Bear in British Columbia

A small herd with calves — Bison herd with calves near Liard River Hotsprings in British Columbia

20130709Day-55Tek-to-Kantishna-(337) — Moose in Denali National Park, Alaska

Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau — Stellar Sea Lions on wildlife cruise from Haines to Juneau, Alaska

Whale Tail — Humpback Whale on wildlife cruise from Haines to Juneau, Alaska

Two Sea Otters Valdez — Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier cruise from Valdez, Alaska

Pod of Orcas with calf on Columbia Glacier cruise from Valdez, Alaska

Puffins on the Columbia Glacier Cruise from Valdez, Alaska

Wandering Around America one state at a time – Alaska

January 4, 2017November 28, 2017Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Road Trip, RVing, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged America the Beautiful, Arctic Circle, Bald Eagle, Denali, Haines, Ninilchik, Talkeetna17 Comments

State 2:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride! I will be featuring the states alphabetically and next up is

Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. The capital is Juneau and it is the only state capital that can only be reached by air, boat, or birth. The largest city is Anchorage.

We spent 50 glorious nights in Alaska in the summer of 2013.

I loved meeting so many wonderful Alaskans and hearing their stories. Wildlife, glaciers, boat trips, a flight seeing tour, eagles, halibut fishing, Denali National Park, taking the RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines, and a train ride on the Alaska Railroad are just a few of the amazing things we experienced while we were there. Our favorite place was Haines. The most exciting thing we did was take a flight-seeing tour from Talkeetna to see Mt. McKinley and land on Ruth Glacier. The farthest north we went was Coldfoot, north of the Arctic Circle.

Pullen Creek RV Park, Skagway, Alaska

Waterfalls along the Klondike Highway

Arriving at the Haines ferry dock

Watching for whales in Haines, Alaska

Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK

Haines boat harbor

Deadliest Catch!

Mendenhall Glacier

The free George Black Ferry crosses the Yukon River from Dawson City to Top of the World Highway.

Poker Creek Alaska

The signposts show other towns named after chickens. Who knew there were so many?

The Pedro Dredge in Chicken is a National Historic Site.

Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska

Downtown Talkeetna.

We went really close to Mt. McKinley

Loving every minute of our time on Ruth glacier

Home of author Mary Lovel in Sherman, Alaska

The Alaska Railroad runs right behind our campsite

Such an amazing sight to see their tail

Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau

Calving on Aialik Glacier one

A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez

There were Puffins in the water

Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez

Wandering Dawgs at the Arctic Circle

A good look at the Alaska pipeline as it goes underground

Four of these fish are ours!

Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska

Anchor Point is the most westerly highway point on a continuous road system in North America

Our first moose sighting was this cow by a pond

Lukor liked it on top of his house

Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska

Caribou grazing in Denali National Park

Do you see the profile of a face on the right side of the rock?

Chunk of ice from the Columbia Glacier

Fireweed behind our campsite made the beautiful view even better

Mama bear looking for more fish near Valdez

Every day was memorable, every day was special, every day we saw something spectacular. Was it worth driving over 14,000 there and back? Absolutely!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama

Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale

February 8, 2015June 21, 2015Posted in Alaska, Lighthouse, PhotographyTagged Eldred Rock Lighthouse, Fjordland Fast Ferry, Lynn Canal, Weekly Photo Challenge12 Comments

The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge this week is: Scale

During our 2013 RV journey to Alaska we took a day cruise on the M/V Fjordland through the Lynn Canal from Haines, Alaska to Juneau, Alaska.

As we approached the Eldred Rock Lighthouse I took this photo which shows the lighthouse dwarfed by to the mountain.

Eldred Rock Lighthouse in the Lynn Canal in Alaska

As we got closer we saw a tiny white dot on the top of the tree which turned out to be a Bald Eagle. Now the Bald Eagle is dwarfed by the lighthouse.

Do you see the tiny white dot at the top of the tree?

Can you see the Bald Eagle?

Now you can see it's a Bald Eagle — Can you tell it’s a Bald Eagle?

To find out more about our trip through the Lynn Canal click A Day Cruise to Juneau