Wildlife – Page 22 – Wandering Dawgs

Day 82: Bear Sighting on our last day in Valdez

August 6, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, black bear, Nature, salmon, Valdez2 Comments

Day 82: Monday, August 5, 2013

Our original plan was to spend 3 nights in Valdez and then start heading back home. We liked it here so much we ended up spending 5 nights.

We couldn’t pass up our last chance for fish and chips so we had lunch at Old Town Burgers. My halibut and chips were delicious and Henry enjoyed his fish tacos.

We met a great group of folks on the boat yesterday who told us there was a mama bear with four cubs on the way to the fish hatchery. Of course we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see a bear so we took a drive back to the hatchery. We took Blondie down to the water and she wasn’t sure what to make of the fish.

As we drove back from the hatchery Henry spotted a black bear on our side of the road. We pulled over to the side of the road and watched the cub follow his mama back into the woods. With her cub safe and sound mama made several trips to retrieve dead fish from the creek bank to take back to the cubs. While this was all going on a Bald Eagle was preening on the top of one of the trees. After watching the bears for a long time we got ready to leave and saw a golden eagle fly overhead.

The cub followed his mama back into the woods

It was a great day to end our stay in Valdez. We will now begin our journey back home with one more night in Alaska before entering Canada to head south.

Day 81: Wildlife and Glacier Cruise from Valdez

August 6, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Waterfalls, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Columbia Glacier, Killer Whales, Orcas, Puffins, Sea Otters, Stan Stevens Cruises, Stellar Sea Lions2 Comments

Day 81: Sunday, August 4, 2013

The day was overcast with a chance of rain but it was our last opportunity to take a cruise so off we went on the Glacier Spirit with Stan Stephens Cruises. The boat had a nice, warm comfortable cabin and plenty of viewing areas outside. We left the Valdez Harbor about noon for our 6 hour cruise.

The scenery was breathtaking and there was plenty of wildlife. As we cruised close to shore we saw too many eagles to keep count. A pod of Dall Porpoise bow surfed for a while. They’re too fast to get a picture but beautiful to watch.

Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez

The highlight of the day was seeing a pod of Orcas with a calf.

The captain navigated through huge chunks of ice to get into Columbia Bay for a close up look at 10 mile wide Columbia Glacier.

The ride back to Valdez was just as spectacular.

Day 77: Dall Sheep watching in Glacier View, Alaska

August 2, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, RV Parks, WildlifeTagged Dall Sheep, Glacier View Alaska, Grand View RV Park

Day 77: Wednesday, July 31, 2013. Williwaw Campground to Glacier View, Alaska. Grand View RV Park Site 1. About 150 miles traveled.

The drive to our RV park along the Glenn Highway was scenic with no wildlife sightings. I am still constantly on the lookout for moose and bears. We passed through areas where caribou are sometimes seen but there were none to be found today.

The Grand View RV Park advertises “Dall Sheep Viewing” so we stopped there hoping to see some Dall Sheep on the mountains across from the campground. While I did laundry all afternoon we got out the binoculars and spotting scope in hopes of seeing the sheep. We weren’t disappointed. Four of the Dall Sheep (big horn sheep) were grazing high up on the mountain late in the afternoon. They were too far away for photos but they were fun to watch.

View out the back window of Dall Sheep on the mountain at Grand View RV Parl Alaska

Day 71: More exploring around Ninilchik

July 26, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, Sunset, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Kenai Peninsula, Mt. Redoubt, Ninilchik Village, sunset4 Comments

Day 71: Thursday, July 25, 2o13

Blondie and I started the day with our usual early morning walk by the marsh behind the campground.

Later I went for a long walk on the beach away from the campground and boat launch area. It was a beautiful day and many boats had gone out fishing. I passed by many people digging for clams, walking along the beach, or four wheeling by the water. The tide was low so there was plenty of beach.

My hope was to find flocks of eagles feasting on the fish carcasses that end up on the beach at low tide. The only birds dining on the carcasses were hundreds of gulls at waters edge. I managed to find a couple of eagles sitting tucked away high up on the bluff overlooking the water.

Later in the day Henry and I took a drive to see the Russian Orthodox church which sits on a bluff overlooking Ninilchik Village. Ninilchik was first explored and settled by Russians and there are families who have lived here for many generations. I met two women at the church who manage the gift shop and maintain all the graves. They grew up in Ninilchik together and lived with relatives in Anchorage to attend high school because at the time there was no high school in Ninilchik. They graduated together in 1950.

There was an eagle soaring over the bluff as I looked down into the village.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik

We enjoyed relaxing with Ted and Ruth Ann and feasting on clam chowder that Ruth Ann made from the razor clams that Ted had dug that morning. Henry cooked hamburgers on the grill to finish up a great dinner. As we sat by a campfire after dinner we could see about 2 adult eagles and 4 or 5 young eagles soaring over the bluff by the mouth of Deep Creek.

I went to bed early and was sleeping soundly when Henry woke me up about 11:00 pm and said to come outside to look at something. I couldn’t imagine what it was but put on a jacket over my pajamas before going outside to see the most spectacular sunset I’ve ever seen. It was so out of this world I felt like I was on Mars!.

Day 70: A little sightseeing and a lot of Beach

July 26, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, Sunset, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Deep Creek Beach, Deep Creek State Park, Kenai Peninsula2 Comments

Day 70: Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Our friends Ted and Ruth Ann moved from the RV park to the site next to us on the beach at the state park. While Henry took the truck to the mechanic I rode with Ruth Ann and Ted to Homer to check it out.

The last few miles into Homer are down a hill with a spectacular view of the bay and mountains with glaciers across the bay. We stopped at a couple of the city of Homer campgrounds on the famous Homer Spit and looked at the private parks there also. Ted and Ruth Ann needed to pick up their mail at the Homer Post Office and while Ted went inside I managed to get a few pictures of a mama Bald Eagle and one of her babies on their nest across the street.

Mama and baby eagles across from the Homer Post Office

We stopped on the way out of town to get gas and discovered an RV park sitting on the bluff with a spectacular view. We liked it the best of all the ones we saw.

Back at Deep Creek State Park we cooked hot dogs over a fire and took a late night walk on the beach. Life is good.