CouesWhitetail Report post Posted October 28, 2006 Hi Guys, Many of you have asked to see some photos from my recent trip to Alaska. I was up there for the annual Wildlife Society meeting in Anchorage in late Sept. (For those interested, The Wildlife Society is a professional association of wildlife biologists and there is a meeting every year to discuss current research.) Anyway, it was my first trip to Alaska and although I wasn't hunting or fishing, I got to see lots of wildlife and great scenery. I was there for about two weeks and it rained pretty much the whole time except for about a couple half-days of sun. Still the rain wasn't all that heavy and I was able to get out and see the sights. Temps were great with it being generally in the mid-50s. I went with my father, who isn't a big hiker, so we didn't do much of that, most of our trip was by car or boat. The foliage seemed to be at peak and it was wonderful to see! Endless expanses of green and gold with some red from the tundra-type vegetation at the tops of the ridges. We did an overnight to Denali National Park and the moose were rutting so it was great seeing them and hearing them grunting and following females. Here are some moose pics. Note the bull in the second photo only has one horn. It was moose season when we were there and some hunters killed a moose and left the bones and such along side the road near this pond. I checked out the gut pile and I could not believe the size of the heart from this moose!!! It was bigger than my head. Coosefan can probably attest to this from the moose he killed recently in Alaska. But man those things are amazingly large. Other wildlife seen included Dall Sheep, Tundra Swans, Beluga Whales (which are all white), Dall's Porpoises, lots of otters, seals, endangered stellar sea lions and Bald Eagles and my first encounter with Ptarmigan. We were driving somewhere late in the afternoon and I saw a flock of white birds soar across a ridge and land in some rocks. Got the binos out and saw they were Ptarmigan, probably Willow Ptarmigan. Figured Scottyboy might enjoy these pics being a bird hunting fool! sorry they aren't better pics! They are digiscoped. Here is an eagle that we saw on a stump tearing apart some kind of bird, perhaps a gull. Some glaciers from a cruise we took: Some cool artwork and a neat looking store. This beaver pond was loaded with salmon!!! They had already spawned and were pretty much just waiting to die. And check out the size of this bear skull I am holding!! This is at a neat nature center located near the salmon pond shown above. They had closed sections of their trails due to attacks by bears on hikers. the bears were congregating to eat salmon at certain areas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamaro Report post Posted October 28, 2006 great pics.. man I miss alaska. j- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azryan Report post Posted October 28, 2006 wow those pics were amazing....i bet it was a great experience...being up there during this time....my jaw was dropping of how beautiful it was...thnx for sharing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZP&Y Report post Posted October 28, 2006 man I miss alaska I hear that...I was just going through my AK pictures today- Outstanding photography Amanda- Thank you for sharing. Make sure you get to Homer some day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted October 28, 2006 Yes, it's definitely a jaw-dropping kind of beauty up there. I just kept saying "Wow" everytime I looked somewhere. It was amazing and made me want to move there. Water and wildlife everywhere! I would love to get to Homer sometime and the Kenai and the artic circle. Everything in Alaska is so much larger than life it seems. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azcouesandelk Report post Posted October 28, 2006 Great pics Amanda. Thanks for sharing. Alaska is jaw-dropping no matter where you go it seems like. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted October 28, 2006 WOW!!! Thanks Amanda for the amazing pics! Alaska is such a wonderful place... And thanks for the Ptarmigan pics.. I love those birds.. beautiful.. one of these days I would love to hunt all three species with the mutts.. i hear they are a great bird to trian dogs on because they are basically unhunted and will hold great for pups.. and they are just plain beautiful to look at!! Again, thanks for the great pics! Glad to see you had a great trip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted October 28, 2006 Very nice! I am hoping to get back there next fall myself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DEERSLAM Report post Posted October 28, 2006 Awesome pics Amanda. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope to get back up to AK sometime in the near future, it's an amazing place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
az4life Report post Posted October 29, 2006 Amanda Super pics, some of them are so awesome they look like they are not real! A lot of people who have been there say the pics are awesome but are nothing like the in person experience. I really want to get there some day to see it for myself. Marlon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ernesto C Report post Posted October 29, 2006 Wow Amanda ...........I'm speachless............my hat off for you. God is great isn't?? Thank you for sharing those well taken pictures of the most beatifull and breath taking scenery.........once again thank you and I should be a biologist to travel as much as you Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diamondbackaz Report post Posted October 29, 2006 Incredible place it is. I got my chance to go up there when I was working full time with the Forest Service back in 92. I did a detail up there to do asbestos inspections on buildings. They flew me from island to island in float plane to different sites and was the high light of my Forest Service work. I plan to go back some day//// Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted October 30, 2006 Yes, as beautiful as the pictures are, they don't really capture the grandeur of the place. If you get a chance to go.....take it! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azyoung Report post Posted October 30, 2006 Awesome pics thanks! Amanda. We are planning a Caribou hunt there and I cannot wait! azyoung Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted November 1, 2006 Amanda, Looks like your trip was timed well to coincide with the fall colors. Seems you kept quite busy up there. Your pics should entice many to visit. Danke. Doug~RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
