Howdy folks, as I said, I will give an overall opinion of my Alaska trip. In a nut shell, I was disappointed. Maybe my expectations were to high. They were based on watching a lot of TV programs, reading a lot of books, looking up info. on the internet, and talking to a lot of people that had been there. Of course everyone's perspective is different. I was looking forward to it to being the photo opportunity of my life. Had the weather been better, it may have been. Out of two months, from the middle of June to the middle of August, the Sun was shining maybe 20% of that time. The rest was cold, very heavy low hanging clouds, and wet. The local people was saying it is the coldest, wettest summer they can ever remember. Not good for photography. There were very few animals out, I expected a lot more, maybe because of the weather. I saw more coming down through the Canadian Rockies than the whole rest of the trip. I only saw three perched Eagles, and maybe 6 or 8 in flight. Other than the Eagles, Gulls, and Ravens, it was rare to see any birds at all. The lack of birds were very noticeable. The roads were, to me, were horrible for the most part. When driving it required all my attention to be focused on the road so as not to tear up, or break, my vehicles. Some were ok, but most were not. Diesel fuel, food, and everything was very expensive. All this also applies to Canada. Ok, enough of the negative. The area that was the prettiest to me was the southern part, down around the coast. That is where the snow covered mountains were, which along with the water created the beautiful views. In my opinion, the area going to Homer was the best. There were also beautiful scenes south of Anchorage to Seward, Valdez, and Glen Allen. That is where I got most of my good photos. I would love to see this area with the sun shining on it. Denalli may be a beautiful park with clear weather. Of the ten days I was there, I may have seen the sun all of two hours total. No good photos at all. One last comment, Chicken is a total waste of time and effort. On the bright side, it was an experience that I would have always wondered about had I not done it. Given the time it takes to drive, the road conditions, and the cost, I will not do it again. From the southern Canadian border and back, 8,000 miles. If I ever go back it will be by boat. To other people that want to go, don't let me discourage you. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Your views, expectations, and experiences will be different to mine. >>>>>LATER<<<<<

Howdy folks, I have been doing a little roaming around Montana but mostly getting some much needed rest after the long trip out of Alaska and through Canada. I finally found a place to get my equipment cleaned . You would not think that would be a problem, wrong. I am in the Rocky Mountain "Hi" RV park , in Kalispell, Mt. A very nice park with all the perks and you can wash your rigs. I will be heading East on Tues. 8/26. The photo above was on the way to Tok, Ak. from Glen Allen. The local group outside the saloon in Chicken. Notice the coats, this was in August. The dirt road out of Chicken to the Canadian border 40 miles away. Thankfully it didn't rain but very dusty. At the Canadian border at sundown, looking back over Alaska. This is called "Top of the world road", it runs along top of the mountain ridge at up to 6000 ft. It was cold and windy. Same picture, the next morning, as the one above without the sign in it . Digby and I spent the night here because the border is closed at night. When they worked on the roads, this is the way they would leave them, Muddy when wet, very dusty when dry, and flying gravel. Yes, I got my token souvenir, a cracked windshield. The double rainbows are neat. Rams on the side of the road in the Canadian rockies. Mountain Goats. A big bull Elk feeding just off the road side. A very pretty animal. Coming down into Banff, Canada. Beautiful, that's all I can say. Mama Elk and her two babies crossing the road way. A lot of water going over these falls. The green lake water and the brown mountain just seemed to go together real well. Well the Alaskan trip that I have looked forward to, read about, and watched everything I could find on TV, is now history. You have seen a sampling of the photos I captured along the way. I will be posting my overall opinion of he trip shortly, it is now 1:30 am and I do H & P typing, too late to start it now. I will try to get it posted Sunday or Monday. So, until then,>>>>>LATER<<<<<

Howdy once again. I have covered a lot of ground since my last post. I am now in Shelby, Montana USA. I feel like I am back home, and the weather is very nice. I will be headed East through the Dakotas and toward the Great Lakes area. First I must get my vehicles cleaned up and serviced, and get my phone repaired or replaced. Looks like Great Falls will work best for all of this. Here are a few of the photos I shot along the way. I will add others later on. The photo above is going into Homer, Ak. I think it was the best view in all of alaska. Don't forget to click on the picture to enlarge it. A large Glacier, which is between Palmer and Glennallen. This is the Matanuska Glacier. The Sun was setting behind a mountain over my right shoulder, not much light left but I thought the reflected colors were nice. As you can see, it was very cloudy. This is another Glacier area before Glennallen. I bet this would be even a greater view with sun shinning on it. Well, this is Chicken, Ak. I had a baked chicken sandwitch, with cold slaw, Blueberry pie and coffee for desert, $20.00. Dawson city, Yukon Canada. All the streets are dirt, with raised board sidewalks. Thankfully it only sprinkled rain while here. The old log building with thatch roof. Note the burled post. A Mama black bear crossing behind my trailer. This is one of the two cubs she had. When I spotted them they were eating grass down off the side of the road. They worked their way up toward me as I was shooting pictures and I think Mama was getting tired of me. After she went behind the trailer this cub came across, I was standing outside the truck, after I made this shot and was zooming in to get a closeup of the face I saw Mama coming back around the rear of the trailer and she was looking straight at me. Needless to say, I did not get the closeup shot, I got back into the truck real quick. Well, that's all for now, more to come >>>>>LATER<<<<<

Howdy to all, it's been awhile, but here are some more photos I captured along the way. I hope you enjoy them. A Sunset over Denali after we left and on our way down south. We thought about the old saying "red skies at night, sailors delight, so we parked for the night.The next day, wow, Sunshine, and Mt. Mckinley in all it's glory. Photo below at 400 mm. A wide angle view of same. Mr. Bald Eagle. It was almost dark so a little dim on light. Ah, Finally, a sunny day, Two in fact. These photos were on the Resurrection river, outside of Seward, where Digby and I dry camped for several days. Great spot. These two photos below were on the way down to Seward. The Grizzly Mom and cub wandering through the wet grass looking for food. The Elk below is the only one I've seen this close, shot with 400 mm lens. The road in the park, rough and muddy. Denali National park, would be beautiful on a sunny day. Dall sheep on the mountain side, long ways away. Shot with a 200mm lens. This is the only ones I have seen. The photos above are in Denali Natl. pk. The best I could do with no sunshine. The Gull seamed to be following me around and posing for pictures. Pretty bird. I am really disappointed in how few birds I am seeing here in Alaska, VERY FEW! >>>>>LATER<<<<<

Howdy to all, just an update today. After leaving the North Pole last Wed. I have not seen the Sun more than 2 hours all total. From Thurs. evening until Sunday AM, I parked about 30 miles out in Denali park, with no hook ups, rained the whole time with lows in high 30's and highs in high 40's. Lots of mud. I made one trip all the way back into the park on the shuttle buss, not much to see in those conditions. The animals were staying put and no birds not flying, except the gulls. I did see one Grizzly bear with her cub and some Rabbits. I moved into Riley camp, at the entrance of Denali, Sunday AM and will be leaving tomorrow AM, Friday. As good as my new solar sys is, it has just been keeping up with no Sunshine. The furnace has been running day & night, and with lights, yes it is getting dark earlier, and the water pump, there is not enough power to use the computer for pictures. They will have to come later.My Canadian friend, Digby McLean, which I met in Livingston, is up here and brought a Birthday cake with him. Thank you Digby. Tomorrow I will be heading back down toward the coastal areas and exploring some of the side trips along the way. It sure would be great to have some Sunshine and get some good photos along the way. I am still hopeful it will happen. >>>>>LATER<<<<<

Howdy , I received my tag decals on Monday and will be leaving the North Pole today, July 16. I will be exploring the area around Denali for the next week. I have res. inside the park for 22nd 23rd, 24th to celebrate my big 70 birthday, CHEERS. I will be posting again when I have wi-fi to get online. Weather forecast for the next week is 59-62 day and 48-51 night, with rain showers everyday. Burrrrrrrr! No photos today. >>>>>LATER<<<<<