Travel & Places
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Denali By Bus: Part IV
One of the highlights on any trip to Denali is of course the chance to see brown bears! And while we had encountered them from a distance on our way into the park, seeing them up close like this was amazing! This is really just me spamming you with brown bear photos! Gah, it really makes you want to reach out and touch them–they look so cuddly! Instead, they would rip you to pieces! (Oh, yeah, something I’ve been meaning to share here but haven’t yet but this seems like the appropriate place: Grizzly Bear Attack: A Breakdown. This is by a hiking acquaintance I met back at Billy Goat…
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Denali By Bus: Part III
Eventually we made it to the Eielson Visitors Center, where a decent crowd from earlier buses were already inside. Bathrooms, water bottle refilling stations, a gift shop, and other exhibits were open to learn more about Denali. I was captivated by the artistry of these art quilts that captured the essence of the park. I had my long lens on and for some reason I’m not finding a lot of photos that didn’t involve my zoom lens so I guess I didn’t take any phone photos. Why, past self, why???? I believe we had about thirty minutes at the visitor center and if we wanted to board the same bus…
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Pre-Birthday Hike on the Lone Star Trail
Our last hiking adventure has been a few weeks now, the Friday before my birthday. I took the day off and after we’d decided to back out of our initial idea of going to the beach, we opted instead to go for a hike on the LST and then head over and check on our Texas pipevine plants to see if they had set any seeds. Arrowhead Rattlebox, Crotalaria sagittalis I noticed this interesting plant on the way into our hike and on our way back out I kept an eye on it. I hadn’t noticed it before but after I identified it as a crotalaria I was surprised I…
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Denali By Bus: Part II
Eventually the bus climbed around a pass and we came to a second stop, Polychrome Overlook. We had about 15 minutes to walk a short trail and take in the very scenic views. Several braided rivers were in the distance and all I wanted to do was get five days of food on my back and head off into the wilderness to explore! Honestly, the photos speak for themselves. Eliana looking a bit wistful. After our short foray at Polychrome we boarded the bus once again and it wasn’t long before we saw more bears!
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Denali By Bus: Part I
To explore Denali beyond the Savage River you need to access the park system’s bus services. There are several options designed for various experiences, including guided tours and buses that just get to a destination. They are also various lengths as some buses only go to certain locations and turn around. The longest bus ride would be to the end of the Denali park road at Kantishna, some 90 miles down the road. We opted for a transit bus which its sole goal is to deliver visitors to certain destinations along the way. You can also get out at any location along the way as off-trail hiking is encouraged within…
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San Bernard NWR Wrap-Up
I thought I had enough photos for at least two more posts from our trip to San Bernard NWR but it looks like I only have a smattering of photos that don’t really congeal into a write-up about a specific trail. The rest of our time at SBNWR was spent popping in and out of an assortment of trails near the wildlife drive. These Swamp Rose Mallows, Hibiscus moscheutos were seen on the main road into the refuge as we crossed Cocklebur Slough. Climbing hempvine, Mikania scandens We ducked into the Bobcat Woods Trail as we waited for another family to leave the Wolfweed Wetlands area. A swampy view of…
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Seward to Anchorage by Alaska Rail
There were multiple ways we could disembark the cruise ship when we reached Seward, Alaska. We could disembark on our own and figure out our own way to Anchorage or wherever we wanted to go, we could take a bus to the airport or to another drop off destination in downtown Anchorage, or we could ride the Alaska Rail into Anchorage to the airport. Chris did the research and said that the latter sounded like a really cool trip and that it would be worth doing, despite about a four hour ride on the train to Anchorage. Plus, it meant disembarking first! We woke very early so that we could…
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The Sundew Trail | Big Thicket National Preserve
Rhynchosia sp. The Sundew Trail was our last stop during our East Texas adventures back over Memorial Day weekend. It seems like it was last weekend and also about three months ago. I don’t recall having hiked the entire Sundew Trail in previous visits but I will say that I think I enjoyed it more than the Pitcher Plant Trail! Swamp Darner, Epiaeschna hero Dragonflies and damselflies are two insects that I am slowly (very) trying to learn a bit better. They aren’t nearly as showy as butterflies but they are just as curious and interesting to watch. Forest started going along the boardwalk section of the trails and calling…
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Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve | A Photo Tour
I thought I’d finish up the posts from Glacier Bay with a photo tour. There won’t be a lot of writing (if any) but do sit and enjoy the photos!
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Watson Native Plant Preserve | Part I
Posts from 2011: Part I, Part II, and Part III—I’ve noticed a few mis-identifications on those old posts and need to go back and fix them. Small-Flower Pawpaw, Asimina parviflora We arrived to Watson Preserve mid-morning before the heat started setting in. And honestly, as I’m writing this two weeks later, it is much hotter and more humid now than it was then. Someone pulled in not long after we arrived, an older couple, who asked if we’d visited before. They didn’t stay long and I don’t even know that they saw the back part of the preserve with the bog! We started off on the boardwalk that eventually winds…