I forgot the other day to include a picture of Biker Arda trying to feed the bears... you will see the photo. One of these days she may succeed -
We went to the hatchery to see millions of pink salmon trying to get up the creek. The only problem is the creek is blocked so the salmon have to go up the fish ladder into the hatchery where the females will be stripped of their roe and then released. It is interesting to watch them all try to get into this one small area at the same time and then once they are in, they don't know what to do next but they figure it out soon enough.
While watching the salmon, we also had the opportunity to watch a gull "fishing" off shore. He/she (?) actually would grab a fish by the snout and drag it up onto the rocks where is would be the "special of the day". This particular bird had several good sized fish almost all the way up and then lost them... just like a fisherman!
He did not get any all the way up while we were there but he did have one from earlier.Next we went to the Valdez Glacier which in itself is not terribly impressive. What was impressive was the lake it creates each year from the run-off. You can also see mounds of snow that has yet to melt and it is August already. Of course Valdez only has 3 snow-free months a year... June, July, & August. There are also some significan mounds of dirt (morrains) left behind by the Glacier. It is a constantly changing environment.
Did you know? In some parts of Alaska there are days when it is considered too cold for school... usually around 50 degrees BELOW zero. In Tok where the temps get down to 80 degrees below zero, school goes on no matter what the temperature. And what do we do in GR?
Tomorrow it is off towards Tok so I am not sure when we will have internet again but I will be back.
A few pictures can be found at Alaska - Valdez Area 2009
Be safe and keep your loops open.
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