Part Two, 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake

 For part two of this event:

http://gullible-gulliblestravels.blogspot.com/2010/03/day-earth-broke-part-two.html

In Commemoration of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake of March 27, 1964

Please follow the link.

http://gullible-gulliblestravels.blogspot.com/2010/03/day-earth-broke.html

Birding in Mid-March???

 

Sunrise over Kachemak Bay in Homer.

(Almost all the photos in this post are from past years.   We were chasing birds, not taking tourist shots.)

When my birding buddy Leilani called to invite me to accompany her to Homer to photograph the first evening grosbeak sighted on the Kenai Peninsula, I looked at the huge 10-foot high piles of snow in my yard and thought she was nuts.

Birding in mid-March?   That's the very definition of March Madness and has nothing to do with basketball.

But, I realized it would do me good to get out of the house for a while, even if we could never find that yellow bird that is way north of its normal range.  So, I packed up a change of clothes, my travel laptop, made sure the batteries were charged on the two cameras I would take, and all the paraphernalia required for the devices.

Leilani lives about 150 road miles north of me.   The trip was aborted before she got within a hundred miles of my place.   A blizzard with white-out conditions was raging along Turnagain Arm, notorious for its windy weather.   She called to cancel, turned around and went back to Palmer.

Parked on the Spit.

We both went back to bed for a couple hours, each in our own homes.

As it usually does, the weather did an about-face and, while not great, was decent enough for her to try again.   She arrived late-afternoon and we decided to stay here for the night and start out early the next day.

One must be flexible when one lives in Alaska.

In a previous chapter of our road trip, I mentioned stopping off in Ninilchik to see if we could find the beautiful Harlequin ducks in the creek that runs through the village.  HAH!  It was frozen solid.

We found some cool old buildings and a couple song sparrows to photograph, and went on our way to Homer.

It was too early to check into the hotel, so we went right to the 4.5-mile long gravel arm that reaches out from Homer and is called The Spit, and is thought to be part of a moraine left from an ancient glacier.  

From an overlook above Homer, with The Spit reaching out into the water.

For practical purposes, it's a dividing line between Cook Inlet that runs up to Anchorage, and Kachemak Bay, the body of water to the East.

It's a lot different today than the Spit I recall from the 1960s.  That Spit used to wash out in places with every big storm.   Since then, it's been fortified, built up,  and reinforced with large boulders.

Instead of an emphasis on commercial fishing, freight, and maritime support, it is now a tourist mecca with dozens of small shops built on  pilings and boardwalks on one side of the road.  On the other side, are buildings with their feet on the ground.

Scattered here and there are campgrounds and RV parks.

Years ago, when the canneries were operating here, employees would camp in tents as there was no housing.   They were called Spit Rats.

Many fishing charters are based here, with salmon and halibut being the most sought-after fish.  There's a lot of recreational fishing here, too.

Leilani and I were in Homer last summer when the lupine was in full bloom and making quite a splash.

Today, we headed right for Freight Road.  It curves around to the far side of the small boat harbor.  Kachemak Bay is on one side and the more industrial operations on the other.  

We kept our eyes on the bay as we drove along the bluff.  Nothing.  We parked at the far end where the entrance to the small boat harbor is and chatted with a very vocal American crow, then walked toward the small boat harbor.

Right away I spotted a couple red-breasted mergansers, waterfowl we don't see much of during the summer.   That did it.   We were stoked.

The light was against us and getting decent shots was almost impossible.  As the mergansers and some goldeneye moved farther into the harbor, we decided to go to the boardwalk and gangways on the other side.

The iconic Salty Dawg Saloon on The Spit:   these are photos from other years.

Note the eagle on the roof.

Eagle on roof.

Mules on beach.

This adult bald eagle had just stolen an otter carcass from a juvenile eagle and is celebrating.   I names it Rocky Bald-eagle.  (Think Rocky Balboa)

Condos and campers at the end of the Spit.

Downtown on the Spit during tourist season.

A rainbow and some nice light I caught one day.

Ferry from the Alaska Marine Highway system tied up to the dock in Homer.

Camping on the beach.

There's even a volcano you can see from the Spit.   This is Mt. Augustine, the first of four volcanoes on the west side of Cook Inlet.   Sometimes they erupt and spread volcanic ash all over tarnation.

Road Trip to Homer

 From my house, Homer, Alaska, is but 130 miles down the Sterling highway, at the end of the Kenai Peninsula.   You pass through a few small towns on the way down.

We had a couple errands to tend to in Soldotna, the first town of any size, and the next stop was the village of Ninilchik.  During the fishing season, Ninilchik is a popular place to launch boats into Cook Inlet for salmon and halibut fishing.   The boats are set into the sea with huge rubber-tired tractors that back the boat and trailer into the water at high tide.

IF you're just passing by on the highway, this is the most photographed building in Ninilchik.   It's a Russian Orthodox Church that sits on a bluff overlooking the village and boat launch.

Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Chapel, built in 1901

Today, however, fishing season isn't open and the creek that flows through the village is still frozen.   We drove around and stopped at an old cabin.

As soon as we got out of the truck, Leilani heard a song sparrow.   Sure enough, a couple of these little birds were singing their beautiful songs from the spruce tree next to the cabin.

I wonder if that's an outhouse just a few steps from the cabin door?

I can't tell you how good it was to hear these songs that promised spring after a long and harsh winter with lots of snow.   That snow, by the way, is still there in eight-to-ten feet deep  piles in places around my yard.

From the wood shed to the fence line at right, snow is stacked in a 40-Ft deep by 50-ft across area.

For size comparison, the orange pylons are 42" high.

"I wish the song sparrow would land on the cabin, "Leilani said.   And it did.  Right where she wanted it.

We continued a short distance down this road and found a couple more buildings to photograph.

This cabin has Cook Inlet in the background.

A new RV trailer parked in front of a beautiful old barn.

A detail of the loft door and its richly-colored lumber.

With no other old buildings accessible, we headed up the hill and back to the Sterling highway.   Just up the hill is a view that most people recognize as Ninilchik.   It's a Russian Orthodox Church that sits on a bluff overlooking the valley.

This photo was taken a a couple years ago.

A few miles down the road, we saw our first moose, this one a cow.

She would not be our last!

A First Recording Sighting on the Kenai Peninsula and We Risked our Health and Safety Searching for It!

I was so deep into my reclusive winter hibernation that I almost declined when my birding pal Leilani Devries called to suggest we make a trip to Homer to find the first recorded sighting of an Evening Grosbeak on the Kenai Peninsula. I didn't even set aside the winter doldrums, but packed them up in the small container with my travel laptop and assorted paraphernalia required to go on a photo trip.

(You have to read this story to appreciate the photo I'm posting with it.)

It was only by the graciousness of others that we were given permission to seek out the bird on private property. First, we drove a long way to the end of a particular road and parked at the top of a long, semi-icy driveway because there wasn't room to turn around at the bottom, we were told.

Pine Siskin

Once at the cabin where the evening grosbeak was said to be visiting the bird feeder, we had to negotiate a treacherous trail around to the far side of the house. Treacherous for two seniors on a trail packed only by a dog! Leilani fell knee-deep into snow and I had to help her get out.

We chose a spot where the light was best and waited. Very soon the birds returned to the feeder--chickadees, siskin, pine grosbeaks, crossbills, redpolls, and a Downy woodpecker.

Then we spotted it --the bright yellow and black of an evening grosbeak. I aimed my heavy camera and lens, all while trying not to fall into the dog house that was a couple feet downhill and under the house. There would be no escaping that trap.

I got a bunch of shots, but almost all of them have the bird facing me and its large pink bill is most prominent.

Here, however, is one that's okay. After all, it's the first one seen on the peninsula.

Evening Grosbeak

And then it was negotiating the dog trail back to semi-solid ground and the long 1/3rd of a mile hike back uphill, all while lugging heavy cameras and lenses!

Common Redpoll

The range of the Evening Grosbeak.   Cornell Labs diagram

To be continued.

When Does It Get Easier?

 I  borrowed the title of this post from a friend named Cap.   It's one of his favorite laments.

I bought a new home indoor/outdoor weather station after my old one displayed the exterior temperature as 47 degrees F for more than a week.   After I put new lithium batteries ($26.00 for eight!! and very hard to find) in the outdoor sensor, it locked up at 26 degrees.

Today, after stalling around for a couple weeks because of deep snow on my back deck and cold winds, I decided to install the outdoor part.   First, I had to shovel a path to one, then  I unscrewed five tiny screws in the mounting plate of the old one by hand.   It wasn't exactly easy because a few of them were covered in ice.

Once I got the screws out without stripping the heads, I installed the mountain plate for the new sensor.   With a battery-powered Makita driver.

Then came the indoor monitor/readout display.

Simple, right?

Nope, not at all.   The booklet that came with the weather station is 52 pages long, of which 20 are dedicated to installation and the balance to programming the monitor!!!

Plus there's a separate 24 page booklet of instructions for setting up the WI-FI  so the monitor can tell my phone what's going on weather-wise.

I DO NOT NEED OR WANT THAT!

All I want is the outdoor temperature, the date, and the time.   I got the outdoor temperature as soon as the sensor cooled to the correct one.

Setting the date and time???    Not one of the buttons I push to try to do that act like they are supposed to,

So, to quote Cap, again, "When does it get easier?"

The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter Thirty-Six

(To view photos at their best, click on one and scroll through the film strip that opens.)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Getting around Customer No-Service

 

 

An employee’s obligation is to follow the rules;

A manager’s job is to consider the situation.

—A Gullible Original

 

 

 

I kept my foot on the gas for a long, long time on a chilly day in Anchorage, hoping the truck’s battery was charging.

 

Carefully, I put the truck in gear and headed a mile down the road to Costco.   I parked and turned off the ignition, fingers crossed.

 

Nope.   Not gonna start.   Instead of the main store, I went to the tire shop where Costco stocks batteries.

Chestnut-eared aracari

I was tired.  I wanted to get my grocery shopping over with and head south a hundred miles to home.   I wanted to take some cold medicine and sleep all night.

 

That would be delayed.

 

I waited for the next employee to be free and explained my situation:   I need a new battery;  I have no tools; I cannot lift the battery high enough to clear the truck fenders without a ladder.

 

She kindly explained that they would be happy to sell me a new battery once I brought in the old one as a core.   And, she said, that would make sure they got the right new battery.

 

Once again:   I have no tools and I can’t lift the battery high enough to clear the fenders.

 

We can’t loan you tools, she added.   We went over the above several times.   She was following Costco policy and I understood that and why it was.

One of six giant anteaters we saw.

 

I’ll make this short.   I asked to see the manager.   She went into the shop and returned with a handful of tools.  

 

I tried all of them and none worked, so I headed back past the shop to the sales office.

Black-capped Donocobious

Giant river otters.

 

On a hunch, I walked into the shop and asked for the manager.  I explained my problem.

 

“No problem,” he said.   And gathering some tools, we went to the truck.  “I can’t do this for you,” he explained, “but I can instruct you.”

 

He gave me the proper tool to loosen the hold downs and undo the cables and he  lifted  the battery from the compartment.  

 

We went back to the sales office where I purchased a new battery.   I waved at the manager and together we installed the battery.

 

Then I could relax, do my shopping, and make the long drive home.

A capybara family cooling off in the mud.

 

I really, really could have done without all that, being in the chilly weather and all.   But, I was saved by a kind young man who understood that while company rules are made to limit liability,  ensure the safety of employees, and are to be followed, sometimes the situation also needs to be taken into consideration.

Macaw

 

After that, the only drama came when I was unpacking the next day.   I could not find the folding comb/brush that my friend Marg gave me after another trip.   It is perfect.

 

Finally, finally, I found it tucked away on my luggage.

Now, it was time to download all the thousands of photos and to begin writing the Brazil Journals.

Yes, this is the final chapter of my journey to Brazil and the Pantanal of Brazil.   Wonderful trip, great companions, and an excellent guide. 

Thanks for following along.