timistravels

Volunteering for a week in Seymour Canal~ Near Juneau, Alaska

by timistravels

June 24-29, 2013 When my husband asked me if I would be
willing to come and volunteer with him for a week out in the field
I was thrilled to take the offer. I actually met him 18 years
earlier as I was on a volunteer trip in the same area. This time we
would be boating around the area and checking in on remote cabins.
It was an great week that even rain could not ruin!

Slide Lake

Pack Creek is the creek
flowing out the mud flats in the photo and we stayed on Windfall
Island where we stay.

On the day we landed it was
80+degrees outside… In Alaska 80 feels like 100 anyplace else, it
was hot and the horse flies were terrible. But we loaded the float
plane and took off for a 30 minute flight.

We unloaded
and got ourselves set up at camp
https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/camp-life-windfall-island/
then we got in the skiff and visited Windfall Harbor, what a
beautiful area.

you can see all the crab
pots here.

The only sad part were the areas that were
damaged or trashed by the crabbers (professional fisherman that
collect/sell crabs). They toss their extra crab pots in the woods
along with other junk and just leave it. They often trash the
campsite with their garbage and don’t clean up after themselves. It
is just a bit sad.

sun setting on
Windfall

sea anemone in the
water

sea anemone in the
water

sea anemone out of water
on high tide

star fish

On the
next day we set out to do the work that Harry needed to complete.
But before we did we stopped to take advantage of the low tide and
view the sea anemone’s at low tide, such interesting looking
creatures. We also got a good view of many, many, many starfish.

do you see the
mink?

wish you could hear the
loon

We then went
exploring around the area, up and down Seymour Canal. We started up
in Pleasant Bay, then past the Bug Islands, into Fools Inlet and up
to Olivers Inlet. Along the way I saw a mom deer nursing her fawn,
found gumboots both eaten and uneaten at low tide, we saw and heard
loons and 100’s of bald eagles. I learned that Seymour Canal has
more bald eagles per square mile than anyplace else in the world
(according to Fish and Wildlife). We saw wildflowers, beaver
activity and even a skeleton of a deer that had not made it through
winter. We came across beautiful meadows and a salt chuck that was
amazing. Each time you turned a corner there was a breathtaking
view.We heard and saw loons throughout the trip, as well as a mink
or two on shore occasionally. The trip was just full of
nature.

mama deer nursing her
fawn

gumboot

the salt chuck behind
us

busy beavers

deer skeleton

wild blue
geranium

deer tracks on many of the
beaches

eagles were everywhere in
the area.

brown bear follow the same
path over and over and over and over again, and you begin to see
these pad marks in the ground.

Last but not least were the brown
bears. We saw many of them on this adventure, but you will have to
visit this blog to read more about them:
https://timistravels.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2536&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2

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Pack Creek Brown Bear Viewing Area

by timistravels

After meeting my husband I have become more and more interested in brown bears and less and less frightened of them. Pack Creek is on Admiralty Island about 30 miles south of Juneau. Also called “Kootznoowoo,” (hence our chocolate lab was named Kootz) or “Fortress of the Bears,” by the native Tlingit people, Admiralty has more brown bears per square mile than any where else in the world, about 1,500 in total, more than all the lower 48 states combined.

This area was first homesteaded by Stan Price and because of his interaction with the brown bear the bear are much more habituated to humans and the area provides a protected space for the brown bears.

Both the US Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish & Game work to insure that visitors can come to the area and yet have minimal impact to brown bears.

our flight out, note the ear plugs, a must on small planes

essential items flying with us to camp, including all our food and some fresh water.

our plane at the float pond in Juneau

loading the plane

off we go

You must have a permit to visit Pack Creek between June 1 and Sept. 10 and you can get them by visiting Recreation.gov or calling their toll free number 1-877-444-6777. People can also sign up with a tour guide in Juneau. Individual then must figure out how they will get to Pack Creek, most come by plane but many also arrive via boats of some kind.

a view of Pack Creek and mud flats from the air

Pack Creek is formed from the snow that starts about 4000 feet above and descends into Seymour Canal. At the base is about a 400-acre mud flat that is especially visible at low tide. The bear spend a lot of time in flats clamming and looking for other food sources UNTIL the fish arrive. Typically the BEST bear viewing on Pack Creek is when the pink and chum salmon begin heading back up the river in early July. My husband had seen a fish in the river as early as June 30, his colleague, June 28th but as the 3 of use were out at the viewing tower, we saw one on June 26th. The summer of 2013 is off to a good start for the bears.

the bears all but destroyed the sign placed here in the 90’s

what’s left of the Pack Creek Trail sign

signage of bear everywhere, this tree has bear claw marks in it

yep bears do poop in the woods and on the walking trail

paw print in the sand

Upon arrival a staff member will meet you and make sure you are aware of all the rules that you must follow to visit this area. No food can be on you, you are only allowed to walk in certain areas, etc. The rangers fill you in on what has been recent activity and will lead you to the viewing spit, or direct you to the 1 mile trail to the viewing tower. The trail to the tower is a MUST do regardless if you see bear or not, walking through the old growth rain forest is something pretty special.

clamming!

We saw a lot of activity, including a bear clamming, 2 sub adults playing with each other, and a mom and her 2 cubs. The 2 sub adults have been friends since they were with their moms. It is really unusual that the mom allowed their cubs to play together, but they did and after the moms ‘kicked the out’ these two have remained friends. The mom with her 2 female cubs was the most visible. She seems to feel quite safe at the south spit and spends a lot of time there. We saw the cubs playing with the out haul lines, rousting with each other and simply exploring.

We got quite close to the mom and her cubs as we were returning to our boat on the night of our visit. They were not on the spit when we walked the trail, but they were upon our arrival back. Mom checked us out quite a bit, but in the end they just laid down and we continued on our route. We did NOT displace them or stress her out and she was not worried about us at all.

tip of windfall as we paddled back from our night at Pack Creek

as we flew home we saw 7 brownies in the alpine. In late June they follow the snow line up and eat along the way. Plus with the heat we were having that day (high 70”s) they were climbing to cool off as well as find food.

I hope you someday consider a visit to Pack Creek, it is a magical place.

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Camp Life; Windfall Island

by timistravels

the solar powered fence

June 24-29, 2013

Living in a remote field camp for a week gave me a bit of an insight to what the staff that live there all summer experience daily. There are 3 tent platform structures. These are put up and taken down each year. The first one you see is the cook tent, it has a table, sink, stove/oven and many bear proof food boxes. There is a small propane heater here as well for those cold wet days of southeast AK. This structure is surrounded by a solar powered electric fence as even more assurance of bears not getting into the structure.

The staff and volunteers stay in one of two tent platform structures. There is one for Fish and Game folks and one for Forest Service folks. There are cots inside and a heater just in case it gets a bit cool. We never had to use it, but I am sure it is nice for those wet cold SE, AK nights. Each night I laid in bed reading (with my head lamp) and enjoyed the quiet of living so remote. One of the nights it rained, because of the tarp over the tent is sounded as if it were POURING, but it really wasn’t… the rain was a great white noise for sleeping!

our tent from the outside

Using the ‘outhouse’ is certainly a part of life in the wilderness. The outhouse on Windfall is really just a tarp with a nice seat! The view is my favorite part of using the throne at camp! Before entering the toilet area you must first turn the sign around to indicate that it is occupied… when you leave you rotate it back to VACANT.

Typically holes for outhouses need to be moved after a few years because they become too full or the smell too much to handle… however, this field crew has learned if you burn your TP after use and not put in the hole, it does not fill up so quickly AND the staff put a packet of RTB 740 into the hole… this speeds up the natural degradation process in the composting/outhouse toilet. Not only does it increase in digestion efficiency, odors are controlled by preventing their formation. Pit toilets will not have to be emptied or moved as often and composting toilets will function better with less chance of overload. It was amazingly nice for an outhouse.

the view as you approach the toilet!

the cans and torch to burn the paper in/with.

me taking care of my TP!

Lastly a few other shots of important parts of the field camp on Windfall Island!

collection of rain water

solar panel used to gather energy to charge items while at camp

the boat outhaul for the skiffs, kayaks or canoes!

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Unalaska~ beauty on the Aleutian Chain of Alaska

by timistravels

July 2010

Work has its perks and traveling to the beautiful community of Unalaska / Dutch Harbor in July of 2010. This is a ‘retro’ blog to add some of my experiences pre setting up the blog. I took great notes on our tour there and want to capture them here and now!

the average winter temperature in Unalaska is 36 degrees, winter average 55 degrees.
the islands were formed by volcanos
artifacts have been found that are over 9000 years old
in the old days there was thought that the decedents were from the tip of Russia and that they came across the ice, however, Through DNA it is known that there is a direct decent from the Aleuts.
During WWII there was an Army Base here called Fort Mears.
On June 3/4, 1942 the Japanese bombed the area with upwards of 10,000 military troops. This was six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese aircraft struck at U.S. Army and Navy bases on Amaknak Island. The Japanese were surprised as the air was filled with anti-aircraft fire due to the fact that 3 weeks before the US had ‘broken the code’ and the bases were on high alert expecting something like this. The Japanese did not find an airfield nor a carrier fleet at Dutch (as they had expected) the Japanese pilots turned to secondary targets, dropped their stuff on Margaret Bay Naval barracks, killing 25 servicemen. In total there were 42 military deaths and 1 civilian death.
from the museum

bunkers

bunkers

during our nightly hike
Along the mountain sides were jagged lines which were trenches dug by all troops “Umnak” Airstrip was laid in 9 days so that fighter planes could continue to come in and land there.
Hog Island was named this because in the mid 1700’s pigs were brought there during the fur trade times simply to eat.
there were no road before WWII
40-50,000 troops were on the island before 1947
in 1805 a Russian Orthodox minister planed 3 Sitka Spruce on the island
120 types of wildflowers bloom here annually.

crabbing gear

Now this area is known for it’s fish/crab processing. It has the largest plant in Alaska as well as being the largest seafood plant in North America. The Akutan facility sustains a year-round operations and on busy days processes over 3 million pounds of many species. Akutan’s precise daily production varies depending upon the season. There are a number of different seafoods that come from here: Alaska pollock, including frozen fillets, blocks, and surimi, as well as fishmeal and oil and halibut. The plant has filleting capabilities and also produces both bulk and custom packs of Alaska king and snow crab. We got to have dinner at the plant, that is self-sufficient. It has an amazing dining hall and dormitories for it’s 825 employees. It was like college life all over again, except for the smell.

after the hike to the top

Eagle’s Nest, they will build anywhere!

Eagle talking to us!

Russian Orthodox Church

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Surprise at the Unalakleet Airport

by timistravels

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013

Okay, I am behind in my trips, but this was worth sharing. After 2 days in Unalakleet, I was headed home. The airport was full of travelers and 2 looked very familiar to me. Once I realized that I had some Alaska ‘rock stars’ with me I got a bit awe struck. The female was DeeDee Jonrowe and we admired each others bright colors! DeeDee has run the Iditarod race for many years and has been in the top 10 finishers over a dozen times and was the 2nd place finisher 3 times. She has the fastest finish for a female ever in 9 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes, and 10 seconds. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but managed to come in 18th place the next year and is a huge supporter of breast cancer research… you will always find her in pink.

One of the reason I admire her so is this, “DeeDee has won numerous awards for the care of her dogs throughout her career, including the best-cared for team, the best dog care award (given by staff veterinarians), the dog’s best friend award, and the Iditarod’s Alaska Airlines Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award for excellence in dog care. Because her dogs are a top priority, she became a founding member of Mush with PRIDE, which provides responsible information of a dog’s environment, exhibiting her commitment to set the standards for all aspects of sled dog care.”

Once I said hi and asked for a picture we spent a lot of time chatting about her dogs and she was so excited to share her love of them with me.

The other face in the picture is 4 time winner of the Iditarod Race, Martin Buser. He won, in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2002. He was as nice as DeeDee and happy to allow a picture.

They were there b/c they were racing a shorter race in preparation to the Iditarod, but they got weathered out and were heading back to town with their dog teams.

I did take some other pictures on this trip so here they are!

dog races on their way through one night

one of the stored in town

post office

inside the entry to the school… this is safety at its best

murals on the walls of the schools

modes of transportation to school

sunrise

sunset on the Bering Sea

for drying fish

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Valdez, Alaska, 3 trips over 2 months~ both flying and driving there with views of Wrangell~St. Elias National Park

by timistravels

March 6-9; April 8-9; April 16-19

Well, I have learned a lot about getting to and from Valdez. On trip 1, I was able to fly from Juneau to Anchorage then catch the ERA Airline flight to Valdez. However, once there the snow got heavy and on the afternoon I was to fly out, the flights could not make it into Valdez and hence there was no plane to fly home on! I tried to book for Saturday, but because it was the first day of spring break, all the seats were full and I could not get on a plane until Monday. I have to say I was a bit bummed, mostly because I wanted to get home and prepare to fly back to ANC on Monday.

Thankfully a school board member was stuck in ANC and her husband/2 daughters and dog were driving up to ANC on Saturday and offered me to ride with them! What a nice offer. So, at 6 a.m. I was in a suburban with Chris (dad) Kate ( who drove part of the way with her learning permit) and Grace my new friend who is in 5th grade. “Bean” the dog was also a delight during the ride.

It is 300 miles though some beautiful terrain, AND some curvy tight roads. I tried to enjoy it as much as I could and again felt blessed to be dropped off at the airport in plenty of time to catch the flight home to JNU, arriving home about 7 pm.

entering the facility

if I had toured the plant I would have worn this, but it was a quick visit

inside the front door

While I was in Valdez I did get to go the Valdez Alyeska Marine Terminal where the southern end of the pipeline ends. You have to show ID and be pre approved to visit, much like going on a base. I did a meeting there with staff, and it was fun to visit the end of the pipeline!

TRIP 2

After spending the weekend in ANC so that I could attend the inspirational Spirit of Youth http://www.spiritofyouth.org/ banquet on Saturday night, I was scheduled to fly on ERA air leaving ANC at 7:15 a.m. Though the weather in ANC was beautiful, Valdez was not as lucky. It was socked in and by 8:05 a.m. the flight was canceled. Since I HAD to get there, I announced to 3 women who were also trying to get there, that I was going to rent a car and leaving; if they wanted to ride w/ me they were welcome to… all 3 joined me for the 6 hour adventure.

There we times I could barely see the road in front of me. From Palmer to Glenallen there were whiteouts most of the way. However, once we headed S, through Thompson Pass it was beautiful. We rolled into Valdez about 2:30 and my meeting started at 2:45 and I finished at 12:20 a.m.!!! LONG DAY.

yep gas is expensive but it was worth it!

I then had to turn around and drive back to ANC on Tuesday… the roads through Thompson Pass were terrible, but unlike the day before, from Glenallen to Anchorage were perfect, just narrow and curvy! The roads were crowded because the Arctic Man event was that weekend. http://www.arcticman.com/

leaving Valdez headed N towards the pass

Bridal Falls

Bridal Falls, you can see how cloudy and dingy of a day it was.

Headed towards Thompson Pass

this is as I am getting to the summit, it continued to get worse.

visibility at the summit was almost NONE

visitor center in Glenallen

I am not joking, it was almost a total white out.

Highlights of the drive include views of the Largest National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias. This connects with Canada’s Kluani National Park and together are designated by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site due to its unique beauty and natural splendor. Wrangell-St. Elias is 13.2 Million acres and the size of 6 Yellowstones. It is full of rugged mountains, glaciers, rivers and valleys. There are all kinds of wildlife including moose, bear, Dall sheep, and mountain goats.

Trip 3

FINALLY I was able to fly both ways! The weather in Valdez was beautiful, as the pictures show. It was just breathtaking. The sun was out, the sky was blue and the days were packed full of work!

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An overview of our 9+ days, (10 nights) in Istanbul, Turkey

by timistravels

Day 1; Dec.25

Landed
Had to pay 15 Euro each for visa
Driver was late but eventually arrived and drove us to apt. on the Anatolian side, near Galata Tower

Galata Tower
Took 45 minutes b/c it was rush hour, sure glad we were not in a cab.
Explored local street, Istikal Street, for dinner

Day 2: Dec.26

Got cash out of ATM
Bought card for public transportation for 6 TL
Added 20 TL to it for rides, we could both use one card (added 80 TL more over time, for total of 100 TL or $60 for 10 days, or $30 per person for the 10 days, not bad)
Took tram over to the European Side where the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia are located.
Walked to Bazar
Back to our side of the by crossing over the Galata bridge.

100’s of fishermen daily on the Galata Bridge!
Toured Galata Tower 12 TL piece and stayed til sunset, great view

Day 3 Dec. 27

Walked down hill, over bridge to the Spice Market (Egyptian Market) ~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/the-spice-bazaar-and-the-grand-bazaar-of-istanbul/
Took ferry ride of the Bosporus Sea 10 TL per person for 1.5 hour tour~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/tour-of-the-bosphorus-sea/

Day 4 Dec. 28

Toured Blue Mosque; free entry; donations accepted~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/blue-mosque-a-beautiful-beautiful-must-see/

known for all the blue tile inside
Toured Cistern; 12 TL per person~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/basilica-cistern-istanbul-turkey/

hard to capture photos in the cistern,
Found shop that makes Turkish boots and got measured for my personal pair and picked out the colors I wanted.

aren’t they beautiful???
Walked down to water through the park under the Palace
Ate fish sandwich at base of bridge (5 TL /sandwhich)

Day 5 Dec. 29

Learned that Tram charges for any leg or switch, so best to go direct route
Went to the Grand Bazar, if we could do it again would not go on weekend; crazy on weekend. Got earrings, pillow case, dancing scarves, and scarf. ~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/the-spice-bazaar-and-the-grand-bazaar-of-istanbul/

Day 6 Dec. 30

Took tram to end and walked to meet friends of friends, got onto a bus
Got off bus one town too soon so walked to next town, and had enjoyable visit
Took cab to Fort and toured there (15 TL)~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/rumelian-fort-or-fortress-on-the-land-of-the-romans/
12 TL per person to get in
Took but 22 back to tram then home from there

Day 7 Dec. 31

Toured Topkapi Palace 25 TL per person and NO map, really???
After tour walked to Aqueduct
Got scammed by a shoe shine guy.

this guy dropped his brush so we thought we were helping by returning it and instead we got scammed and had to pay for a shoe shine!
After this walked to tram and took it home
Since it was NY Eve we ate in a restaurant not street food, quite yummy
Took nap and headed out for NY Eve about 11:15
Taksim Square had well over 100,000 people but quite mellow.

Happy New Year. A mellow celebration with 100,000 others!

Day 8 Jan 1

Down hill to Kabata with thought of going to Dolmabahce Palace but it was closed
Decided to do Turkish Bath, 117 TL / per person for bath and massage!
Off to Aya Sophia, 25 TL per person ~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/hagia-aya-sophia/?preview=true&preview_id=1945&preview_nonce=921b45e8df
Had anchovies and fish sandwiches at base of bridge!

Day 9 Jan 2

Dolmabahce Palace 25 TL Palace, 15 TL Harem per person ~ https://timistravels.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/dolmabahce-palace/
Back to Bazar to pick up music from our vendor friend
Backtrack through spice market

Day 10 Jan 3

Found our way to Chora Museum 10 TL per person~
https://timistravels.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1935&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2
Last walk on bridge, to the spice market, and all around familiar places
To bed early for 4 a.m. ride to airport that only took 15 minutes in that early of an hour.

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Galata Tower and Galata Bridge

by timistravels

12/26/12

While in Istanbul we stayed in an apartment over near the Galata Tower. As we crossed the Galata Bridge the first day and saw the palace, and mosques behind us we were thrilled that we had chosen to stay on this side of the sea.

We decided to take the tour of the tower and watch the sunset over the city from there. The tower is 220 ft tall, and has 9 floors. When it was built was the tallest structure in Istanbul. It sits on a hill that is and was the city’s tallest structure when it was built. Because near the top of the hill so really sticks out when looking at the horizon.

We thought we’d have to climb stairs to get to the balcony near the top, but there was an elevator that took us to the top. Simple enough, but once up there, it was crowded, and hard to ‘hold’ a good spot. Conveniently they let you off on the restaurant floor, though prices of the food were much higher than elsewhere.

The original tower was built in 1348. By 1717 the tower was used as a place to watch for fires in the city. Ironically in 1831 a fire damaged much of the tower.

We only walked up the hill to our place one time after either walking across OR taking the tram across the Galata Bridge. After we discovered the Tunnel (part of the tram system) we rode that up each day though we’d typically walk down the hill to the tram. Each ride cost something, so when we could we saved $ by walking.

The Istanbul subway system is the 2^nd oldest subway system in the world, the oldest is London. The tunnel we rode is one of the oldest links in their system. We would exit at the end of Istikal Street, the busy street our apartment was near. I’d say we walked that 2-4 times daily enjoying the 1000’s of locals (and tourists) that were busy shopping and exploring the area.

The Galata Tower area is certainly worth exploring and the Galata Bridge is full of energy and liveliness from sun up to sun down. The fishermen line the bridge day and night and we were shocked by the size of the fish most men were catching, they were TINY.

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Chora Church; a MUST SEE in Istanbul

by timistravels

1/3/13

We had read that the Chora Church was one of the best buildings to see while in Istanbul. However, it is a bit off the beaten path so takes a bit of planning to get there! It was actually not difficult, just one of the first times we had to plan something out but figuring out which train to take and then the connections needed.

This was originally built in the early 5^th century as a monastery outside of the walls of what was then Constantinople. The original name translated to ‘the church of the Holy Redeemer in the Fields’ as it was out in ‘country’. Sadly in the 12^th century an earthquake destroyed much of the original structure. The rebuild was done in many phases, with most of the mosaics inside being completed between 1315 – 1321. Eventually the church was converted to a mosque.

There are 3 sections of the church and all are filled with beautiful mosaic works. In 1958 it became a museum allowing the public to enjoy the beauty of the artwork. sorry there are so many pictures, but it was just so beautiful, it is hard to narrow down to less. Enjoy AND make an effort to get there!

Chora Museum is closed on Wednesday.

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Hagia (Aya) Sophia

by timistravels

entry hallway

dome

Jan. 1, 2013

Hagia (Aya) Sophia was originally built as an Orthodox basilica, then a Roman Catholic cathedral and later a mosque. It has been a museum since 1935.

Visiting here is a must while in Istanbul. There is so much beauty in the structure and the mosaic pieces of artwork that are masterful. At one time they were covered by plaster but have been uncovered for visitors to see.

It was built from 532 to 537 and has a very large dome at the front. At the time it was the largest dome ever to be built and it is still studied today as it is considered such an architectural masterpiece.

It was the largest cathedral for 1000’s of years. In 1453 it was converted to a mosque with the alter being removed and many of the mosaic decor plastered over. Minarets were added as well as the minbar where prayers are delivered and mihrab an arch in the walls where Muslims face during prayer.

There was a huge earthquake in 989 that caused one of the domes to crumble. The repair took over 6 years but there was a lot of additional interior paintings and mosaics; Christ on the dome, the Virgin Mary holding Jesus with Peter and Paul on either side of her.

Hagia Sophia is closed on Monday!