Saturday's Critters # 569

  Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

This was our last full day in Alaska, we were making our way back to Anchorage from Glacier View. We made a few stops at some nature areas before returning our rental car. We had a good 12 hours at the Anchorage airport before our 2am flight back to Seattle.

1. The sunrise from the Glacier View lodge, we got an early start on the road back to Anchorage. 

2.  Our first stop was at a place called Reflections Lake, a short distance from the Glenn Hwy.  My bird sightings were few, a lone Spotted Sandpiper and a little flock of Black-billed Magpies. 

I liked this photo showing the mountains in the background and the Black-billed Magpie in flight looks pretty. 

3. A closer look at the beautiful Black-billed Magpie, he/she showing off their pretty colors, of black, white and blue sheen. 

4. The juvenile Spotted Sandpiper was standing at the edge of the lake.  

5. A closer look at the Spotted Sandpiper, most likely a juvenile. 

6. Reflections Lake, Palmer Hay Flats a game refuge. 

7. A view of the trail at the Palmer Hay Flats, this hiking trail is around a mile. A loop trail around the Reflections Lake. 

8. Another stop before returning our rental car was at the Westchester Lagoon near downtown Anchorage, also nearby is the Fish Creek Estuary and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Of course it had to rain while we were there, the views could be seen from the car while we were parked in the lot. Below are birds seen the Red-necked Grebe, Trumpeter Swans and some Mallards. 

Rainy days are not good for bird photos but I wanted to get a record of all the birds I saw while in Alaska. Below is a groups of the Trumpeter Swans. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"It's never too late - never too late to start over, never too late to be happy."

Lodge at Glacier View, Alaska

" Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Believe you can and you're halfway there."

Glenn Hwy, on the road to Glacier View, Alaska

"Think big. Trust yourself and make it happen."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

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Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"If you never go, you will never know." "Travel, before you run out of time."

Matanuska Glacier, Glenn Hwy, Glacier View, Alaska.

"The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

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Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"The wildlife and it's habitat can not speak, so we must and we will."

Moose, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska 2024

"We don't own the planet Earth, we belong to it. We must share it with our wildlife."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 565

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Prayers for Florida, I hope everyone is safe!

These photos are from Aug 3rd, our second full day visiting Denali National Park and Preserve. We decided to drive as far as we were allowed to mile 15 on the park road. 

1. We had a nice breakfast at the nearby Rosie's cafe and then we headed to the park which was just 13 miles away from our hotel.  Our first critter sighting on the road to the park, was this mama Moose and her young was standing off the road in Healy.  

2. On this day I was happy to see so many moose. Moose are one of my favorite critters.

3. This bear was seen from the parking lot at the Savage River trail head. The Grizzly Bears attract a lot of attention from visitors and park rangers. 

4. This bear stayed in the same spot for awhile, it must have found something good to eat. 

5. Another moose on the loose, something upset this moose it started jumping up and ran for a short time.

Moose on the run!

6. The Willow Ptarmigan was a lifer for me, they were seen all along the park road. Groups of 4-5 were seen eating something off the ground. 

7. The Willow Ptarmigan are heavy bodied ground feeding birds. These birds are similar to the Grouse, they are brown in the summer time and turn white in the winter. They live in Denali year round. 

They were not shy birds, they just seemed busy foraging for food. 

8. The Black-billed Magpie are seen all over the park, a common bird in Alaska. They do look pretty in flight. 

9. These birds are the Dark-eyed Juncos. They were seen along a trail, we took a short walk and a break from driving. 

10. Our dinner was close to our hotel, it was at the 49th State Brewery. The scene below is from their parking lot. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"My life is a reflection of my positive thoughts."

"Love reflects love, hate reflects hate."

Horseshoe Lake, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 563

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Denali National Park limits private vehicles on the park road, visitors are only allowed to drive to mile 15 on the park road which is at the Savage River. They offer shuttle buses to the trail heads and you need reservations for the shuttle. We signed up the the Tundra Wilderness tour, so I could learn more about the park and enjoy the views of the park without worrying about driving. 

These photos were taken out the bus window, which at times were blurry due to the raindrops. Our driver told us to yell stop if we saw any wildlife, so we had lots of eyes looking for the critters.  Clicking on the image for larger views does help some. 

1. I had to book this tour back in December 2023, the tour dates fill up fast and you are given your tour time and told to be at the bus depot in the park.  The Tundra Wilderness Tour is a 5 hour tour with a certified driver-naturalist. The bus goes as far as mile 43 on the park road. The road closes at mile 43 due to a rock slide further on. 

2. Arctic Ground Squirrel was seen on the side of the road.  

3. We were able to see the Dall Sheep, the little white dots seen below lol. I had to zoom a good distance just to get this shot. The Dall Sheep live in high mountain areas. 

4. One lone Caribou sighted from the bus. 

5. Another Caribou sighting, this time 5-6 were running toward the road and in front of our tour bus. 

6. The Willow Ptarmigan were seen all along the park road. I'll have some better photos of this bird from another day and visit to the park. There are three Ptarmigans in the photo below. They are heavy bodied ground feeding birds. They are similar to the Grouse, the are brown in the summer time and turn white in the winter. They live in Denali year round. 

8. I like these windows in the bus depot, they show the Denali wildlife, the Dall Sheep, Golden Eagle, Moose, Wolves, Caribou and the Grizzly Bear. 

The next day August 3rd in Denali National Park, hubby and I drove the road to the Savage River and mile 15 of the Park Road. I will share the wildlife and birds we saw on this day on another post. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous. Leading to the most amazing view."

Mt Denali viewpoints from the Denali State Park. 

"May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 562

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Aug 1st was day two and we were on the road called Park Hwy considered a scenic byway to Denali and goes all the way to Fairbanks. Our drive from Anchorage to the Denali National Park was about 250 miles almost 5 hours with stops. This part of the trip was for 3 nights in Healy Alaska and to visit Denali National Park and Preserve.

One stop was at the Denali State Park to look at the views of the Denali Mountain. I like the map showed all the peak names of the mountains in the distance. 

1. A moose on the loose, I am glad I saw this guy come out of the forest and started crossing the road in front of us.  There were moose warning signs on every road we were on in Alaska.  

2. The Denali Visitor Center has a great exhibit and information on the park. 

3. Later during our visits to the park we got to see one huge bull moose in the park, it was seen during the day we drove the allowed distance you could drive your car in the park. 

4. We enjoyed walking a few of the trails near the visitor center, one trail took us to the creek under the railroad bridge. The Alaska Railroad brings in tourists from the cruise boats to the park for visits.

5. I love bears, this sculpture outside the visitor center is so cute. 

6. The Gray Jay was sitting on a bench outside the visitor center. This bird is a common bird seen in Alaska. 

7. A so called "easy" trail to the Horseshoe Lake in Denali National Park. There were so many steps, we did walk roundtrip close to 2 miles to the lake. I could hear birds along all the trails we hiked, they were camera shy. I could hear some Nuthatches and Chickadees. 

8. A view of the Horseshoe Lake, we cut the walk short and did not walk the loop around the lake. Which would end up 4 miles round trip. It was a long day and we were ready to eat dinner and check into our hotel.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

" I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come." Nelson Mandela

Beluga Point, Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet,  Anchorage Alaska 

"Never stop exploring."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!