Back in Akutan

well after a 2 year hiatus from travelling and living full time in Adak, I'm back on the road, err...air...and water.  I just arrived in Akutan last night and am scheduled to be here for 4 weeks, but schedules change so who really knows.  Getting to Akutan is always a challenge, getting out is ever more so.  Last time I was here I came by seaplane, a Grumman Goose.  Now its by hovercraft.  And the rumor is, by next month it will be by helicopter.  But this was my first experience on a hovercraft and I gotta say, it was quite impressive!  I didn't get a chance to take photos yesterday but was able to get a few shots today after I took my colleague to the ramp for his departure.

The Sunax parked on the ramp

Akutan's Trident Seafood processing plant in the background, well, behind all the containers

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Sun Pillar

Gyrfalcons (Nesting Pair) series

Gyrfalcon

Horseshoe Cove 7/5/13

Adak in August

An edited version of this photo won a photo contest for a web site at www.survival-pax.com . they are using it as their banner photo now.

Adak Sunrise over Kuluk Bay

Springtime Adak Sealions at the outfall in Kuluk Bay

Dangerous Waters

Stay tuned for a tv show on HDNET called Dangerous Waters which will feature several of my panoramic photos of False Pass, Alaska on episode 7. 

Info from their web site states- "Dangerous Waters is a new reality television show coming in March 2012.  Follow five Dangerous Waters crewmembers as they embark upon an epic adventure riding their SeaDoo personal watercraft from Seattle up through Alaska and across the Bering Strait to Russia".

Winter Solstice Sunset in Nelson Lagoon, Alaska last night

More from Nelson Lagoon



Twin Sisters

Sunset and Crescent Moon Rise

Hole in the log

Driftwood

Amazing sunset in Nelson Lagoon



One of the nicest sunsets I've seen in a while! Photo taken last night 9/18.
Bering Sea 3 shot panoramic

From Whittier to Nelson Lagoon

A new feature from Blogspot, click a photo and view the rest of the photos in the post as a slideshow!

A creek in Whittier with spawning salmon.

The green was amazing, I don't even think I was able to capture what it really looked like.

A spawning "humpy" pink salmon.

Portage Glacier

Nelson Lagoon Panorama

Bering Sea beach from Nelson Lagoon, AK

My impromptu walking partner.  He followed me on my walk and seemed to love my company as much as I enjoyed his.  I don't know his name but I called him Sunny cause he showed up on the the first sunny day we've had in a week.

What can I say.

Bering Sea panorama

Sea Lions in the Northern Pacific Ocean near Adak Island.

Adak Fishing Boats After Dark

F/V - EARLY DAWN

F/V - LARISSA M

USCGC Munro in Adak today

USCGC Munro (WHEC-724) is a High Endurance Cutter

The Rhino and Solstice

It's pretty rainy here.  Thankfully I have a golf cart on steroids at my disposal.  This Yamaha Rhino has been my safari vehicle here in False Pass the past several weeks.  On a side-note; This buggy is tough, it survived 100mph+ winds a few months back.  After being tossed about 100ft away from where it was parked the only real damage was to that broken-in door, causing all the glass to break and..  Anyway, so just now I was thinking, I should go for a ride.  Then I remembered I forgot to get gas earlier; Its kinda gettin low now...  See, you can only get gas here at 1:00pm at the Peter Pan dock, and it closes after the last person leaves.  Hm, just like the bar in Adak...  Anyway, this morning I met the guy that runs the fuel and ops at Peter Pan..He seemed like a nice guy.  He even told me I can go get gas earlier than 1:00... I was thinking, Like right now, cool?..."You can go at 12:59", he replied.. So needless to say, my short term memory hasn't been the best lately cause I forgot to get gas.  Now I have to think about how much gas do I really have, and i wonder how far can I go?  I guess I have some time to think about it.  it's still early at 7:30pm.  Which translates to about 5 more hours of daylight.  At least it's not windy! Happy Summer Solstice!!

Blue Lupine and websites that I have bookmarked.

If you find you have some downtime, go check out some websites that I have bookmarked, [in the box to the lower right of this page].  Especially check out the photo of  the 2 sea otters and other cool pics and info on a blog maintained by my friend Isaac in Adak at his his blog @ AdakBirding.com and then visit Alaska FAA web cams.  Click on that link, then scroll down to False Pass and you can see links to 2 web cams located about a 200ft away from the airport here.  Oh, and enjoy the the vertical panoramic blue lupine pic below.

Lupinus nootkatensis

False Pass- Panoramas

A Cherokeee 180 landing at False Pass Airport, Its a succession of the same airplane in 4 photos

(unknown name) mountain across Isanotski Strait from False Pass Village 

False Pass Harbor in Isanostki Strait, facing North, North East

Another view of the (unknown name) mountain with crab pots in foreground waiting to get wet this coming fall and winter.



I posted this photo a few weeks back. It's the view of False Pass Village taken from the Tustamena Ferry.  The old Peter Pan dock is toward the left of the photo.