Brown Bear at Hoonah - silver back

Hoonah is one of two villages on a big Island in Alaska. It is reported to have the most bears per square foot of any other place in Alaska and the world. I had been told that Admiralty Island had the most bears but Hoonah says they have that claim to fame. Hoonah also says they have the biggest bears. One bear named Tiny is 1500 pounds. Nobody messes with Tiny, they say. I guess Tiny also stays away from people. Hoonah is also where 2 of the 3 police officers were shot and killed last month. The bear in the picture was about 400 to 500 pounds and he is a silver back. That means he was a brown bear, Grizzly, with silver hair down his back. I also found some bear hair on the ground while hiking in Hoonah.

To Hoonah, AK

I took a Saturday and went on a private boat to Hoonah, AK. Here are pictures of the scenery on the way there. It was about a 2 hour ride on the boat. The boat was going 20+ knots per hour, so it was a swift boat. The fishing boat I was on with Matt went 8 knots at full speed, so this jet boat was quite a bit faster.

Bugged

Today I am bugged! Stupidity is the norm - or so it seems to me.

VOTE DEMOCRAT OR YOU DESERVE THE RESULTS.

WE HAVE HAD 9 YEARS OF TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICHEST 2% What is the result: Millions of jobs sent overseas. An economy which was demolished. TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICHEST IS A FAILED POLICY. To continue it would cost 3 Trillion in the next 3 years. It is bad policy but the Republicans are pushing hard to continue it.

=Repeal HealthCare which was passed less than a year ago:
That means insurance companies can ban insurance for pre-existing conditions, like acne.
It means that insurance companies can stop paying at whatever level they decide.
Co=pays can increase to whatever - without any means of saying that is wrong.
People under 26 could not be on their parents policy. It is so very expensive for kids to have their own policies.

Give Veterans vouchers for their health insurance: The VA and Medicare are the highest rated of all medical insurance carriers but the REPUBLICANS want to change that.

If a female soldier gets pregnant, she will not be able to get an abortion should she choose that as the best option. (There is no government money involved either. She would have to pay for it herself - but not allowed. ) She would have to go to a back alley shop and do the coat hangar procedure. We really care for our soldier-not! What about the Republicans and less government intrusion into our lives - great slogan but words are cheap.

Republicans (Angle) are now saying they are sick of health insurance paying for the birth of children. Here in AK, Joe Miller, the teabag candidate has 10 kids. The births of his 10 happened when he had government jobs. I THINK INSURANCE SHOULD PAY FOR THE BIRTH OF CHILDREN - all children. I have 3 kids and insurance picked up the tab. Actually, 1 child was born with some Welfare help.

The Crazy lady in New Hampshire? who thinks evolution is wrong! that is nuts! She also thinks global warming is lies. Someone who holds these views should not be our leader in WA DC. I am literlly watching a glacier crumble here in Alaska. Global Warming is a real and serious problem folks.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC OR YOU WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES~~~ Just saying, dumb sounds attractive but it will bite you in the butt.

Glacier calving

More Glacial Calving.

Glacier calving

Chunks of ice break off and go into the water. I think this series of pictures show calving. I was on Mendenhall Lake on my kayak and I heard a chunk break off. It was quite loud. They can be very dangerous if you are too close.

Tracy Arms Glacier

Here are pictures of the Tracy Arms Glacier. I did not take these shots but now I want to spend the $150.00 it takes to get there to see them.

The view from my apartment

Pictures out of my apartment window. The apartment is kind of dumpy but with this view - who cares. The ship pictures were taken in the morning. In the middle of the night - it lights up the whole channel.

North Douglas

These are pictures from North Douglas. It is looking over to Juneau and you can see Mendenhall Glacier. I was in the loaner house out this way. I bike ride down this No Douglas road.

The Flume Trail - 2

Here is more of the flume trail. When I first hiked on this trail, I thought, 'this is a perfect bear path.' I have seen 3 bears playing up the hill from this trail. Mt. Jumbo is above this trail and I saw the 3 bears in Late May playing in the snow.
The drinking water for Juneau, AK flows in the wooden flume which is beneath the walking bike riding path.
I like the flume trail - kind of unique.

The Flume Trail

This is part of the flume trail in Juneau, AK. This is a wooden trail which contains the water which the City of Juneau drinks. There is a stream above the plume which is diverted into the flume and excess water is dumped back into the stream. I have been on the flume trail 3 times so far since coming back to Juneau.

EAGLES

Here are two eagles in juneau. The one with the close up is a refuge bird. She was a healthy bird who was flying and someone shot her in the beak with a 22. She fell out of the sky, crashed and one of her eyes went blind from the accident. She is now in a local bird refuge. No - they never found the shooter.

The eagle in the tree is by the house that I stayed in after camping. I still go by there on occasion and he always greets me with his chatter. I have eagles by my new place but they do not stay on the trees in front of my apartment.

Glacial Ice on Mendenhall Lake

i sure hope we get lots of snow this winter because the Glacier is really breaking up.

Mendenhall Lake, Glacial ice in the lake.

This is Mendenhall Lake. The ice is off of Mendenhall Glacier. The chunks falling off are massive. I cross country skied into the ice a year and a half ago. The Glacial ice is so much smaller than it was when I was last here. I am amazed and saddened actually.

Global Warming folks - it is real.

The birds in the picture are arctic terns. These little birds fly from the North Pole to the South Pole and back every year. They are smaller in size than a seagull and fly for approx 13,000 miles - twice in a year. Impressive birds.