For this week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge, Patti of the Pilotfish blog chose “things that begin with the letter A”. Alaska, where I live. Arizona, where I sometimes play. Anza-Borrego, Arches National Park…. so many choices.
As I pondered my choices, I heard thundering hooves charge right by my window. I dashed to the door to see what it was all about, and watched a dog chase a big bull moose through the fields into the woods behind the house.
That’s not necessarily an uncommon sight where I live, but it would be unusual for most folks. So it came to me – what about Alaskan animals? That would be a worthy “A” subject! Better yet, how about amazing Alaskan animals?
After all, Alaska is synonymous with animals to a lot of folks. So I thought I would share a few photos of animals often seen in The Great Land yet rather rare in most other places (with the exception of Canada, of course.)
After all, one of the best places to see wildlife in the entire state is Denali National Park, and I was a park ranger there for 2 summers. I must have a few photos on file…
Sometimes I even have stories to go with the pictures – for instance, this wolf. That day I was leading some visitors on a Discovery hike in the Stoney Hill region. We had just gotten off the bus and I had barely started into my orientation talk when I saw him coming. I told my visitors to stand together and be real quiet, and they would soon see something really special. He passed us less than 50 yards away. After this super cool experience, to start our hike, I asked each visitor to share their most memorable wilderness experience. I do this to gauge just how tough a hike the visitors will be comfortable with. The first woman I asked, jaw still dropped in wonder, replied, “It just happened.” Everyone on the trip agreed.
Another story is about this little marmot. He was up at the Eielson Visitor Center. At first, all you could see were his legs, standing upright under the frame of the bus. He looked like a mini-mechanic, hard at work fixing something down there. What he was actually doing was probably making more work for real mechanics, eating salt from the dust abatement chemicals they spray on the road off the undercarriage. Sometimes the rodents will eat holes in the hoses in their quest for the tasty treat. About a week later, rangers reported a Hoary Marmot at Wonder Lake. Wonder Lake is forest habitat, not the alpine tundra that marmots normally live in. This little guy had stowed away under the bus and ended up in a strange new land! He was eventually trapped and returned to his home territory.
If I were to reincarnate as an animal, I think I would choose a marmot. After all, they live in the most sublime landscapes, above the treeline in alpine tundra, my favorite place. They’re fat and happy, eat flowers, play all summer and sleep all winter. For a rodent, they don’t have too many predators. They just have to keep an especially keen eye out for Golden Eagles.
But they’re not my totem animal. Everyone tells me my totem animal is the bear. We’re built the same, and I have this weird bear magnetism, which has given me a lot of bear tales – too many for this post. Besides, if you’ve ever been to Alaska, you probably have your own tales to tell – about those amazing Alaskan animals!
My favorite is always the lynx! I love them.
Me too!
WOW. Beautiful photos!!!! Heckuva rack on that caribou, and the banner shot is STUNNING.
Thanks, John! I was coming home (50 miles into the park at Toklat) from a grocery run to Fairbanks and hit Polychrome Pass at exactly the right time for the sunset…AND the sheep!
Absolutley breath-taking, Dianne! Thank you for sharing your talent!
Thanks, Rita!
Hi, Dianne. Your post and photos are amazing. The lynx and marmot are my favorites here. I love that marmot “fixing” the tires! And the eyes on the lynx are mesmerizing.
Thanks, Patti. The lynx is my favorite, too.
Amazing, indeed! Thanks so much for sharing. Visiting Denali is a dream of mine, some day when we can travel safely again (and my kids are bigger haha)
Hope you get there and have some good wildlife sightings! Denali is definitely an amazing place. The key is to get off the bus and into the country, though. Take a Discovery hike with a ranger if you’re concerned about the bears, there’s safety in numbers. It won’t be TOO crowded, they have a maximum of 12 participants and most of mine had far less. Often it would just be me and a couple or a family. And the rangers know all the best places to go!
Alaska is so high on my travel wish-list! I love landscape and wildlife photography so I think it would be a perfect destination for me 🙂 One day … Meanwhile your super photos give me a hint of what to expect there!
Thanks, Sarah. Hope you get the opportunity to take your own amazing Alaskan animal photos – one day.
Wow, Dianne! Yes, there are some amazing animals in Alaska. I like your photo of the three Dall’s sheep. It almost looks like a diorama in a museum.
Thanks, Siobhan! I’m so glad you liked it!
Love it Dianne. Amazing is a good description. My one disappointment about our Canadian trip last year is I didn’t get to see a moose. I think it might be my totem animal, I’m gangly and awkward too 🙂
So sorry you missed the moose! They are definitely gangly. Awkward looking but at the same time majestic. Not the brightest animal in the kingdom, though. Bull moose have been known to charge freight trains. Testosterone overload?
How in heavens name have I missed this post Dianne?! You’ve covered some of my VERY favorite creatures and one of my VERY favorite places! We spent a week in the national park and it was fabulous despite the fact that the only time we actually saw the mountain was the night we arrived, at which point it was gloriously lit by the midnight sun. Also saw bears aplenty, a moose and some eagles and marmots. Sadly no wolves. But what an amazing thing it must be to live near there. Thanks for sharing these beautiful images and Happy 2021 to you. Hoping we’re able to travel about more freely soon.
A very special series, Dianne!