Since July 8th I have been staying on the shores of Colorado Lake in the Broad Pass near Cantwell Alaska. For part of my stay I have been house and dog sitting for a wonderful couple while they were away. When they were home I stayed in their cabin by the lake. Lucy the dog has been my companion during their absences and she has accompanied on many of my hikes and adventures. I have been so fortunate to be able to explore this beautiful area and then come back to the house to watch the birds, beavers and otters around the lake. I was even able to make several day trips into Denali National Park but on Wednesday July 17th I will enter the park for a total of 12 days tent camping. The first 3 Days will be at Riley Creek near the entrance to the park where I will have access to the internet. After that I will drive 30 miles in to Teklanika River Campground where I will set up my tent for the remaining 9 days. No internet cell phones or electricity there. To get to Teklanika River Campground I will recieve a pass allowing me through the checkpoint at mile 13. Once in the campground I have to park my vehicle at my campsite and not move it for the duration of my stay. I have a pass that allows me to use the park bus system so I can explore the park. With this pass I can get on and off a buses anywhere along the road system and continue on foot only to flag a later bus down for a ride back. A great way to spend these days exploring the park. I will be in the park until July 29th at which time I will head for Anchorage and a flight 400 miles west to the town of Bethel Alaska. In Bethel I will spend a couple of weeks visiting my daughter and exploring the community. |
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I started the morning in Carberry Manitoba Canada. Got on the road just ahead of the sun. It turned into a beautiful day today! I worked my way north and west from Manitoba up through Saskatchewan and into Alberta and I am now spending the night in Vermilion Alberta... after 613 miles on the road. Most of the day I spent driving through the Canadian prairielands. Amazing country to see. Prairies as far as the eye can see and thousands of pothole lakes. Every little pond and lake held countless ducks. I stopped and watched a Red Fox catch an early morning breakfast, saw a moose wading in a flooded area and drove by a hugh flock of White Pelicans. I stopped in the Quill Lake International Bird Area and found out that this is one of the areas the Whooping Crane calls home. When I came back through this area in the fall I will spend a little more time exploring it. Northern Saskatchewan started to change from prairies to more rolling country. The pothole lakes and ponds became rivers. The open prairies are becoming more wooded. I am seeing the land change before my eyes as each mile goes by. It truely is amazing to see it first hand! Tomorrow I will head northwest across Alberta and into British Columbia. Dawson Creek will be one of my stops along the way. I should see some big changes in the countryside from now on! Gary O'Boyle Sunrise in ManitobaRed Fox with breakfastSaskatchewan grain elevators Well, I got an early start this morning and managed 568 miles before I decided to call it a day. My original plan was to drive at least 400 miles a day so this was a very good start. If all goes well I should be west of Winnipeg Manitoba tomorrow night! I am looking forward to seeing the mountains again so I am making the distance while I can. The day started with rain, thunder and lightening. This continued off and on all day with the temperature bouncing from 67 degrees down to 47 degrees and back up. I am in Ashland Wisconsin for the night and when I arrived in town it was raining, foggy and back down to 47 degrees. It was wet enough that I didn't stop long to take pictures today....I know if I do it will be even longer before I see the mountains. I did see three of the Great Lakes today. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron were both under a shroud of fog so I caught only glimpses from the Mackinac Bridge. Lake Superior was in her calm, beautiful stage for most of the drive only hiding again as I got here in Ashland. Shortly after crossing the Mackinac Bridge I saw my first bear of the trip. A fair sized Black Bear ran across the road a few hundred yards in front of me and slowed trafic down (all two of us). It disappeared very quickly into the forest. I also saw a couple of White-tailed Deer crossing the road later in the day also. Not much was moving due to the rain but I was keeping my eyes open. I will have to be increasingly vigilant as I head north and west. Time to call it a night! Gary O'Boyle Lake Superior Everything is packed and the batteries are charged. My living room is now home to a small pile of gear that will get me through the next three months. I am now counting down to June 1st and the start of my next adventure. I will be driving from Michigan to Alaska where I will spend a couple of months exploring several different areas before I make the return trip home...hopefully ahead of snowfall!
Before arriving in Alaska, I will travel across Canada through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and finally the Yukon Territory. The chance to drive through and be a part of this wilderness is a dream come true for me. The list of animals and birds I could encounter almost boggles my mind not to mention the wildflowers and many terrains. The excitement I am feeling grows more as the time of departure draws near. Once in Alaska I will be staying in the Broad Pass area near the small community of Cantwell. Located about fifty miles south of the entrance to Denali National Park I will have the opportunity to explore the area that borders this national park. After my time in Broad Pass I will head into Denali National Park to visit a friend at the Wonder Lake campground 85 miles inside the park. The campground is about 26 miles from the base of Mt Denali (or McKinley) but, at a height of 20320 feet, "The High One" towers over the area. After a couple of weeks in Denali National Park I will follow my GPS cookie crumbs back to Fairbanks where I will catch a flight out to Bethel to visit with my daughter. Bethel is located on the Kuskokwim River about 440 miles west of Anchorage and is only 40 miles from the Bering Sea. It also is in the center of the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge. I hope to add a few new birds to my life list while out there. On my return trip through Canada my goal is to visit some of Canada's incredible national parks. Jasper, Banff and Kluane to name a few. The chance to pass through areas where I could see Big Horn and Dall Sheep, White-tailed and Mule Deer, Caribou, Elk, Moose and Bison will keep me alert for photo opportunities along the way. I hope you check back here now and then to see how things are going. And It is my hope that I will be able to find WIFI Hotspots along the way so I can share this Odyssey with you. Come travel with me and keep me company. And if you are inclined, leave me a comment or note below! Gary O'Boyle This time tomorrow evening my brother and I will be chasing the setting sun over the Rockies as we head to Alaska for two weeks of hiking and photography adventures. Monday afternoon we will be arriving in Denali National Park for nine days of tent camping at the Teklanika ("Tek") River Campground near mile 29 of the park road. From our base camp here we will be making daily excursions further into the park itself. There are very few trails in the park so we plan on spending time roaming the tundra on the lookout for the wildlife around us. We also hope to get lucky and see "THe High One" rising majestically over all the other mountains of the Alaska Range. I will be using a Delorme Earthmate GPS with a Spot locator daily as we hike and you are invited to join us by going to my Spot Map page (under "more.." above) and clicking on the map image. This will open a new page with a real time connection to where we are. I can also send twitter messages with the GPS so watch for updates on what we are doing and seeing here on my blog page or by following me at https://twitter.com/#!/Wildnessphotos. Unfortunately I won't be able to share any images while camping at the Tek but I will be posting pictures as soon as we have internet service again.
I hope you can join us and enjoy in our adventures! Gary In preparation for my upcoming trip to Denali National Park in Alaska I've decided to try and make this website more user friendly!
To do so I have moved from the Flash Program I was using to this more easier to use site. So in order to protect my pictures from unauthorized downloads I now included a watermark across the image. If you see a picture you are interested in this will be removed before printing. The new site also gives me the flexibility to include this blog page and it also allows me to include a Twitter feed. Through these additions you can join me on my adventures. In just a few short weeks I will be camping in a more remote part of Alaska. There will be NO internet or cell phone connections but by using a Delorme GPS with a Spot unit I will be able to post messages on this page using satellite technology. You are more than welcome to check here or at https://www.facebook.com/Wildnessphotos for daily updates. Thank you for joining me! |
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