A Daytrip in Southcentral Alaska = Variety!

I spent much of today on the road and shooting at a couple of my favorite “easy drive” locations. Although, with gas prices as high as they are… “easy” may not be completely true. $5.26/gallon in Seward for diesel and $4.62/gallon for unleaded! Regardless, there is so much variety in Southcentral Alaska, all within less than a 3 hour drive. At Potter’s Marsh, I photographed Mallards, Scaup, Arctic Tern, Red-necked Grebe, and Canada Geese with a LOT of goslings (several families). Then I moved down to the Portage Valley, wanted to check and see if there were any icebergs in Portage Lake… the water was choked with them near the visitors center. On the drive down the Seward Hwy, I passed a family of 3 moose as they crossed the road. You can tell it’s tourist season up here, there was a moose jam almost immediately. At Tern Lake, I focused on the body of water’s namesake, the Arctic Tern. After a few hours of photographing these beautiful birds, I completed the drive to Seward to get some lunch. My hostess told me she had seen a mother grizzly and a young cub nearby. I followed her directions and immediately found them. Although it was a brief and distant encounter, it was still great. What great variety today, and it’s only Spring!