Hello Kay and Doug: We enjoyed the trip, but only ½-day of sunshine with rain the rest of the time so typical Northwest weather. Doug: Yes, visiting lighthouses is fun, and there’s usually interesting sea birds nearby. I grew up by the Mukilteo lighthouse. As Kay is aware one of the best lighthouses locally is Fisgard near Victoria. If you haven’t been there, it’s worth a trip. Also has the same type of coastal fortifications found at Forts Worden and Casey and Marrowstone.

Arctic Tern hike, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska, 6-8-10. This is a very easy 2-mile hike from the Visitor Center to the glacier’s falls. Hike crosses several sidebars and skirts area where Terns are nesting. Click to enlarge

Arctic Terns, 6-8-10 continued. Could not get any closer for photos of nesting terns, which have the longest migration of any bird, up to 25,000 miles roundtrip from breeding grounds in the Arctic to its winter home in Antarctica. The tern’s nest is just a couple of scrapes on gravel and its eggs are well-camouflaged. Click to enlarge

Tern predator, 6-8-10, continued Lots of seagulls in the area will steal terns’ eggs. I believe this is a Herring Gull, which was flying near the nesting colony toward the glacier. Final photo is ice on Mendenhall Lake next to the terns’ nesting ground. Click to enlarge

Chilkoot Lake State Recreation Site, Haines, Alaska, 6-9-10. Took the fast ferry from Skagway and rented a car in Haines, one of our favorite places in Southeast Alaska, for wildlife viewing. Hiked at Chilkoot Lake in a driving rainstorm on 9-23-09. Nice weather today and could see the surrounding mountains. Mosquitoes were vicious. Click to enlarge

Chilkoot Lake continued, 6-9-10. Chilkoot River otter and what I believe is a Common Merganser (6th photo) were on rocks in the middle of the river.

Common Merganser

Council Grounds Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, 6-9-10. Spent four days observing eagles at this location at the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in November 2006. There is a nice trail (second photo) and boardwalk that begins here and parallels the preserve for a couple of miles as well as some informational exhibits about eagles. Click to enlarge