Lutefisk

Taking advantage of our time in Minnesota, we decided to try a locally-popular Norwegian specialty: lutefisk. Literally "lye fish," it is a gelatinous mass of cod that, well, actually didn't taste too bad. Especially when eaten with Swedish meatballs and lefse....

Winter Has Arrived!

Lighthouse Atoll, Ambergris Caye & Blue Hole

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Belize

Belize is different than its Central American neighbors, most notably in being anglophone, as it was until 1981 the British Honduras. It is also rather small and sparsely populated (300k people in a country the size of Massachusetts). Several Mayan dialects are still commonly spoken, especially in the southern coast and inland areas, but it also has large Mennonite and Amish communities. Belize also has the second largest reef in the world, much of which is easily accessible (all we needed was a kayak and snorkels).

Although we started our trip in the jungle highlands near the Guatemala border (more on that in a bit), perhaps the most striking and memorable hour of our trip was, immediately upon arrival to our beach-front casita, being whisked by helicopter 50 miles off the coast to see the Blue Hole (below) and Lighthouse Atoll (see the movie above this post). The picture above is an eerily beautiful shipwreck that occurred on the atoll in 2004 (there's an Osprey perched just aft of the bridge).
We started our trip in the Chaa Creek reserve, a beautiful location where each morning, chachalacas and aracaris (one is pictured below) visited the fruiting palms outside our window to forage. Our first excursion was across the Guatemalan border to the Mayan ruins at Tikal, where the impressive ruins were matched by the incredibly intact surrounding jungle that was filled with wildlife: the raccoon-like coatimundi, howler and spider monkeys and exotic birds such as emerald toucanet, crested guan, montezuma oropendula and (Kristen's favorite) oscillated turkey. You can check out our bird blog for pics of all these (and more).
We were fortunate on our next outing to have an excellent guide, Miguel, who paddled us through the Barton Creek cave, where pottery and skulls from the rituals of his Maya ancestors still lie.
As it turned out, Miguel is also an expert on local birds (able to identify many simply by call) and was our guide on a birding excursion the following day.
It's hard to pick a highlight, as we saw so much, but if pressed I'd say the spot of the day was a breeding pair of jabiru at a marsh near Aguacate. We watched in awe as the male platooned back and forth between the shoreline and treetop roost with carefully selected nesting material.

Bemidji

We took a weekend trip up to Bemidji (home to the "Pidgie from Bemidji" and, of course, the above statues) to do our second century. Due to trail construction it turned into a "gentleman's century," delightfully spread out over two crisp days and incorporating fall colors, migrating Common Mergansers, the Itasca SP Wilderness Drive.

...to the Largest State.

Alaska is big. Really big. And the Alaskans love to tell you just how big.

Kristen spent most of July in Alaska, primarily working on a psychiatric unit in Fairbanks. The hotel abutted a nature preserve with a variety of trails and this lovely "dawn" image (the actual time being about 4am).

There was the requisite midnight flight into the Arctic Circle. Below is a portion of the Yukon Flats (tributaries of the Yukon River) from the air.
After 3+ weeks of work there was some time to sightsee. Below is the unofficial greeter to Denali National Park.
What follows is a series of images of Denali and the Alaskan Range, which were simply majestic. The mountain was shrouded for the first day (which is its most common state in the summer months), so Kristen did the Denali "triathlon" -- hiking 6 miles up to a range to NOT see Denali, biking 6 miles to Wonder Lake to NOT see Denali, taking a flight to get above the clouds to finally see Denali! These next three photos were taken from that plane trip.
The second day was crystal clear in the morning and we were rewarded with spectacular images of the mountain on the way out of the park. These next three are the reflection of Denali in Wonder Lake, close to where Kristen was staying at the Kantishna Roadhouse. This is the Zen photo....
The classic photo....
And, an image with ducks, since we have a soft spot for the birds....
This is Denali in Reflection Lake, the location of Ansel Adams classic photo.
Here is Denali from a bit up the road with fireweed in the foreground.
I call this the "fake background" photo of Denali.
From Denali, Kristen took the Alaska Railroad down to Anchorage. After a brief stop there, she headed down to the Kenai Peninsula and the charming fishing village of Homer.
There she spent a delightful two days at the Sadie Cove Wilderness Lodge and sampled wild crow berries, bear berries, blueberries, salmon berries, and watermelon berries. The drive back to Anchorage was delightful as well, with classic vistas of Alaskan peaks.

From the Smallest State...

The end of June found us in Rhode Island visiting Ted and Joanna Rolfes. It was a whirlwind tour with an inauspicious start as Richard's Friday night flight was delayed by several hours. We were undeterred, however, and spent a lovely Saturday visiting the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge,

taking in the US World Cup loss to Ghana at a bar adjacent to Mudville (yes, THAT Mudville),

sailing on an America's Cup yacht off of Newport Beach, and finally making it back to Providence for Firewater under the full, if obscured, moon.

Sunday was decidedly more laid back with a five-course meal at a local winery and a walk around town. Who knew there was so much packed into such a small state?

Utah

Though not completely intentional, May turned out to be the Month of Utah. Kristen took advantage of the last few weeks of her 7-on, 7-off schedule to explore southern Utah, an area Richard had already canvassed 20 years earlier.

I started off in Moab, and went immediately to Delicate Arch, in Arches National Park. Though this is my favorite photo of the arch (because it doesn't have any people in it) it also has the disadvantage of not having any people in it (which best demonstrates its enormous scale).

The next day was devoted to the Devil's Garden hike, which (along with some bonus birding) showcased the Double O Arch...

...and the Landscape Arch.

There are other fabulous places in the Moab area besides Arches, of course, such as Dead Horse Point State Park...

...and Canyonlands National Park.

The drive across the southern portion of the state, from Moab to Bryce Canyon, was amazing.

For example, pictures cannot express the grandeur of the Escalante / Grand Staircase area. So, I didn't include any.

Even a "ditch" -- this is Tropic Ditch, and really just a turn out on the road with a couple of parking spots -- can be quite spectacular.

This is Red Canyon, again, with little more than a sign and a few parking spots.

Finally, I arrived at Bryce Canyon where I spent a chilly hour staring in awe at the beautiful amphitheater.

Though I had not intended to go back, I couldn't pass up the chance to hike down into the canyon itself later in the week.

It also gave me a chance to say "hoodoos" a few more times.

And, what trip to southern Utah would be complete without a trip to Zion National Park? Even though the Narrows weren't open yet due to the spring run-off, it was clear why this park is a national favorite.

***

Two weeks later, both Kristen and Richard arrived in Utah, but this time focused on the Salt Lake City area, a birder's paradise.

We stayed at the handsome and service-oriented Grand America (directly across the street from the Little America hotel) which offered this lovely view of the courthouse from our window.

We had a great birding outing with Bill Fenimore, adding over 50 new species to our life-list. One of our favorite spots was Antelope Island, which offers this view of Salt Lake City.

But, as with most of our travels, it was the natural scenery of Utah which enchanted us most.

Play Ball!

Thanks to the graciousness of a new friend and the convenience of a 7-on / 7-off work schedule I was able to take in the second home game of the inaugural season in the Twin's new outdoor baseball stadium. The park is literally steps from our house and Richard and I have watched in awe over the last few years as the ballpark has been constructed so precisely in the middle of a city with minimal disruption (well, they did have to move a train track five feet over to accommodate). Though the Twins lost 6-3 to the Boston Red Sox and it rained a good bit of the time, it was a magnificent day. The location of the seat didn't hurt.

Next time I'll make sure Richard plays hooky.

Blue Lake Waterfowl

A quick Sunday jaunt to the Minnesota River Valley Reserve did not produce any new species, but the video does have some decent audio of the Trumpeter Swans (one of whom also flaps quite beautifully near the end) and slowing it down you can see a gadwall and a wood duck among the mallards. It was a perfect winter day, and a challenging snow-shoe hike to boot.

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Great North Woods

At first thought, it seems a bit mad to head north in the heart of winter.
Okay, seems crazy on second thought as well. Still, if one can brave the cold, few sights can match the beauty of the North Shore in January.
This was our third trip to Gunflint--our second this year and also our second in winter. Although it is a popular Summer destination, we prefer it cooler--and less crowded.

Anyone who has been to Gunflint is familiar with the welcoming committee.

In spite of the cold clear nights, we missed the Aurora Borealis (again), but did have a fantastic full moon. Note the similarity between this photo and the one we took for the "Winter Wonderland" entry exactly one lunar month ago.

In addition to skiing, we went snowshoeing for the first time.

We also did some birding in Zax-Sim Bog, which has lots of great avian life and these unusual (if somewhat gruesome) deer carcass feeders.

In the Fall, we came across a wolf while on a hike. This trip we saw several moose. They are usually quite reclusive, but the males especially seem a little less shy in winter.

It can be difficult to find someone to take your picture when you are in the wilderness, so we just had to do it ourselves.

And here's what we are looking at, Lonely Lake (that's our showshoe tracks along the left).