GeoMeandering, Key Largo, FL (2026)

02/04/2024

Enjoyed great weather and calm conditions during our Key Largo kayaking - within mangrove-lined channels and through mangrove tunnels. Even saw a few rays!

01/23/2024

The start to our sixth year of camper van travels began with uncovering our van in frigid, snowy Vermont. We’re off to achieve one of our travel goals - seek 75 degree weather - by breaking one of our travel rules - go slow and meander! We’re on a fast journey down the east coast to Savannah, then on to Everglades and the Keys.

12/24/2023

With help from a few wild friends we made while
traveling this year, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

08/13/2023

Our trip down memory lane, otherwise known as our summer trip to Alaska, landed us at the Eagle River Nature Center, where we often hiked and spotted wildlife during our Alaskan residency.

Although we did not encounter any bears or moose (we remember always seeing a moose at one specific wetland area in the ‘90s), and the salmon had not yet returned to spawn, we very much enjoyed the walk in the woods and finished the walk with only a few mosquito bites, thanks to a liberal application of bug repellent.

And, not surprisingly, some of the views from the picnic area were a little different, using a photo from ‘96 for comparison - either the trees had grown, our vision has diminished, or our memories faded, or maybe all of the above!

08/08/2023

When we last visited Portage Glacier and its glacial lake in the ‘90s, the glacier was visible from the road and many icebergs floated up to the shoreline adjacent to the road’s parking lot. This summer, we had to paddle a few miles from the road to view the glacier, now hidden by a ridge, and there were just a few icebergs. Just one example of a receding glacier in Alaska.

Portage Lake, located southeast of Anchorage near the head of Turnagain Arm, is notorious for strong, cold headwinds streaming down the glacier, but we were lucky that is was nearly calm day when we paddled. The paddle was great and our route took us by many scenic waterfalls.

08/01/2023

Deep Creek State Recreation Area is a popular boat launch into Cook Inlet, but the eagles were the attraction that drew us to this beach campground.

The eagles congregate here due to the plentiful fish; we observed more than a dozen flying overhead as we bounced down the pothole laden driveway into the campground. Betsy scanned the skies, while I tried unsuccessfully to dodge the craters in the so-called road. Rob wasn’t sure whether Betsy’s cries of “wow, WOW, WOOWWW” were because of the eagles acrobatics or the van’s rocking and rolling.

After parking and cleaning up items in the van that spilled due to the rocking and rolling , a brown eyed juvenile bald eagle, likely about a year old, watched us slowly walk down the beach. Nearby, a mature bald eagle, now sporting pale yellow eyes and a yellow beak, had an easy meal by scavenging a fish carcass on the rocky beach. It takes five years for a bald eagle to grow their adult plumage, and we watched eagles of all ages stand sentry on the beach and perform acrobatics above the bluffs adjacent to the shoreline.

For the few minutes we weren’t watching the eagles and shorebirds, it was fascinating to watch the tractor launch service ferrying fishing boats in and out of the inlet. And Mount Redoubt, which last erupted in 2009, loomed on the west side of the inlet.

07/25/2023

What to do when you reach “the end of the road?” How about hop on a boat?

After driving about 7,000 miles from New England to Homer, Alaska, we arrived at the southern terminus of AK Highway 1 on the Homer Spit. The spit, a terminal moraine deposited by glaciers about 14,000 thousand years ago, juts 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay. At the end of the spit lies the “End of the Road Park” and Homer’s small boat harbor - a great place to board a boat and travel further.

Our excursion with on their 36-foot long catamaran North Cape took us past a rookery (puffins, common murres, thousands of black-legged kittiwakes, and some otters hanging out in the water), to an isolated cove (seals and bald eagles), and through channels separating rocky islands, with a view of a 10,000 foot high dormant volcano in the distance. It was great to leave the driving to others!

There are many places in Alaska and Canada left to explore this summer, including other areas at a road’s end, but reaching Homer symbolizes the turnaround point for this adventure. Hopefully the weather turns as well, we could use some more sun and warmth!

07/16/2023

Bears, bears, and more bears! At one point, we counted over 30 grizzlies from our vantage in Katmai National Park.

It’s been a goal to visit Katmai NP for over 30 years. Rob acquired topographical maps of the park in the ‘90s when we lived in Alaska with plans to hike among the bears and dormant volcanoes that never quite came to fruition - until this summer’s Alaska adventure, and it proved to be worth the wait.

and our pilot/guide Ty flew us into the northeast corner of Katmai, the 6-seat Cessna landing on a gravel beach. After explaining best practices (stay tight and small as a group, move and speak normally and calmly), we took a short hike up the beach, crossed onto the coastal plain, with Mount Douglas, a dormant volcano, and its icefields in the background. Lo and behold, grizzlies were everywhere, eating sedge grasses and cooling off in the shallow water filled depressions. The bears saw us, but generally showed no interest in us, allowing us to safely observe and move among them, but from a distance - not unlike what they afford each other. In a few weeks, salmon will return to spawn and the bears will feast on these fish and pack on pounds. For now, they make do and maintain weight with a diet of sedge and clams. We were encouraged to sample the sedge. It is tasty with a lemon-cilantro vibe, maybe ok in a salad, but we wouldn’t want to scarf down 60 pounds daily as the bears do.

Rob’s telephoto lens provided close ups. We took over 750 photos and videos during our visit. An amazing experience that is a truly unique to Alaska!

06/29/2023

What do birds, antlers, baseball, and flowers have in common? These were some of the sights we took in while visiting Fairbanks, AK.

First up, a walk at Creamer’s Field, a former dairy farm that became a nature center. Sandhill cranes hung out in the fields - maybe we saw these very cranes in Arizona in February?

Next was the Antler Arch, made up of over 100 moose and caribou antlers. Fairbanks is proud to note this is the northernmost antler arch - maybe you’ve seen the antler arches in Jackson Hole, WY?

Summer arrived as we attended the 118th annual Midnight Sun Baseball Game on the solstice. No artificial lighting is used (“sunset” for this day was 12:51 AM, sunrise was about 2:50 AM). First pitch was at 10 PM, the final out was recorded at 1 AM (sadly, no pitch clock was present). Nearly 4,000 spectators attended the event, with folks from 38 states and many foreign countries. The picture posted was taken just before the last out (and yes, Sweet Caroline was sung before the 9th inning, just like at Friendly Fenway).

Finally, we walked the grounds of Georgeson Botanical Garden at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Columbine were blooming and we finally saw a moose, though this one was on a roof. So far, moose in the wild have been elusive.

06/25/2023

Our trek up the Alaska Highway is complete! About 2 1/2 weeks after leaving Dawson Creek, we reached the highway’s terminus in Delta Junction, AK. Highlights of the final stretch of the highway include seeing Dall Sheep from a distance in Kluane National Park in the Yukon, visiting the world’s largest gold pan in Burwash Landing, and standing in two countries at the same time at the international border.

This journey up to Alaska has been memorable, but we’re looking forward to transitioning from travel/drive mode to hike/bike/kayak/explore mode. We heard many stories over the years about the challenges of the Alaska Highway - the frost heaves making a wavy roller coaster like ride, for example - but we made it relatively unscathed. No windshield cracks and no flat tires, but Rob did drive through one massive pothole that violently shook us and the van, and may have lightened Rob’s gray hair another shade.

And a great way to celebrate this travel accomplishment? Soft serve ice cream, of course!

06/20/2023

After hauling us over 5K miles from New England, our camper van deserved a day off. So we hopped on a fast ferry with for a day trip to Juneau from Haines. The boat trip goes down the Lynn Canal, the deepest fjord in North America. The views of the surrounding mountains were great!

In Juneau, we walked around the city, viewed the capitol building (trivia answer, it’s one of 11 state capitol buildings without a dome, others include NY, OH, and NM), and visited Takhu, a bronze whale sculpture commemorating 50 years of Alaska statehood in 2009. And we had a tasty halibut lunch at The Hangar Bar & Grill, while watching floatplanes arrive and depart.

But the highlight of the day was the wildlife observed while on the boat. We passed two Steller Sea Lion rookeries (sea lions have a lot of personality!) and numerous whales. Some of the whales even tried to imitate Takhu, the sculpture (or is that backwards?).

While Rob struggled to capture the whales via photos (remind him next time to set the camera to high speed burst, not the low speed he had on), Betsy simply started videoing the activity on her iPhone. We’ll share some videos in our next post….

06/15/2023

Next stop, Haines, AK! While awaiting the Alaska Marine Ferry to take us to Haines (only 15 miles by water from Skagway, but over 350 miles via the road system), we ate lunch. A harbor seal eyed us, hoping for some crumbs, while an arctic tern joined in the meal with its own fish.

We enjoyed exploring Skagway and its surroundings, but Haines felt like a more authentic Alaska town - maybe it was the lack of huge cruise ships and endless jewelry stores. In a few weeks, bears and eagles descend on the rivers near town to feast on the spawning salmon. Locals shared the salmon runs there tend to initiate after Father’s Day. Some bald eagles had already staked out their perches awaiting the salmon feast, but we saw no bears. We’re thinking about revisiting Haines later this summer, not to feast or be feasted upon, but to watch the salmon spectacle from a safe distance.

GeoMeandering

02/04/2024

01/23/2024

12/24/2023

08/13/2023

08/08/2023

08/01/2023

07/25/2023

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06/29/2023

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