Alaska Trip : July 1-23, 2017

Part 7 - Heading Home

July 19: Juneau to Ketchikan

The clouds were high enough to allow a bit of exploring on the way to Ketchikan

Salmon Creek delta	Juneau	Inlet S of Taku Harbor	Endicott Arm
Sumdum ("Hanging") Glacier	Dawes Glacier	cIMG_9909.JPG	cIMG_9927.JPG
pIMG_9939.JPG	pIMG_9946.JPG	Cleveland Peninsula	Final approach, Ketchikan
Ketchikan Airport Ferry, proposed home of the bridge to nowhere.	cIMG_9970.JPG

July 20: Ketchikan

My hotel room overlooked the water, which offered nice views of the birds, ships, and planes, but also came with the associated noise.

The Coral Princess again	cIMG_9978.JPG	pIMG_9992.JPG	pIMG_0001.JPG
cIMG_0007.JPG	pIMG_0014.JPG	pIMG_0022.JPG	pIMG_0024.JPG
pIMG_0065.JPG	cIMG_0076.JPG	cIMG_0085.JPG	pIMG_0110.JPG
pIMG_0123.JPG	pIMG_0135.JPG	pIMG_0140.JPG

July 20: Ketchikan AK to Bellingham WA

To avoid dealing with (primarily US) customs again, I made the 520nm nonstop flight from Ketchikan to Bellingham. Although it involves flying through Canadian airspace, there's no need for customs unless a landing in Canada is made. I flew at a lower power setting to conserve fuel, so the flight took a little over 5 hours. The ceiling was fairly low in the immediate vicinity of Ketchikan, but lifted to allow me to fly the trip at 3500'

Cruise ships at Ketchikan	South end of Tongass Narrows	Ham Island	Coal port south Prince Rupert
Grenville Channel	Barrier islands south of Bella Bella	Across the strait from Port Hardy	cIMG_03654.JPG
cIMG_03659.JPG	East Point - Canada-US border	Orcas Island WA	Customs was there, but not needed.
Back in the lower 48!

July 21: Gig Harbor WA to Salem OR

I visited some friends in Washington and Oregon, and stopped by Madras to scope out plans for the eclipse.

Osprey at Gig Harbor	Venus Lake	Mt. St. Helens	Spirit Lake and Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Rainier	SE slope of Mt. St. Helens	Mt. Hood	Madras Airport, OR
pIMG_03776.JPG	pIMG_03777.JPG	pIMG_03778.JPG

July 22: Ankeny NWR

pIMG_0189.JPG	pIMG_0191.JPG	pIMG_0194.JPG	Backswimmer
Western Tiger Swallowtail	Willow Flycatcher (?)	Belted Kingfisher	pIMG_0223.JPG
pIMG_0228.JPG	pIMG_0233.JPG	pIMG_0235.JPG	pIMG_0239.JPG