Back to photo homeView this gallery in a slideshowStatic thumbnail page

An Alaskan Adventure : July 1 - 29, 2026

Part 3 - Nome (Teller, Council) to King Salmon

July 8: Teller

There are three well-maintained gravel roads out of Nome: Kougarok Road, and roads to Teller and Council. Each one is roughly 70 miles long, and well enough maintained that 55mph is possible for most of the trip. Mathmatically, a round trip could be less than 3 hours. However, with frequent stops to look around, each was essentially an all day trip for me. This day it was Nome-Teller Road, or Bob Blodgett Highway.

pIMG_5908.JPG
Greater Scaup
Tundra Swan
pIMG_5923.JPG

American Wigeon
Penny River
cIMG_5933.JPG
Redpoll

Beaver dam
Spring Beauty
Rough-legged Hawk
pIMG_5978.JPG

pIMG_5981.JPG
pIMG_5994.JPG
pIMG_5998.JPG
pIMG_6003.JPG

pIMG_6007.JPG
pIMG_6009.JPG
pIMG_6011.JPG
pIMG_6016.JPG

Arctic Ground Squirrel
Cabin Rock
cIMG_6028.JPG
Exposed permafrost

pIMG_6040.JPG
Arctic Tern
pIMG_6061.JPG
Fireweed

pIMG_6072.JPG
pIMG_6078.JPG
Cliff Swallow
cIMG_6122.JPG

Cackling Goose with chicks
pIMG_6161.JPG
Long-tailed Jaegers
pIMG_6194.JPG

pIMG_6195.JPG
pIMG_6197.JPG
pIMG_6207.JPG
Pacific Golden Plover (?)

Lapland Longspur
Glandular Kamchatka Rhododendron
Nest mentioned in old guidebook is still there
Interesting shadow from contrail

Parasitic Jaegers
pIMG_6265.JPG
pIMG_6269.JPG
Long-tailed Jaeger

An old dredge
Northern Pintail with chicks (?)
Pelagic Cormorant
pIMG_6343.JPG

pIMG_6349.JPG
pIMG_6362.JPG
pIMG_6377.JPG
pIMG_6378.JPG

Salmon drying racks
cIMG_6385.JPG
pIMG_6391.JPG
Red-necked Phalarope

pIMG_6411.JPG
Teller from the airport
Tall Jacob's Ladder
pIMG_6434.JPG

pIMG_6439.JPG
pIMG_6444.JPG
pIMG_6450.JPG
pIMG_6451.JPG

pIMG_6453.JPG
Harlequin Duck (female)
cIMG_6461.JPG
pIMG_6466.JPG

cIMG_6474.JPG
Arctic Ground Squirrel
pIMG_6497.JPG
Savannah Sparrow (?)

Black-bellied Plover
pIMG_6508.JPG
Tundra Swan
Semipalmated Plover

pIMG_6532.JPG
pIMG_6535.JPG
pIMG_6538.JPG
pIMG_6540.JPG

Long-tailed Jaeger
pIMG_6566.JPG
cIMG_6571.JPG
Muskox

pIMG_6585.JPG
pIMG_6588.JPG
pIMG_6592.JPG
Bird art on each power pole

cIMG_6601.JPG
pIMG_6603.JPG
cIMG_6604.JPG
cIMG_6606.JPG

pIMG_6615.JPG
pIMG_6624.JPG
pIMG_6632.JPG
pIMG_6639.JPG

cIMG_6649.JPG
pIMG_6655.JPG
Hudsonian Whimbrel
pIMG_6678.JPG

pIMG_6680.JPG
Northern Pintail (?)
Red-throated Loon
pIMG_6695.JPG

Western Sandpiper (?)
pIMG_6699.JPG
pIMG_6701.JPG

July 9: Council

On my last full day in Nome, I drove the Nome-Council Road.

pIMG_6705.JPG
pIMG_6715.JPG
Long-tailed Jaeger
pIMG_6725.JPG

Glaucous Gull (?)
Lapland Longspur
Common Eider
pIMG_6754.JPG

cIMG_6755.JPG
pIMG_6764.JPG
pIMG_6768.JPG
Arctic Tern

pIMG_6773.JPG
Plover chick
Northern Pintail
Semipalmated Plover

Eiders with chicks
Black-legged Kittiwake
Moose, in a hurry to get somewhere
cIMG_6800.JPG

pIMG_6805.JPG
pIMG_6809.JPG
Tundra Swan
pIMG_97267.JPG

pIMG_6818.JPG
pIMG_6821.JPG
pIMG_6823.JPG
pIMG_6824.JPG

pIMG_6828.JPG
pIMG_6835.JPG
Pacific Loon (?)
Aleutian Tern

pIMG_6847.JPG
pIMG_6849.JPG
pIMG_6852.JPG
pIMG_6856.JPG

Short-billed Gull
pIMG_6865.JPG
cIMG_6877.JPG
The Last Train to Nowhere

cIMG_6880.JPG
pIMG_6883.JPG
pIMG_6887.JPG
cIMG_6890.JPG

pIMG_6894.JPG
pIMG_6902.JPG
Mallard
pIMG_6914.JPG

Common Raven
An old dredge
cIMG_6934.JPG
Nest with chick in the old dredge

Solomon River near Quigleys Camp
cIMG_6950.JPG
Savannah Sparrow
pIMG_6955.JPG

cIMG_6956.JPG
cIMG_6957.JPG
cIMG_6984.JPG
Fox River

Northern Harrier
pIMG_7006.JPG
Council
pIMG_7026.JPG

Skookum River valley
Say's Phoebe
pIMG_7034.JPG
Looks a bit like an Inukshuk

Brown Bear
pIMG_7057.JPG
pIMG_7061.JPG
pIMG_7066.JPG

pIMG_7067.JPG
Wandering Tattler
pIMG_7069.JPG
pIMG_7073.JPG

Spotted Sandpiper
pIMG_7080.JPG
Big Hurrah Creek
Alpine Sweetvetch

pIMG_7089.JPG
pIMG_7101.JPG
pIMG_7109.JPG
Parasitic Jaeger going after a Kittiwake's fish

pIMG_7117.JPG
pIMG_7119.JPG
pIMG_7122.JPG
It got the fish after the kittiwake dropped it

pIMG_7129.JPG
Long-tailed Jaeger
pIMG_7136.JPG
pIMG_7141.JPG

pIMG_7157.JPG
cIMG_7163.JPG
pIMG_7171.JPG
pIMG_7181.JPG

pIMG_7190.JPG
pIMG_7195.JPG
pIMG_7196.JPG
Pomarine Jaeger (?)

American Wigeons
Scaup
pIMG_7241.JPG
Red-throated Loon with fish

pIMG_7267.JPG
pIMG_7273.JPG
pIMG_7279.JPG
pIMG_7285.JPG

Giant boulders at the quarry
pIMG_7300.JPG
pIMG_7302.JPG
pIMG_7305.JPG

pIMG_7308.JPG

July 10: Nome - Bethel - King Salmon

I filed IFR for the first time in Alaska for my first leg of the day from Nome to Bethel due to a low cloud layer around Nome. There wasn't much to see until the clouds broke up approaching Bethel. After fueling at Bethel, I took a scenic VFR flight via the Round Island walrus haulout on the way to King Salmon. The total straight line distance was 431nm.

Johnson River, about 45 miles north of Bethel
Kanektok River
Nimgun Creek
Togiak River Lodge

Summit Island, Round Island in the distance
Togiak
Summit Island
Black Rock

Round Island
Walrus haulout
pIMG_7396.JPG
Camp sites and trails on the island

A second walrus haulout
Kulukak Bay
Igushik River
Mudflats around Etolin Point

Deadman Sands
pIMG_7436.JPG
Naknek
A Greater Yellowlegs (?) likes the tip of this tree

King Salmon Lodge
pIMG_7473.JPG
cIMG_7475.JPG
Bald Eagle and juvenile

pIMG_7479.JPG
pIMG_7485.JPG