Mountain goats on the Seward Highway - 4/23/13

We took a trip to Nebraska – South Dakota over Christmas.  Since we returned to Alaska in January, Doug & I both have been working in the schools quite a bit.  We have been doing standardized and individualized testing.  We are scheduled to test again for the next two weeks. I tell you that because this past week we had a truly exceptional week.  We kept remarking about it all week.  By the time Sunday rolled around, and our remarkable week was continuing, we figured out what was so different.  This was the first full week that we were both retired and acted like we were retired, with nothing to do and no schedule to dictate to us. 

 Migrating ducks have started landing in our yard and in our neighbor’s yard.  We have had up to fifty ducks.  They are eating the feed that is leftover from our bird feeders.  We have both stopped feeding the birds now because the bears are waking up.  Bird feeders attract bears, so we do not put bird feed out after the bears come out of hibernation.  

We have seen thousands of ducks, Canadian geese, snow geese and swans in their migration this spring.

I did start the week by going to work. I subbed in a classroom on Monday morning.  Then Tuesday we drove to Homer because we had bought a Groupon for a place to stay in Homer by the Kachemak Bay.  Tuesday was cold, rainy and gray. When we drove to Anchorage we saw about 10 moose, 7 of them in one group.  We saw a total of about 20 by the time we got to Homer. 

We were driving on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage and came to the place called Windy Corner.  It is called that for GOOD reason (think-- hurricane).  We passed a mountain goat and her kid RIGHT beside the highway. So we pulled over and got out of the car to take pictures. (To those of you who have visited, you know we call the Seward Highway the Death Highway).  But remember, we were retired people driving the highway in the middle of the week and it was not tourist season.  So there wasn’t nearly as much traffic as there was when you visited us.  I would most likely be posting this for you from the after-life if we had attempted this during tourist season!  Anyway, the goats pretty much ignored us and let us take all the pictures we wanted. An eagle floated overhead as I was taking goat pictures.

Dear Valerie S. – We thought of you twice this trip. Once when we stopped at the Moose is Loose on the way to Homer and once when we stopped at the Moose is Loose on the way home.  For everyone else – the Moose is Loose has the most unbelievable donuts in the whole world!!!!  You cannot drive by without buying some.  We bought enough for our stay in Homer and then we stopped to get some for our trip home.