Denali Delights

June 29, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 49 Comments

Male caribou, Denali

Touring through Denali is unlike other U.S. national parks because there is only one road, and few trails. This glorious park is well designed to preserve the park, protect the wildlife, and lighten the impact of human visitors.

Denali Park Road is 92 miles long, with only the first 15 miles open to private vehicles. Going deeper into the park requires park buses. Additionally, most of the park does not have trails; those that exist are less than five miles long and primarily near the entrance. This is to minimize maintenance in this extremely remote and unserviceable place.

Denali Park Rd & Mt. McKinley

There are 39 species of mammals, including caribou, moose, bear, wolves; and 169 species of birds. With over 650 plant species in an environment of forest, tundra, and glaciers, there are numerous habitats. In addition, majestic Mt. McKinley looms at 20,320 feet offering hiking, mountain climbing, and glacier exploration.

For visitors there are ecological options of courtesy, shuttle, or tour buses. Hiking is largely cross-country.

green bus stopped along a dirt road, mountains in the distance, and a sheep downslope.

Denali Shuttle Bus. Photo: Nathan Kostegian, NPS

Green shuttle buses travel Denali Park Road, picking hikers up and dropping them off wherever they please. I noticed not many people did this. Alternatively, there are a few designated day trips available, or visitors can take a park bus tour. Learn more here.

One day we enjoyed a designated day trip to Wonder Lake. With views of Mt. McKinley and exquisite panoramas of the mountains and tundra, it was awesome. We did not spend as much time at the lake as hoped, because the mosquitoes were rabid.

Grizzly Bear, Denali

One day we took a pre-arranged flight tour to a glacier at the top of Mt. McKinley. Spectacular! Read more here.

Several days we explored, on foot, areas we had researched, targeting wildlife and birds. We used the required green bus and boarded and de-boarded as we liked. One day the bus driver dropped us off, and as the two of us descended the bus steps he said, “Be careful, I’ve heard there are grizzlies around here today.” Off goes the bus, we are completely alone in this vast expanse, and I said, “What did he just say?”

A few hours later I had forgotten my fear about the grizzlies. We had hiked a few miles, taking photos and exploring, and then came across a delightful stream. After carrying loads of equipment, we decided to temporarily stash the scope and tripod under a bush; set the daypack down while we scouted out a picnic spot upstream.

Athena photographing, Denali streamside (Photo: Jet)

Ten minutes later we returned to the daypack and found, disconcertingly, that it was moving. We ran at the backpack, and shouted at it. Out jumped a ground squirrel. Fortunately it was only a small mammal, and not something big enough to eat us.

Ground Squirrel, Denali

One of the things I absolutely love about hiking and outdoor adventures, is that the conventions of household living are considerably looser. Here we were in the middle of 6 million acres of wilderness, no food shops for hundreds of miles. We needed lunch, but would there be any left? Fortunately, he had only eaten parts of our Fig Newton cookies. So we sat down, ate our pawed-over but uneaten lunch, including the untouched ends of the Fig Newtons.

Wolf, Denali

Photo credit: Athena Alexander (except as noted)

Mount McKinley

Dall Sheep, Denali

Wonder Lake, Denali

Highway 1

June 26, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 34 Comments

McWay Falls, California

McWay Falls on California’s vista-rich Pacific Coast Highway.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Baobab Tree

June 25, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 34 Comments

Baobab Tree

The venerable baobab tree is native to Africa and can be found throughout much of the continent. Nothing towers over the vast African savannah like this tree, not even elephants.

Although the height is impressive at 16-82 feet (5-25 m), it is the solid girth that catches your eye. The behemoth trunk can get up to 32-45 feet (10-14m) in diameter.

This is a deciduous tree, but it only has leaves for about three months of the year (the wet season). Most of the year you see it as pictured here. Fortunately it is drought resistant, due to its large root system.

It also bears an ovoid fruit that has a dry pulp and can be ground into a powder, used to make nutritious drinks. The fruit doesn’t come along for about 20 years, but for a tree that can live to 1,000 years, that’s a very youthful time. Animals eat the leaves, and humans make food, clothing, and other useful products from the tree. To read more about Adansonia digitata, click here.

The baobab is prevalent in many parts of Africa, and is also found in Oman, Yemen and Western Asia. But when I see this tree it says to me one word: Africa. And what a lovely statement that is.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Rhinoceros

June 22, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 36 Comments

White Rhinos, Kenya

The African rhino species originated on this planet about 14.2 million years ago. Let’s take a look at this astounding creature.

A century ago, at least in Africa, rhinos were heading for extinction due to over-hunting in the colonial era. Now, all five rhino species are killed for their horns, which are coveted for medicinal purposes and ornamental carvings. Sadly, sophisticated poaching syndicates have evolved into organized crime, utilizing advanced technologies and weaponry.

The dwindling rhinoceros population is so depressing that I will stop talking about it at this point. You can, however, click here to read the exact numbers of remaining species. Fortunately, there have been enormous conservation efforts toward reviving the population; and the white rhinos, the most abundant rhino species, have increased.

There are rhinos in Africa and Asia, a total of five different species. The two African rhinos are called Black and White; the Asian rhinos: Greater one-horned, Sumatran, and Javan. General rhinoceros info here.

White Rhino Family, Kenya

It is only possible to observe wild rhinos by going to preserved wildlife sanctuaries. We visited the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya, where these photos were taken. It is 62,000 acres and heavily guarded, although when there you rarely, if ever, see a fence. (For a little pop culture fact: Lewa is where Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010.) More about Lewa here. On a previous safari we visited Lakipia Plains, also in Kenya.

The African Rhinos. The black rhino is not black, and the white rhino is not white. They are both brownish-gray.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

The white rhino, seen here, is a grazer. The mouth, for grazing on grass, is wide; so the Dutch named it “wijd” for wide. But the early English speaking settlers mistakenly thought the word was “white” and that is how the wide-mouthed rhino became known as the white rhino. They named the other rhino, that had a narrow mouth, black.

White rhinos are the largest of the five rhino species and are the world’s largest land mammal after elephants. The males average 5,100 pounds (2,300 kg), females average 3,700 pounds (1,700 kg). The male’s head and body length are 12-13 feet long (nearly 4m); and they stand about 5-6 feet high (about 180 cm). In spite of their immense size, they can run up to 31 mph (50 km/h). Gloriously enormous.

Barn Swallows greeting us, Lewa, Kenya

Black rhinos, more rare, are not grazers but browsers. They eat leafy branches, shoots, and bushes, and are more solitary than the white rhino. They are known to be more aggressive than the white rhino, and are roughly half as big as the white rhino.

On our last day in Lewa, we had had a great day observing the rhinos. As we were leaving, a wonderful cloud of spirited barn swallows surrounded us, apparently attracted to the bugs our vehicle had stirred up. It was the perfect farewell.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Our Palace at Lewa

Hello Summer

June 20, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 45 Comments

California

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Father’s Day Rodeo

June 18, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 28 Comments

Little Cowboy

The thing I like most about travel is seeing different ways that humans live. Humans, after all, are my species. I love to come across new communities that open my horizons, even if it’s only for a day.

So that is how I found myself at “The Biggest Little Rodeo in the West.” It takes place in Grover, Colorado every Father’s Day weekend, has been the town’s main attraction since the early 1920s. The population of Grover is 137 people.

This is a world filled with horse-back riding, cattle-tending cowboys and cowgirls. Some rodeos these days are professional events hosted in air-conditioned arenas with large prizes; other rodeos, like this one, are community celebrations in a big, flat field, involving generations of families.

Rodeo, Grover, Colordo

I was with three of my favorite people: my partner, my 83 year old mother, and my sister. There we were in the bleachers in our city tennies and summer capris, surrounded by cowboy hats, cowboy boots, and belt-buckled jeans.

Just about the time the “bucking broncs” were being released out of the chutes, the vast and dark sky opened up, and the rain poured and poured. The rodeo was delayed when the lightning started, and it was time to get Mom back to the hotel.

That was one of those days when we had spent more time traveling to and from the event, than being at the actual event itself. But on the way “home” as the rain and hail pelted our rental car, we were exhilarated and happy, and recalled the event with relish.

Life on earth with over 7 billion other people makes for a complicated web of overlapping lifestyles and values. I don’t know any cowboys personally, and my father died many years ago, but I still give a nod to fathers and the Grover cowboys every Father’s Day. And even if you’re not a father, I bid you a Happy Father’s Day.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Dedicated to the memory of my mother, who enjoyed the rodeo most of all.

The Amazon River

June 16, 2015August 14, 2016 / Jet Eliot / 49 Comments

Hoatzins

Roughly one century after former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt adventured along the Amazon River’s Madeira Tributary, I spent a week in the same river basin on another tributary called the Madre De Dios. He was in Brazil, I was in Peru.

Although he was an experienced wildlife enthusiast and an accomplished and robust man, Roosevelt’s trip through the Amazon rainforests was harrowing and life-threatening. Several of his expedition colleagues perished. And only five years after the trip, he died too, from a fever he contracted there.

Admittedly, I did not almost die from my trip. But it was easily the most physically uncomfortable travel experience I had ever had then, or since.

A large rat falling into our room from the thatched ceiling; huge cockroaches skittering through our quarters every night; an ant bite that ballooned instantly; body covered with mosquito bites (279 at one time); the list goes on. But although there were many challenges, there were infinitely more delights.

I’m on this boat. Photo: B. Page

For a week we ventured down this river in motorized canoes, stopping at night to camp. Our group had two boats and we carried with us all our water, food, and gear.

Outside of the many incredible wildlife adventures we enjoyed, one of my favorite things to do was cruise down the river.

In the early mornings the river would be foggy and chilly, during the day it would inevitably rain, and in the evening the mosquitoes were fierce. But as long as the boat kept moving, the bugs weren’t too bad, and our perpetually soggy clothes dried out from the breeze.

Peru Village on Madre de Dios Tributary of Amazon

Sometimes we passed small villages, but mostly we saw nothing but trees, clouds, and wildlife. Flocks of macaws could be heard and barely seen, for they were so high up.

Groups of capybara, the largest rodent in the world, hunted on the shoreline. The pungent odor of peccaries, also known as javelins or skunk pigs, wrinkled our noses as we cruised on by. Caiman rested on nearby sand.

Nights were rough because it was so hot and wet, and the camps were very muddy. Howler monkeys woke us at dawn, daylight would eventually come, and I always looked forward to climbing back into the boat for another wild day.

The Amazon River carries more water and has more tributaries than any other river in the world. At 4,000 miles long, it is the second longest river in the world (after the Nile). And it’s one on which both Theodore Roosevelt and I had the trip of a lifetime. But it’s not for the faint of heart, and I hope it always stays that way.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Sloths

June 15, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 60 Comments

Two-toed sloth, Costa Rica

Our very kind cab driver stopped in Orotina, Costa Rica en route to the lodge. Although we did not share a common language, he had something to show us in a small park. He pointed insistently to a hairy mass 50 feet up in a tree, saying words neither of us could understand.

As if it was Charades I asked, “Is it a nest?”

Without the use of language, I don’t know what he answered. Continuing to look at the mass through binoculars, my partner and I thought maybe it was a bee hive. We looked that up in our Spanish dictionary, but there was no translation. He kept talking and pointing. Then I asked a new question, “Is it a sloth?”

“Si! A sloth!”

In Costa Rica there are two species of sloths: two-toed and three-toed. Regardless of the name, both species have three toes. It is the hands of the sloth that differ in digit number, and they are not so much fingers as they are claws. We eventually saw both species in our rainforest treks.

Three-toed sloth, Costa Rica

An arboreal mammal about the size of a small dog, sloths can only be found in the rainforests of Central and South America. They are “active” 7-10 hours a day, and then they are merely chewing. They sleep the rest of the time. The majority of a sloth’s diet is leaves. This is not a big source of fuel and not easily digested, so they move lethargically. A sloth is so slow, in fact, that algae grows on its back. More sloth info here.

Always over 100 feet up and hidden in an extensive tangle of trees, leaves, and vines, these curious cousins of the anteater and armadillo were difficult to locate, and nearly impossible to photograph. They seldom come down out of the canopy, their best protection from predators.

About once a week, however, the sloth ventures down out of the canopy to use the bathroom. They climb down the tree trunk, dig a small hole in the ground with their tail, urinate and defecate, bury it, and then make the long journey back up.

The mammalian superorder that sloths come from, Xenarthra, dates back about 60 million years. And up until 10,000 years ago there were still ground sloths living in North and South America. It is amazing we still have these two species on our planet.

Before landing in Costa Rica the sloth was the mammal I most wished to see. I was told it was not very likely. Fortunately, we saw several sloths in those two weeks, but not without slogging down many muggy rainforest trails, and never without the help of a guide (or cab driver).

The sloths don’t move far, so locals know where to look. And the good news is you can stand there observing them for hours, which we did.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

La Selva rainforest, Costa Rica

Gold Wire Flower

June 12, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 34 Comments

Hypericum coccinum, aka Gold Wire, California

This lovely flower opens every spring, and lasts for much of the summer. It used to be that I cut back the dried-up brown foliage when the plant was done flowering.

But then one year I left the brown foliage up several weeks longer until the seeds dropped, before I cut it back. It was more unsightly, but I discovered these wild flowers were re-seeding and multiplying. I’ve done this for several years, and now we have dozens of big fluffy clumps of the gold wire plants.

Hooking into the natural rhythms goes a long way.

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

Crimson Rosellas

June 11, 2015 / Jet Eliot / 49 Comments

Crimson Rosella, Australia

There is a stunning parrot that lives in southeastern Australia called the Crimson Rosella. To those of us who do not live in a world full of parrots, it is incredibly thrilling to see this big bright bird on a tree limb plucking blossoms.

Flock of Crimson Rosellas

They inhabit coastal and mountain forests, and also human areas like gardens, parks, and golf courses. Platycercus elegans eat fruit, seeds, berries, and bugs. A big bird, at about 14 inches (36 cm) long, they can often be seen foraging in noisy flocks.

There are six species of rosellas; all are colorful, medium-sized parrots native to Australia and nearby islands. To read more about the Crimson Rosella, click here.

Although I have seen crimson rosellas in numerous parts of Australia, they were especially tame at a mountain lodge called O’Reilly’s. Athena had them eating out of her hand.