daniel grafstrom
level designer
2008 . Alaska
In the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to visit Alaska for about a week with my parents. There we would visit some of their friends in Homer, spend some time in a cabin in Sadie Cove, check out some wild bears at Brooks Falls, and take a small cruise out of Seward. Here's how it went.
On the drive from the airport to Homer, my Dad and I stopped for some fishing. This neat flooded meadow was at the top of a short trail just off the highway. Things were looking much different from the Northwest already. Alaska is huge!
Brooke trout was the catch of the day- the first time I had fished in years.
This little buddy was just off the trail on the way back down to the car. A Willow Ptarmigan, the Alaska state bird.
Ah! This was our sea captain and cabin owner, Chile Willy. He was a really cool guy from Chile and just about what you'd imagine for this type of job. En route to his cabin in Sadie Cove.
Crossing Kachemak Bay, did I mention Alaska is big?
We've arrived! This was the cabin, a really cool place built by Chile Willy himself, right on the waterfront.
Logs.
Buoys.
Ropes.
Sundown, looking across the cove at Sadie's Peak. A very peaceful place.
A great Alaskan parrot. What a treat to see one in the wild. Just kidding, it's a bald eagle.
I guess people like to fish in Alaska. Boat ride on the way back to Homer.
After a tense morning of light rain and winds that nearly cancelled this outing, a break in the weather had everyone rushing into the plane. Off we go to Brooks Falls, a place famous for the huge amount of bears that hang out on the river.
Well, well, well. It would appear that I am in the co-pilot seat...
Do not press the button.
We've landed in bear country. No barriers at this point, make sure not to stand in one place for too long.
Now that's a lot of bears. Lucky for them there were lots of salmon in the water, and they weren't afraid of cameras.
Don't mind me... sproing! After walking through some more tense trails where bears could be anywhere, we got to these lookout points where we could safely watch and photograph the bears. Time was limited to one hour on the point and then a new group was sent in. There was a whole lot of shutter sounds going on at this point.
Many of the bears have scars from battling over fish. This guy was going to eat his catch in peace.
Hey buddy, mind if I get some of that? Please?
No you can't!! Get away from me!!
Ah, you gonna finish that? The bears who couldn't catch their own fish had to get the scraps left over as they came down.
Sleepy bear is sleepy.
Holgate Glacier. You don't need to be a scientist to see they are shrinking every year.
This is where Gatorade comes from.
Some neat rocks and growth that have been shaped by years of glacial movement in the area.
The docks in Seward, waiting for departure time for our three or four hour cruise on the only sunny day on the trip.
Moo! Wait, wrong animal. These seals (right?) were enjoying the sun as well.
I can't remember the name of these rocks, but in the early exploration days everyone would accidentally crash their boats into them and get destroyed. The native americans had a fitting name for these rocks, if only I could remember!
A different type of seal hanging out on the rocks. They are very endangered and we had to be quiet to not disturb them.
Alright, maybe this is why they are on the rocks. Shamu has escaped!
I think this was called Beehive Island, because there are so many birds flying around they look like bees.
A pretty neat shaped rock on the bay. Where's the other half?
In the summer the oceans warm up and are filled to the brim with life. Humpback whale families come all the way from warm waters like Hawaii to get all their food. They are also pretty hard to photograph when they appear out of nowhere.
Now THIS, is a big ass glacier. Same with the other one, it also used to be much bigger than it is now.
This is still one huge chunk of ice.
Not baby cows, falling ice! The calving was really loud, and the chunks were probably the size of cars. The end!
All content copyright Daniel Grafstrom.
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