Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Thursday, January 21, 2021

Alaskan Diary - Part III


"Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as 'Nevermore.'
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore! Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as 'Nevermore',"
Edgar Allen Poe

Having just had a picnic lunch along a crystal clear Yukon lake, I was discoursing to my companions on the ugliness of a large raven, who had loudly joined the conversation, while perched upon a dead pine, next to the pathway. "Not at all," noted a stranger headed in the opposite direction, picnic basket in hand. "We here in the Yukon think them quite handsome as they are our territorial bird." A little nonplussed at my own apparent discourtesy, I managed to reply by pointing out that we were from Minnesota, where our state bird was the loon. "Ah" he said nodding sagely. "We have one of those buggers on our bills. Loonies we call them," and continued on down the path. You can't make these things up.....

The road from Ft. Nelson to Muncho lake sees the landscape turn from something akin to looking like a vast gravel pit to the wild and expansive vistas that make this a mightly wilderness. The Yukon Territory: Land of the Raven
Our companions Gary and Rosie enjoying the vast vistas. The road began to rise to the heights of Stone Mountain, where naturally we saw stone sheep grazing near and on the highway.




Several grizzly bears were spotten in nearby in the ditchs, as well as a black bear trailed by her cubs. Fortunately photographer Mrs. T. kept the window rolled up.....

It was early June and wildflowers could be seen everywhere. When you see bears though caution rules against heading to far away from the roadway.
It was a rare occurence when I saw more than one car or truck at a time ahead or behind. I love this kind of driving.
Next: The Laird River and Hot Springs



14 comments:

  1. I'm loving this Alaskan tour with you and quite impressed that Mrs. T didn't ask you to move the gun out of the camper and into the car when the grizzles were spotted:)

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  2. Sounds like the "loonies" remark was one he'd used a lot ! No matter what the bird the home pride will take over.

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  3. love the wildlife spotting! and i think ravens (and crows) are very handsome!

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  4. A really enjoyable post and the poem too, one that I had not read before. I like ravens and crows and encourage the latter into the garden. They have to compete with woodpigeon though and it is interesting to see how timid the crows are when other birds are around. Quite educational!

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  5. Beautiful! Except for the closeness of that bear, that is. :-)

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  6. As I parted from the lakeside, the raven spoke, my journey to forebear
    Gazing sternly down upon me, with raspy voice he loudly uttered
    Territorial bird I am, of this land devoid of succor
    Land of cold and darkened skies, but not as fair as
    Where in youth I once abided, happily in times of yore
    Where I'd return, if quickly I could soar
    And where, I queried, is this place, to the raven I implored
    What is this former, friendly place that’s
    Better than this land of grandeur, tell me where you lived before
    As he circled me once more
    Quoth the raven, Baltimore

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  7. How clever of you to give an opening for the Loonies quote.

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  8. I sure agree with you about the driving! Now, about that grizzly ... he/she does not seem to be disturbed by your presence in the territory ... perhaps they are more easy going that I thought? Enjoying this series of posts!

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  9. Hi,
    I am doing some catch up. Great series! Thank you for sharing.
    And I do enjoy your photography.
    Carla

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  10. Those Blue Poppies are so very pretty. WE have tried to grow them from seem with no luck. :)

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  11. Ray
    Made that same journey 5 different times, first in '73. That trip we camped at Muncho Lake and my nephew took a 'bath' and emerged a nice blue shade after about 30 seconds.

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  12. Dear Ray, thank you for sharing this Alaskan trip with us. I've never been to the 50th state (or is it the 49th? not sure), but my brother and sister-in-law went there in 2019 and were awed by its grandeur. Peace.

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