8 July. Running Roy's Dogs on the Beach.

Roy Pool is Pam's brother.  He drove his RV from near Phoenix, Arizona pulling a Toyota Tacoma on a trailer behind him. He arrived on "The Kenai" over three weeks ahead of us. He's a outdoors-man, fisherman, and bird hunter, so had some motives for the trip.  He brought along is 8 hunting dogs and a mutt named "Boo."  The dogs need daily exercise.  He runs them on the beach, where, in Alaska, there are few rules, the least of which is a rule about dogs on the beach. It's sight to behold. his dogs run three times our distance, but the amazing fact is they are sometimes so far ahead, he can't even see them.  They certainly have a bead on Roy, so he doesn't worry.

Chris and I birded at The Carl Wynn Nature Center early in the morning.  Our plan was to meet with everyone else at 11AM to run the dogs.  We got a great look a a dozen or so species, including this Varied Thrush calling in full sun. The day prior, this had been a "life bird" for Chris, so it was good to get this amazing view.

At low tide you can walk miles on this beach, but one has to be mindful of when the tide is coming back in. On this spot, the high-tide water would be 15 feet over our heads.  The mountains on the other side of Cook Inlet mark the beginning of the Aleutian Chain and the Island.  Most are active, or recently-active volcanoes.  Mount Iliamna (left) rises to 10,000+ feet right from the ocean. Mt Redoubt (right) erupted in 2009 with a plume that rose 50,000 feet.

The cold ocean water brings fog in under clear skies. Mary and Pam emerge from it.

Mary and Pam with Mt Iliamna in the background.

The Kenai range punctuates Roy's and Pam's walk with a a couple of Roy's dogs.  When we arrived on the beach, one of Roy's dogs ran down a Bald Eagle who was sitting peacefully on a sandbar.  The dogs were used to gulls and shorebirds that scattered immediately. But Roy saw his dog face off this Bald Eagle who simply raised his wings and dared the dog to come any closer.  The birds are huge.  We all agreed they could take the dog out without much problem.  His dog backed off and perhaps learned a lesson about these dark ones with the white heads.  

There is not much Bean likes more than the chance to run free.

This marked Chris' final steps on this trip to Alaska. He had few hours to get back to the airport at Anchorage.  We said our farewells.