It's that time of year and the reindeer/caribou are going into the rut/breeding season. This makes my narrative tours especially interesting because most people don't know about the rut and the process that takes place. Below is a pic of a couple of our reindeer who have gone into the rut. So during the summer all the deer species will have a soft skin layer covering their antlers called velvet. In this period the antlers have a bunch of blood vessels and nutrients going up to the antler to allow it to grow and they are very sensitive. Hence being able to walk/halter train these guys. However once they hit the rut they will start to shed this velvet and it'll get really really itchy. In this pic you can see the boys are in the big pile of browse so they can use the branches to scratch their velvet off. Because of the blood vessels this makes the process look more gruesome and painful. Once they've shed off their velvet they won't have sensitive antlers and they'll look like the classic bone antlers you know of, ready to face off and fight for the females (in our case, no females are present but boys will be boys and they'll still get fairly aggressive). Our elk haven't shed their velvet yet but are starting to act more aggressive. Matt, our lead maintenance guy, told me soon he'll have to put up a hot wire around the enclosure because often the male elk will start to charge the fence when visitors try and take pictures. They become a completely different animal. I'm most excited to hear them bugle. Being my first fall I'm thrilled to be able to see a new side of the center and the animals in this different time of the year. Tours have really started to slow down. Though our foot traffic is high, you can tell the end of the season is fast approaching. Howie counted up the number of people we've given tours to between her and I since June and we've hit 2,500!! This will only become more and more popular as people realize what we have to offer in summers to come. All of our full time interns have left as well. It's always sad to say goodbye but they all had great experiences and memories. I remember how hard it was for me to leave last summer. The hardest part is having to say goodbye to all the critters.
August 11th we had a really big event meant to be a thank you to all our supporters. We've finished up the bunkhouse and it looks really cozy. Also, Jim Fowler came to be our keynote speaker. I was lucky enough to get to drive him around in the shuttle while Mike showed him around the center and it was so cool hearing his stories and what he thought of the center. Really nice guy. Though the event was a lot of work and preparation it went really well and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. We finished up our new boardwalk out at the point and had big white tents. We even brought out some of our animals like Jade, Bert, Snappy, and of course Snickers. I kind of helped set up and do whatever the day of but then I went off to Anchorage to be the tour guide for the supporters on the motor coach we got them to get to the center. I was kind of nervous because I had never done a tour focused on the land and Seward highway so I had studied up and prepared myself only to find it was a motor coach that had five people who had done the drive a million times. So instead of a tour it turned out to be me entertaining them and telling stories as well as getting to know them and what they do. I even did the macarena for them...that I won't even explain haha. All in all great event where we not only got to thank our supporters who make the center and it's growth possible but we were able to show off the work we've had done and the progress we've made with our projects; the bears boardwalk, new intern bunkhouse, and boardwalk at the point.
new bears boardwalk...patrons viewing black bear mountain
new estuary boardwalk at the point (view of the turnagain arm)
new intern bunkhouse!
*courtesy of Doug Lindstrand
As far as days off go I've finally had a few days of more relaxation, despite the job hunt I've been doing. Thats never relaxing... Uncle Bryan, Aunt, De, Emma, and Gideon provided a much needed break from the job hunt though when they brought in some friends of theirs that are missionaries in St. Lucia for a behind the scenes tour. It was so much fun. I haven't been able to do many behind the scenes tours with my new job description so it was great having the chance to take them around, not to mention they don't get to see wildlife like this often. I think my favorite part of the tour, besides getting to hang out with family, would be showing Jade our red fox kit to their youngest Ethan. He absolutely LOVED Jade and was thrilled because red fox are his favorite animal. Very rewarding. Thanks for coming in Uncle Bryan!!
Black bear mountain on a cloudy day
Rainbow in Portage Valley with J.B. being lazy on a log...are we in Maui again??
First sushi dinner...it was great! Scott and I even had some plum wine
As usual I always have to take pictures of my favorite drive in the world...the beautiful Seward Highway
Sun hitting the mountains just right
Look how good the gardens look this year! Maybe its the sunshine...maybe its all the interns hard work. Good job Katelyn, Amber, Emilie, and Wilson!
Sneaking up on the lynx from the gift store...
Whoops! She spotted me!
Favorite brown bear pic of the summer. Patron (left) and J.B. (right) our coastal brown bear twins passed out on a warm summer day at the center
The other night Jeremy, Scott, Devin, Erin, Autumn, and I went to Anchorage for an O.A.R. concert. I was so stoked...I've been waiting for these guys to come into the area again. It was one of the best nights in awhile. I was surrounded by good people listening to one of my favorite bands without a care in the world. There was even a full double rainbow and yes it was raining out and we got soaked!! O.A.R. never disappoints.
Absolutely SOAKED!
