Travels with Dennis and Mike

Saturday, June 27, 2026

This is the last post from our trip to Alaska. It covers the return drive through the lower 48 states. This has been a great trip right up to the very last day. And we hope that you have enjoyed that we have shared so many pictures.

A Bald Eagle being chased away from a smaller birds nest. That little bird was really angry.

Red Shafted Flicker

Farm on the Columbia River a mile or two below the Grand Coulee Dam.

Power line towers on the Grand Coulee grid.

At the Riverside Park in Spokane, Washington.

Rural eastern Washington state was an endless parade of green and yellow farms.

Wallowa Lake State Park, Oregon - another beautiful place that we had never heard of before. Clearly other people knew of it: It was crowded but a great spot anyway.

Common Merganser with ducklings.

Southern Oregon - approaching Nevada

Pony Express rider statue along the old trail - north of Ely, Nevada.

We saw a surprising number of long distance bikers on the trip. This fellow was in the Great Basin National Park, east of Ely, Nevada. The good news for him was that as soon as he crosses that range of mountains before him there will be another basin and another range to cross. And then three more.

Outside of Green River, Utah.

Rifle Gap Reservoir and campground, Rifle, Colorado.

Canada Geese

Rifle Falls

Magpie at the Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery

Golden Eagle nest on the cliff wall above the hatchery. Our host said the the nest was not in use this year but had been used off and on for years - and they estimated it weighed about 2,000 pounds. Golden Eagles are big birds.

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

A Mink swimming in the fish hatchery pond. We were told that there were three families of Mink living on the grounds and one family of Ermine - which we did not see.