birds – Michael Rappa

Glacier National Park, 2019: Wildlife

October 3, 2021 Michael Rappa

Here are some animals I encountered during my hikes in Glacier National Park. I was particularly thrilled that I was able to see a bighorn sheep in the wild on my way back down from Grinnell Glacier.

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Ram on the Grinell Glacier Trail

Moose walking away from lake, viewed from high up on the Grinell Glacier Trail.

Chipmunk at St. Mary Falls

Mountain goat high up on a mountain at Two Medicine.

Mountain goat high up on a cliff at Two Medicine.

Glacier National Park, Montana - September, 2019

Marmot on the Highline Trail

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Canada Trip, 2016: Franey Mountain

February 1, 2021 Michael RappaLeave a comment

The centerpiece of our stay in Cape Breton was our hike of Franey Mountain, an 1,100-foot ascent that took us between 3 and 4 total hours up and down. It could have been done more quickly but we took our time, soaking in and photographing the beautiful scenery of the Cape Breton Highlands along the way (as well as a pretty bird that I believe was a ruffed grouse).

There are two trails that lead to the top. The one we chose for the climb turned out to be the better one in terms of the views–we chose the other trail for the hike back down, which was much less challenging but also much less interesting from a scenery perspective. I don’t remember which was which, but if you’re looking at a map, the straighter looking trail is probably the less interesting one. Either way, you are likely to take both: one on the way up and the other on the way down.

Overall, it’s a beautiful hike. Climbers who reach the peak are rewarded with spectacular views of lush green mountains along a picturesque coast, as well as the opportunity to sign the hiker’s guest book attached to an Adirondack chair at the top. If you find yourself in Cape Breton, Franey Mountain is definitely worth a visit.

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Franey Mountain in the Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canad

Jen sitting at the top. Franey Mountain in the Cape Breton Highl

Sign-in book at the top. Franey Mountain in the Cape Breton High

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Backyard Wildlife – 2020

January 24, 2021 Michael Rappa

This is a collection of wildlife photos taken over the past year, primarily from my back yard (the first two fawn photos were taken in a nearby retention pond and the robin chick nest was in a bush in my front yard). Most of the deer photos were taken through a window so as not to scare them away. However, for a few of the later photos of a young buck, I was able to step outside because he wasn’t afraid of humans, which resulted in higher quality shots.

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London Trip, 2016: Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

May 13, 2020 Michael RappaLeave a comment

These photos are from my stroll through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens up to Kensington Palace back in February of 2016.

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Hyde Park - London, England: Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Hyde Park - London, England: Serpentine Gallery

Kensington Gardens - London, England: Kensington Palace

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Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Forchu

May 3, 2020 Michael RappaLeave a comment

On our final full day in Nova Scotia we spent a foggy morning at Cape Forchu. The following photos were shot at the Cape Forchu lighthouse and a nearby beach.

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California Trip, 2014: A Drive Along the Coast

April 10, 2020 Michael Rappa

This is another set of photos from my ride along the California coast, courtesy of my cousin Tim, who picked me up in San Francisco to show me some of the beauty of southern California. This batch includes visits to a foggy beach, a lighthouse, and the city of Monterey. There’s also a rare photo of me (posing with my cousin in front of a restaurant that bears our family name—no relation, though).

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California Coast (South of San Francisco)

California Coast (South of San Francisco): My first view of the

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Seattle Trip, 2019: Whale Watching Cruise

February 18, 2020 Michael Rappa

These photos are from my ill-fated whale watching cruise out of Seattle. I should have known what kind of day it was going to be when my 8 a.m. seaplane flight to San Juan Island was delayed for an hour because of fog. The delay meant that I would no longer have time to eat breakfast at a nice restaurant in Friday Harbor, so I walked down the street to grab a quick egg sandwich at Starbucks. When I returned to the marina I learned that the flight would be further delayed until at least 11 a.m., meaning that I would now have no time at all to enjoy Friday Harbor before the cruise. On top of that there was a chance the flight would be canceled altogether. At this point they offered me a refund of both the airfare and cruise, and I really wish I had taken them up on it and just spent the day exploring more of Seattle.

Instead, I decided to wait it out because I did not want to regret passing on the opportunity to see killer whales in the wild (the company claimed to spot orcas on 98% of their cruises). With two more hours to kill I decided to make the long walk back to my hotel room for a while. When I returned, the weather had finally cleared and we were off. The seaplane ride itself was cool. The pilot offered to let one of us sit in the cockpit with him. I thought it would have been a neat thing to do as the only solo passenger on the flight, but one of the other men beat me to it.

So we landed in Friday Harbor and pretty much had to rush to the meeting area. The cruise started off well—we spotted a humpback right away and I had high hopes—but that single whale was about all we would see. The rest of the 3.5-hour cruise involved brief glimpses of a couple of porpoises and a seal, an extended period of time spent looking at some wildlife on islands, numerous returns to following the same humpback whale, and long stretches just riding around looking at nothing. We never came within a sniff of a killer whale, despite them being spotted off the islands on the previous day by some of my fellow passengers. So much for that 98% success rate–I guess we were the unlucky 2%.

Essentially, when factoring in the seaplane airfare, it ended up being the most expensive 3.5-hour harbor cruise ever, and you could see it on the faces of my fellow passengers. After a while most of them just stopped looking for marine life, opting instead for the warmth of the cabin, their faces painted with looks of dejection. And that was that.

I’m not writing this to find fault with the tour operators, which is why I am not using their names; I’m just recounting my experience. I understand that the seaplane company could not control the weather, and that the cruise company could not control the presence of wildlife, but that does not lessen the disappointment, and this whale watching cruise was the worst I’d ever taken in terms of sightings. It just felt like a wasted day. It was one of the only nice weather days in Seattle during my stay and I spent it in waiting rooms, planes, and freezing boats with very little to show for it. By the time I returned back to Seattle that evening, I was too tired to do much of anything else after waking up at 5 a.m. to make my pre-flight check-in.

I think this experience has turned me off of whale watching cruises for good. I’ve only been on one really good cruise and that was the first one I ever embarked on about 20 years ago in Maine. That particular trip out of Bar Harbor featured wall-to-wall whales, dolphins, and other marine wildlife, which obviously spoiled me because every cruise I’ve taken in the years since has been comparatively disappointing.

Anyway, despite the lack of sightings I ended up taking around 250 photos. Whittling them down to the few I’m sharing here was quite a chore (I’d hate to think how many photos I would have shot if there had actually been whales on this trip!). In the end, I managed to get a few nice shots of the humpback whale and some of the island wildlife.

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Whale Watching Cruise: Humpback Whale

Whale Watching Cruise: Island Deer

Whale Watching Cruise

Whale Watching Cruise: Island Deer

Whale Watching Cruise: Seal

Whale Watching Cruise: Bald Eagle in Tree

Whale Watching Cruise

Whale Watching Cruise: Humpback Whale

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Around Yellowstone

February 5, 2020 Michael Rappa

This is a collection of miscellaneous photos from my visit to Yellowstone that didn’t fit into the themes of any of my previous posts, including various wildlife encounters, landmarks, scenic pullouts, and some buildings. The shots featured here run the gamut from the Montana to the Wyoming ends of the park.

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The famous Roosevelt Arch at the North Entrance.

Roadside bison encounter.

Just outside Lamar Valley.

Cars look like ants next to this rock.

Tatonka.

Squirrel!

Large bird in tree near Norris Geyser Basin.

Lake Yellowstone Hotel

My home for the final three nights in Yellowstone.

One photo to commemorate the half-dozen times I crossed the Continental Divide at various locations on this trip.

Old Faithful Inn

Kepler Cascades

This beautiful specimen was standing right in front of the lobby door of my hotel and then dashed off as soon as I opened the door. I should have taken a picture of him through the door when he was still just a couple of feet from me.

One good thing about it raining upon my arrival: I was able to get iconic shots at the entrance without other people around. One bad thing about the rain: I was only able to take one quick shot of the entrance sign that didn’t come out very sharp.

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California Trip, 2014: 17-Mile Drive

January 29, 2019 Michael Rappa

A few years ago I went on a business trip to San Francisco, where I decided to take a few extra days to myself to do some exploring. On my first day in San Francisco I met up with my cousin who lives nearby. He took me on a driving tour of the Pacific coast. These photos are from 17-Mile Drive, a scenic route along the Monterey peninsula, featuring rocky coastlines, large crashing waves; and islands of sea lions and birds.

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California: 17-Mile Drive: A seal riding the waves.

California: 17-Mile Drive: An island full of sea lions and birds

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: National Park Wildlife

January 10, 2019 Michael Rappa

After so many consecutive Northwest trip posts, I’ve decided to start mixing in entries from my other recent trips to add some variety to my blog feed. This is the first batch of photos from my trip to the American Southwest this past summer, featuring shots of animals from Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon.

I shot a little bit of everything on this trip: mammals, birds, and reptiles. Many of the animals showed no fear of humans—one of the elk practically let me walk right up to her. I also saw bison on my way into the North Rim of the Grand Canyon but chose not to stop for photos since I already had so many bison photos from my Yellowstone trip. I believe that I heard rattlesnakes during one of my photo stops on Route 66 in the Mojave Desert, but I did not see them, and was not about to go looking.

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