Tweeters,

Just had the Nome adventure experience with good birds and good
mammals. For the first two days it seemed like we had the whole Seward
Peninsula to ourselves. One of the downsides of an independent
birding trip to Nome has been their notoriously crappy rental
vehicles. When you get out on your own 75 miles from the nearest
anything, in bear infested tundra, having your transmission drop out
is way beyond inconvenient. Don't know about the others, but
Stampede Auto Rentals has stepped up and shipped in a bunch of new
fancy vehicles. We had a 2009 Toyota Forerunner SUV 4x4 that took the
edge off wondering what was going to fall off first. You still want
to put the car keys in your most secure pocket.

Leora and I got all the bird species we had targeted except White
Wagtail and the long shot Spectacled Eider. We also had a close
encounter with a rather grumpy Grizzly Bear, and just missed hearing
the thud of a brand new bouncing baby Musk Oxen hitting the tundra.

Alaska Air seems to have one of the better frequent flyer programs,
especially if you are flying to Alaska.

Larry and Leora Schwitters
Issaquah