Valdez Glacier/ Airport Road

1. 5/29/08, 1:30pm-3:45pm, Valdez Glacier
2. sunny with some haze, approx. 70 degrees F., mild breezes from the southwest.
3. Alaskan SouthCoastal area, Temperate Rainforest, recently vacated glacial area, with silt, flysch, and till. Mountain terrain on our left, glacial lake and stream on our right, and glacier in front of us, active gravel pits nearby.
4. Willow, Alder, Black Cottonwood, Aspen or possibly birch, black, orange, yellow, and white lichen, moss (reddish green), fireweed, moss campion,
5. Mountain Goat, Bald Eagle, possible Pine Siskind or Wilson's Warbler, beetle, black spider, Mew Gulls (a pair), possible swift.

We got out of the vehicle and walked down a gravelly road, which consisted of glacier silt, flysch (thin layered rock), glacier till (rounded rocks worn smooth by glacier or water friction), and various other rocks which contained copper, iron, quartz, and other minerals.
On our left side, and indeed all around us, were mountains of the Chugach Mountain range. The closest mountain had water running down it in rivulets, from the melting snow. There was a small bird singing nearby, which may have been a Pine Siskind or maybe a Wilson's Warbler. I didn't get a good look at it, just a fleeting impression of small and yellowish. It was in a shrubby area.
Some of the trees I noticed were similar, but not the same as ones I am familiar with. For example, there was a tree I thought must be a birch because of the shapes of the leaves, the bark texture and horizontal dark scars, but it had a more golden color to it. Dr. Julie said to compare it to an Aspen, since it could be that, but I have looked up pictures of Aspen on the net, and I am still not certain. I will do more research on this. However, I was able to identify a Black Cottonwood tree and an Alder, as well as a few different types of willow, one of which had willow roses on it, which occur because of an infestation.
We saw a large boulder, which had black lichen, which I am told is a fungus/algae symbiot. We saw a reddish green moss on it, too. On other rocks, we got to observe orange, yellow, and white lichen. Other plants we identified include False Hellebore, aka Corn Lily, Horsetails, and a couple different types of fireweed. I saw a pink spot up on the mountain, and looking through the binoculars, I saw low bunches of flowering plants. I was able to determine that it was probably Moss Campion, from looking through the field guides and confering with my cohorts.
Signs of animal life- a nest halfway up a tree, which was made of twigs. It may have been a squirrel nest. Closer to the glacier, there was a pair of gulls, which I believe were Mew Gulls, based on their wing bands of white and black. There was also a very fast bird, flying low over the water, its wings barely visable because they were beating so quickly. I caught a glimpse of brown and white, and maybe stripes. I also saw a brown beetle winging by, a large black spider on the road, and a Bald Eagle soaring overhead. I found some black fur or hair that I am excited to see from whom or what it may have come.
On the little island we visited, I saw Arctic Willow, Alpine Willow, Jacob's Ladder, and Arctic Sandwort, all very small and unusual plants that only grow near glaciers, apparently.
What really struck me about this walk was the difference between our group and the tourists who were out there in their RV. They were throwing rocks into the water, goofing around, and one guy said to us that there was "nothing over there," where we were obviously going and observing such neat things. He saw nothing, and we saw. . . well not everything. . . but certainly more than he did. Poor dear. . .