Northeastern Nevada probably isn’t one of the first places you think of when you think of wildlife.  In many of the areas around here, the only forms of wildlife you see are jackrabbits and lizards.  There are some areas though, where wildlife thrives and can be seen all around.  One such area is Lamoille canyon.  At the base of the Ruby Mountains is the small town of Lamoille, where you can often see Mule deer walking down the streets and squirrels and other small wildlife running about.  Nearby is Lamoille canyon, which was carved out of the Ruby’s by glaciers.

 Living in Elko, a half hour drive from Lamoille canyon, the summer heat can get very intense, even for Northern Nevada.  Many locals seek refuge from the heat and the opportunity to take in some revitalizing scenery by taking day trips to this area.  On the day of our last outing, June 30^th, the temperature in Elko was approaching the triple digits.  A short drive later, as we approached Lamoille,  the air was considerably cooler.  With the windows down letting in the sweet mountain air, every once in a while you can get a whiff of a certain white flower growing abundantly throughout the canyon. Although the name of the flower escapes us at the moment, we can describe the scent as redolent of sweet grass and jasmine.  Pulling off to the side of the winding road going up the canyon for a photo opportunity, we even found a dwindling skiff of snow.  There are not many places you can go in Nevada where you can have a snowball fight in the middle of summer.

The run-off from the heavy snowfall creates beautiful waterfalls along the walls of Lamoille canyon.  These feed  into the river.  Beaver, deer and other wildlife can be seen here.  There are also some fishing opportunities.

After enjoying the scenery from the roadway that cuts through the canyon, the end of the road brings you to several trailheads leading you through the Ruby Mountains to several destinations.  Depending upon your skill level, energy level, etc… you can embark on a casual nature walk or a serious hike to one of several mountain lakes. 

Throughout the entire scenic drive through Lamoille canyon, there are numerous opportunities for hiking, fishing, picnicking, camping, birding, wildlife viewing, and photography.  There is also an overlook with information on the history of Lamoille canyon and the Lamoille glaciers.  A few local artists come to Lamoille canyon for inspiration from time to time. 
Lamoille canyon is truly one of Nevada's "hidden treasures". 

We are planning to hike to one of the mountain lakes on our next outing.  Check back with us for our blog on that experience. We hope to view many forms of wildlife and take many pictures to share with all of you.  

This entry was taken from an email from family friends Kathy and Dean who live on Kodiak Island in Alaska.  They recently took a trip to Afognak Island.  Kodiak and Afognak are islands off the southern coast of Alaska.  They are separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait.  Some of the slang may not be familiar to someone who hasn’t lived in Alaska.  “Dolly Varden” is a large species of trout found in Alaska, Canada and parts of the Northwestern U.S.

Their adventure is an example of the wildlife and exciting activities that can be enjoyed all over the state of Alaska.  I could paraphrase the fishing adventure they describe in the email but I believe it is best told in their own words.  Included are a few pics from Alaska that they included in the email.

We went to Afognak Island yesterday with our friends Mark and Alice.  It was a beautiful day.  We saw whales and otters on the way over.  Mark set out his halibut skate (which was a first for us).  Dean docked the boat in the Liknik river.  We hiked up the river a ways to the weir (where they count the sockeye coming into the lake) and fished for reds (sockeye).  There weren't many coming in but we tried our luck at it anyway.  We caught some Dolly Varden.  I was able to catch and land a nice sockeye.  And that was all the fish we caught on the river.  We found an elk antler which was an unusual find.  Afognak and Raspberry island are the only places where you can find elk on Kodiak.   We hiked back down the river to the boat only to find it beached since the tide went out.  So we started a campfire and drank some beer and waited it out.  We had a silver fox visit us a couple of times while we waited.  Once the tide came in, the boat was in the water and Dean slowly made his way back down river to the bay.  We then pulled in Mark's skate only to discover 1 starfish and no halibut. Dean decided then that we might as well troll and see if maybe we could catch something that way.  So that's what we did.  Mark hooked a nice halibut.   We finally made it back to Anton Larson Bay - somewhere in the neighborhood of 9:30/10:00 pm. We were in the house and putting the salmon in the freezer by 11:00 and it was still daylight.  We may have a lot of rainy days - but the long sunny days that we have like this are sure worth it!

Thank you Kathy and Dean for allowing us to include your Alaska experience in our blog.  If you have an Alaska experience you would like to share, we would love to read about it.  If you are interested in planning a trip to Alaska, check out our Alaska page.

 

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Growing up in rural Montana has its advantages and disadvantages.  As a teenage girl, I couldn't wait to leave in search of new and exciting experiences in places with populations over 1500.   As badly as I wanted out, there were a lot of activities that I have discovered can only be experienced in such places.  Looking back, one of those activities I miss the most is rafting. 

Rafting allows one to experience the pure force of nature. There is just something exhilarating about letting the water carry you on top of it. It doesn’t even have to be whitewater rafting, just a gently flowing river will do. 

 In its simplest form, rafting really just requires you and something that will float.  You can go all out and get the big, expensive rubber raft with all the bells and whistles; I believe you can even get motorized rafts.  This is not really rafting.  True rafting requires that you have to work to guide your way and that the vessel is not big enough to stay completely dry for the duration of your rafting trip.  Whether it is with oars or arms, you have to steer yourself so that you won’t hit the big sharp rocks (they hurt!).  But the challenge of steering yourself while rafting is part of the fun; otherwise it can get kind of boring.

 Even if you choose the boring route, you can always just sit back and enjoy the excellent view of the riverbanks with the plant life growing haphazardly about, or you can look ahead and see the fish jumping, making the slightest splashing noise.  The trick is to watch for the ringlets of water around the point where the fish dived back under the water again. 

 Another great part of rafting comes once you reach a calm stretch of the river you are navigating.  When you reach this part, you can put your feet over the edge of whatever you are floating on or dangle your arms over the side and feel the cool water flow over your sun kissed skin.  The current pushing the water between your toes and over your ankles is a singular feeling.  With your hands in the water, you can feel the force of the river push against your bare hands. 

 Rafting is truly a wonderful experience.  You don’t even have to defy death the enjoy it.  Just let nature control you for a while and you will undoubtedly have a greater appreciation for it.  So you see, rafting doesn’t have to be just for recreation, it can change how you look at the world too.

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If you are planning a Maui vacation, one place you should consider is Kaanapali Beach Hotel. Our visit to Maui was also our honeymoon. This is where we stayed.  A friend had recommended this hotel and we are definitely passing along the recommendation. 

While in Maui, our room featured a comfortable king size bed. We had the typical bathroom with a combination tub and shower, hairdryer, coffee pot (Maui's coffee is amazing, by the way - I'll get back to that later), and little complimentary samples of beverages and the usual personal hygiene necessities.  The air conditioning was a lifesaver.  There was also a mini fridge.  An in-room safe also made us feel more comfortable. 

Being a smoker at the time, the hotel graciously moved us to a room where smoking still wasn't allowed inside but outside the room it was. There were more little things that really made us feel special.  Each night, the room attendants placed coconut cookies on our pillows.  We even received a box of chocolate-covered Macadamia nuts as a gift.  At the end of your stay, they don you with a special lei made of Kona nuts.  So many people come back over and over again that they started putting different colored nuts on the leis for each trip back that you make.  They have a ceremony and everything for this.  These Kona nuts, by the way, are the secret to Hawaiian coffee as well.  I am not a coffee drinker but this stuff was good.  It's no wonder I saw tourists at the airport leaving Maui with cases of coffee. 

The hotel puts on a big "welcome breakfast" where they share a little bit about the history of Hawaii, their hotel, and of course, a lot about the activities.  They make it so convenient, you can buy the tickets for the activities right there at the hotel.  Not operating on a huge budget, we had to pick and choose our activities, but they were all worth it.  Maui is so rich in potential experiences, I have a feeling that I would have to move there to be able to experience everything.  One of my favorite activities in Maui was snorkeling.

As far as accommodations in Maui go, there may be bigger, more extravagant places to stay, but Kaanapali Beach Hotel is perfect the way it is.  The location on the beach is excellent, the staff is friendly, the scenery is breathtaking, the rooms are good, and the location is great. Oh, and did I mention the location?  The hotel is located in a row of other hotels lining the beach.  We were near the north end of this strip - the snorkeling here was unbelievable.

Let me tell you about the Maui snorkeling.  Growing up in Montana, and living in Nevada, I had never experienced such a thing.  I saw fish, live algae, sea urchins, and my favorite - the sea turtles.  They were huge and so adorable.

There are probably a million different things to do in Maui and probably even a million places to stay.  If you like lying on the beach, playing in the water, and watching the ocean wildlife, we strongly recommend Kaanapali Beach Hotel.  This place was perfect for us and we had a great honeymoon. If I close my eyes real tight and recall our trip, I can see everything.  The sensational Maui sunset, the beautiful wildlife, the delicious tropical drinks, etc…  We cannot wait to go back to Maui!

    Hello, and welcome to our website and blog.  We are Chance and Sarah, we were married in August of 07 and live in Nevada.  Our site is on wildlife vacations because we wanted our site to be about something we enjoy.  We both enjoy wildlife and wildlife related activities and we definitely enjoy vacations so...wildlife vacations.
    Chance's father was in the Forest Service.  This led to his family moving a lot but it also provided a lot of opportunities.  He has lived in many of the western states, including Montana, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming.  This has allowed him to hunt and fish for a variety of animals.  He also likes to camp and hike and just enjoy being out in the forest.
    Sarah grew up in Montana.  She also enjoys outdoor and wildlife related activities like birding, hiking, camping etc...  She recently went snorkeling for the first time while in Maui.  She really loved this, but there aren't many snorkeling hot spots in Nevada.  I guess we need to plan more wildlife vacations ourselves.  Sarah loves animals and has several pets, including iguanas and a turtle.
    Some of the wildlife vacations on our site are places we have been ourselves and enjoyed immensely.  Others are wildlife vacations we would like to experience.  We strive to include a good variety of wildlife vacations and we will add new pages frequently.  Not everyone likes the same things on their wildlife vacations.  Some people may want to stay in a nice hotel and go on whale watching and snorkeling cruises.  Others may want to hike deep into the woods and camp out in the elements.  Some want to hunt and fish on their wildlife vacations, some just want to look at the animals.  We hope to have enough wildlife vacations on our site for everyone to find something they can enjoy.
    If you enjoy wildlife vacations, have a story from your wildlife vacations, or have suggestions for some wildlife vacations you would like to see us add, feel free to post them here.  We hope you enjoy our site.