August 2013 it was time for another Exploration Cruise North.
This time to Wrangel Island, Russia with a few stops in Alaska on the way.
We were accompanied by our friends Mike and Nan Johnson.
(Some photos are a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea.)

8/1 - 1/2 day ride in Dome Car from Fairbanks to the heart of Denali Park provided spectacular scenery	Mike heads for plane that will fly us over and around Mt. McKinely	Nan selected as co-pilot On her birthday!!!
Took awhile to get to altitude	Closer	Denali summit
Just flying and looking	All quite majestic	Head of large glacier
Denali Park tour. Saw bear . . .	. . . and caribou	Denali from middle of Park
Even saw top of a moose	Train to take us on to Anchorage	Nome from Hotel room
Nome dog instructions . . .	Retired mining drege pump	Retired dredge. (Botting Co. did work on hospital in background)
8/6 - Small plane flight from Nome to Anadyr, Russia, 65 N	Airport on one side of bay Anadyr on the other	So, public ferry boat to town
Newly built "old" Orthodox Church, square office buildings	Contrasts. On right is museum shaped to represent polar bear	WWII landing craft to our ship the Professor Khromov
8/8 - 1st Zodiac landing Preobrazheniya Bay	Neil off on an early Zodiac. Michal will be in later one.	On beach at Preobrazheniya Bay
Michal guards Zodiacs	Too rough to land at Whale Bone Alley - dang!	Gilmymyl Bay. Zodiacs made it thru the cut - ship? no
Ivan the Chukchi's home. He was not home but had relitives there on the way home from a funeral. Frame at L is covored with raindeer skins to make tradidional shelter.	Nothing wasted. Old fuel tank now a storage shed	& sometimes extra sleeping space
8/10 - A wind, wave and ice day - slow going	Michal braces against storm	Intrepid arctic explorer on Herald Isl. 71 N, no people
Zodiac, bergy, beach, boat & Botting	Zodiacs thru ice to finally reach Wrangel Island	Visiting Russian Research Station on Wrangel
Hearty flora	Cotton ball plants & nice 'scape/sky	Michal surveys station outskirts
Russian 6-wheeler. Some of our group crossed Wrangle in this	Mike and Nan enjoy lunch	Ice came in while we were ashore some Zodicas made it back, others - not yet . . .
Ship had to break free of the ice to make a trail for Zodiacs	Marooned Zodiac cannot see Polar Bear and hiding cub	Last push through the ice to give last Zodiacs access to ship
Zodiacs can now return	Michal waves as we head for base camp of Karluk wreck survivors	In twilight LARGE Musk Ox came to check us out
Closer and LOUD bellows	8/14 - Day of bird watching; millions of nesting birds	Really should close your mouth when looking up at birds
Best Puffin nest on the cliff	All huts are bear protected. Bears try to use them when rangers and scientests arn't	Day very foggy but got ashore at Dreamhead Mtn and Nahodka Isl for long walk
8/16 - Off for last visit on Wrangel proper at Ushakovia, the base camp for the Wrangel Reserve.	Chukchi in traditional raindeer furcoat welcomed us	Then he posed with remains of earlier visitors
Dog (on the right)	Founded in 1926, this was once a large village before all of Wrangel became a Reserve	More bear discouragers
Down to the beach for our last steps on Wrangel	Koluchin Isl. Lotsa walrus	Close enough, thank you
Walrus, cliff and yet more birds...	Nice sunset	More almost whales
Kids great us at Uelen Village, largest village in the area. Kids come here for school from a wide area, including 50 who board at the school.	Main street	Katya, who holds a PhD in Marine Mammals & is 1 of our Russian trip guides, translates for us at the school
Traditional dancing	Michal joins the dancers (I must have forgotten to click the shutter)	We made it to Whale Bone Alley on the return leg! Before most fell down, Bowhead bones formed a 0.3 mile archway at this anchent harvest site
The traditional arch photo	Big vertebra	Big bones, small squirrel
After Polar bear meets seal	Last moment ashore before return to Anadyr	Sunset at Whale Bone Alley (Stolen from Katya photos)
8/21 - Ferry from ship to airport Note hammer and sickle painted over but still there	THE END. Back in Nome, same spot the Iditarad race ends.