フェアバンクスは、冬ならきっとオーロラが見られる町です。7月は何が期待できるのでしょうか。 People come to Fairbanks to see the Aurora, a.k.a. the northern lights, in Winter. But in July, I am not sure what we should expect to see.

二日目、休憩所にて。何かが舞い降りてきました。もしや巨大な蚊？アラスカ州の鳥はカラフトライチョウですが、隠れ州鳥は蚊だとジョークを飛ばす人が多いほど蚊が多い所で有名です。 At one rest stop on the second day, we witnessed a flock of something coming down from the sky. Could they be mosquitos? Alaska’s state bird is the Willow Ptarmigan. But many people say it’s the Mosquito as a joke because there are so many of them and they are so large.

目を凝らして見ると、カナダヅルでした。渡り鳥ですから、カリフォルニアで見た鳥がここで見られてもおかしくありません。でも、こんな所まで飛行機に乗らずに飛んで来られるなんて、すごい生命力です。予期しなかったことでもあり、心を打たれました。 Looking at them closely, I realized that they were Sandhill cranes. I know that they are migratory birds, so they could be down south or north according to the season, but I was quite moved to see them there because my memory of them was when we were in California. Unlike us flying over here by airplane, they flew over here by themselves. What a life force!

実は、この日、心を打たれた事が他にもありました。でも、今日はここまで。 We had more activities on that day. But this is it for today. My time has run out.