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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: BWCA.com Book Club :: The Big Year
 
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deerfoot
05/02/2019 04:03PM
  
HowardSprague: "It's interesting how one thing leads to another. When my friend wrote "The Big Year", one of the places referenced was the extremely remote island of Attu, which was an incredible, wild, bird watching place - if you could ever get to it. When he found out about this he also learned of a brutal WW II battle which was fought there - on USA soil. Led to him writing a book about this and a diary a soldier found next to the body of a Japanese soldier (doctor) he'd killed. A heck of a story, which was featured on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago. Title is The Storm on our Shores.




The Storm on Our Shores "


Thanks for the tip on this book. It brings to mind a friends father who served on a submarine in the Aleutian Islands campaign. He said little about it other than how cold and wet they were in the submarine during the entire time they were there.
 
HowardSprague
03/02/2012 09:40AM
  
(I guess this could go in the "birds" subgroup too.)

Just as we're obsessed with wilderness paddling, people are obsessed with birding. Amazing what these guys went through to see as many birds as possible. Fly to the Aleutians? Drive to the desert? Max out credit cards? Yep, if it means seeing a rare species!

One place mentioned in the book was near Duluth. I had never heard of it - Sax-Zim Bog. Anyone been here? One of the characters went there in search of owls.

I have not seen the movie yet, but thought the book was a great read.
(Another interesting aspect for me was that I know the author from way back - bagged many a grocery when he was ringing them up, during college. Funny guy, great writer.)
 
TuscaroraBorealis
03/08/2012 06:38PM
  
I grew up somewhat near Zim. It's south of Eveleth & the St. Louis river runs through the area. (fun canoe route) There's alot of bog/marshland in the area. Which I'm sure supports many species you won't readily find in other areas. Had a biology/ecology teacher who lived in that area. He often referenced his "homeland" in class.


Sounds like a good read. Thanks for the review.
 
HowardSprague
05/07/2019 10:59AM
  
Wow! Thanks for the link. Heck of an interesting video included.
 
HowardSprague
05/02/2019 12:51PM
  
It's interesting how one thing leads to another. When my friend wrote "The Big Year", one of the places referenced was the extremely remote island of Attu, which was an incredible, wild, bird watching place - if you could ever get to it. When he found out about this he also learned of a brutal WW II battle which was fought there - on USA soil. Led to him writing a book about this and a diary a soldier found next to the body of a Japanese soldier (doctor) he'd killed. A heck of a story, which was featured on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago. Title is The Storm on our Shores.



The Storm on Our Shores
 
LindenTree
05/04/2019 08:36AM
  
My nephew is getting his masters in Ornithology from Texas Tech, he is doing his masters theses on the relationship of Road Runners and restored native prairie.


Another cousin comes up from southern Michigan to Zax Zim Bog most winters to see many birds, she was dissapointed last winter when she missed the Great Grey Owl.


Aleutian Islands/Attu, the Island and WWII memorial site is managed by the US Fish and WIldlife Service. The visitor center is located in Homer Ak. I've been there a couple of times, when I worked for the neighboring refuge/Kenai NWR.
It has alot of displays about the Island and occupation by the Japanese.


Alaska Maritime NWR/Alaska Penninsula
 
gravelroad
07/28/2019 06:39PM
  
When my wife and I (ourselves birders) lived in NH, we often ran across people who knew of and were headed to Sax-Zim Bog at some point. These days, it's a thirty-minute drive from our house and a frequent destination during the months with an "r" in them. But in the summer? As they say in New England: Fuhgeddaboudit. ;-)

 
HowardSprague
08/28/2019 10:34AM
  
Crowded? Do you finish walking a path, only to find yourself deposited into a Sax-Zim Souvenir Gift Shop? :)