Lake Hood, Anchorage, AK, USA - 12/04/2008

Having spent the main part of the day at Ted Stevens and with the evening offering equally wonderful conditions we decided it would be a really good opportunity to go for a wander around Lake Hood.

Lake Hood is the world's busiest seaplane base, with 960 resident aircraft and an average of around 200 movements per day, throughout the year.

During our visit the lake was still frozen so we got to see a real mix of equipment attached to the aircraft. There were those that clearly only operate in the summer, still sporting their conventional floats, there were those with wheels, both regular and 'tundra'-style who have probably been making use of the gravel strip during the winter, and there were those who'd gone the whole hog, were fitted with skis and were still operating from the frozen lake.

Single engined props, unless with a military background, seldom push my buttons, but this was so different and the conditions were so good that they were just crying out to be photographed.

Alaska really does have it all, and with the sun going down we headed back to Ted Stevens to try to catch some sunsets.