Valdez

Valdez is a place that the drive in is worth the price of admission. We left Denali Park yesterday morning and drove across the Glenn Highway, staying last night at Little Nelchina Recreation Site, a no fee, no services,no other campers, wonderful spot on the Nelchina River. This morning as the sky finally cleared for awhile we drove down the Richardson Highway over Thompson Pass into Valdez. the views were absolutely breathtaking the whole way. Below is a sampling.

















































Valdez is a very busy fishing harbor, both sport and commercial, with boats like these going in and out every few minutes.

Denali pt.2

We went for our 8 hour bus ride into Denali Park today and though it was so overcast we saw little of the grand landscape we did make out well on the wildlife viewing. First off I have to mention that we did not take a "tour" bus, it was rather the shuttle bus to the Eielson Center 67 miles into the park. The difference is close to $100, but, if you take the early morning bus with the right driver (Craig Lewis in our case)you can see more than the "tour" buses usually do.



Many of the animals were too far from the bus to get good pics, but that is a good thing because this is truly a nature preserve with the park's strict rules of teaching the humans to respect the animals home. We were fortunate to see numerous sightings of Brown Bears, Caribou, Moose, Wolves and Dall Sheep. Especially gratifying was watching a mother wolf with 7 pups. Below is a selection of photos, with more eventually being placed in My Galleries

Denali pt. 1

We arrived in Denali National Park yesterday after the 8hour drive from Hope. We arranged for a shuttle bus ride into the park for Wed. morning. Today we visited the Visitor Center and became acclimated, the weather is still showery so not much hiking.

We did have a wonderful lunch at the Grande Denali Lodge with a most outstanding view (unfortunately the high mountains are in cloud cover but we could see the Denali Vally and the Nenana River.) The Grande Denali Lodge and The Denali Bluffs Hotel are owned by Old Harbor Native Corporation, one of 252 Native village corporations established by Congress in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).

Hope

We came to Hope this morning just in time for the 23d annual Hope Wagontrail Run. The sense of community shined brightly through a rather drizzly day. The turnout was quite amazing for such a small village. All ages were represented with two runners over 80.














Likewise there was a crowd of supporters of all ages.









Yesterday we spent at Crescent Creek campground above Kenai Lake. This creek is a fly fishermans paradise primarily Dolly Vardens and Rainbows.
















In morning before leaving we caught sight of some Sand Hill Cranes in the marsh on Turnagain Arm

Homer

We have been in Homer the last couple of days. Located on the southwestern tip of the Kenai Peninsula it is another example of how though devastated by the Valdez oil spill these Alaskan coastal towns have bounced back with tourism dollars. Yesterday we had a wonderful dinner at the Mermaid Cafe after browsing the companion bookstore,Old Inlet Bookshop and picking up a copy of "Cruising Beyond Desolation Sound" by John Chappell.

Today we went for a long low tide walk and then a visit to the not to be missed Pratt Museum.

Anchorage

Yesterday we saw Kelly off at the airport here in Anchorage. First we had to collect her gear from Mountaintrip and package it to be shipped via UPS to Colorado before she flew off to Washington to spend the rest of the summer guiding on Mt. Rainer.
So we scrounged boxes and made up packaging for two sets of skis a sled and another 100lbs of various climbing gear. We still manged to get her to the airport in time for her flight. The rest of the day was spent recuperating and cleaning up. We are staying at the Ship Creek Landings RV Park, which is ideally located near the downtown but on the outskirts of town. As long as you have earplugs since you are literally feet from the Alaska Railroad and 1/2 mile from Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Today we rode the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail to the tune of 16 miles whew, now we are resting. Unfortunately like Bear Glacier (which is so named because of all the bears there)we saw nothing in the way of wildlife. Though all the guide info swore we would probably see moose down near the airport, the only thing we saw was this spoonbill.

Bear Glacier

It tough when you feel you may have hit the highpoint of a two month travel within the first week, but it is going to be hard to beat yesterday. Kelly did some guide work for Adventure 60 North a couple of years ago and the owners Rick and Michelle generously offered us the use of there equipment at Bear Glacier. Not only is this the largest glacier in the area, it has special qualities which make it spectacular to kayak around. This is a retreating glacier that has left a large bar across the bay which keeps all power boats from entering from the outside and keeps the many many icebergs from floating away.

We were dropped off in the morning and had 8 hours to paddle anywhere we wanted. Because the sun was out strong for a change, by afternoon the action (and noise that went with it) was astounding. We were flown in by Eric of Pollux Aviation giving us an outstanding flight and tour I did shoot some video from the copter and if I ever learn how to post it, I will. Following are a few pics and I will post some more in the future on my pbase gallery

The whole day spent will be one all three of us cherish forever.