Kenai Peninsula

Stellar Sea Lion Prince William Sound

Sea Otter Prince William Sound

Iceberg Prince William sound

Orca Whales Prince William Sound

Horned Puffins

Gulls in for a feast of dead salmon

Black Bear Getting dinner

Red Salmon Jumping up fish ladder

Black Bear eating dinner

The ride to Valdez

Ride to Valdez

Kenai fjord National Park

Kenai Fjord National Park

Scorpio - humpback whale

Sea Otter with baby

Black Legged Kittywake

Black Legged Kittywake

Harbor Seals sunning on Ice float

Bald Eagle

Sea Otter Resting On Kelp

Spruce Grouse

Sunset Kenai

First season Eagle

Tufted Puffin

Dogs Ready for a Job

Alaskan Husky Pup

Two happy dogs after a run

Horned Puffin

Our first stop on the peninsula is the town of Soldotna/ Kenai. This is the Salmon fishing capital of Alaska. That has no appeal to me, because of my fish allergies, but the wildlife opportunities abound. The town has established a great walkway along the river with ample places to fish. They have put in the walkways with stairs down to the river to protect the banks. In some places it is 30 feet down. Once the fish coming up river to spawn, the young fish need the protection of the river banks and fallen trees to travel in back out to the ocean. There were so many salmon going up stream that all you had to do was cast a line and you could hook a fish, even on a fin, and haul to out for dinner.  We walked the path and found multiple small song bird. That had more appeal to us. The area is home to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge that had some hiking opportunities. We walked for almost 2 miles without seeing much more than several piles of Bear scat then we hit a pocket with lots of song birds and several spruce grouses. The next day were off to an early start to look for shore birds. Getting there was a bit of an adventure. The GPS took us down a road that would be suitable for an ATV at best. We soon recognized that we would be in trouble if we continued down that path. After turning around we found a more suitable route to our destination. Here we found a multitude of shore birds some of which were new to us. How exciting! After this spot we headed to a beach. Next to the Bay of Funday, this area is home to some of the greatest tides in the Northern Hemisphere. After heading down to the beach I realized that I needed a different lens. By the time I got back the tide had receded by at least 200 yards. Mind you it only took a few minutes to retrieve the lens I needed. 

Next stop Ninilchick a small fishing village by Cook Inlet. This village was founded by Russian fisherman prior to the sale of Alaska by the Russians in 1867. There is still  a Russian Orthodox Church overlooking the ocean. This stop offered a great place for some of our caravan friends to go fishing for Halibut. They were very successful and provided lots of fish for a fish fry the next night. Diana loved having fresh halibut cooked 3 different way. She of course cooked shrimp and rice for me. Ninilchick is about 30 miles from Homer. Last winter we booked two trips. One was a boat trip and the other a Bear watching flight out of Homer. The Bear Viewing trip was to be a flight into Lake Clark National Park in a small Cessna airplane that lands on the beach and affords a very close up view of Grizzly Bears in their summer feeding frenzy. We took off at 8 AM as planned but 15 minuets into the flight the pilot had to turn around due to poor visibility. We rescheduled for two days later but that flight was scrubbed because of weather. The good news is we were not some casualty on the mountain side, like the plane that  crash in Denali when we were there. It was disappointing to not see the Bears, but better safe than sorry. On the one nice day, we had our scheduled boat trip out of Homer to the small village of Soldenia. It was wonderful. The all female crew did a great job sharing all of there knowledge about the rocks, birds, sea life and history of the area. We cruised around rocks to view puffins, different from the Atlantic ones. Saw rafts of otters that wrapped themselves in the kelp so they could rest, Diana stoped counting at 20. In the village of Soldenia where we disembarked we had lunch. It is only accessible by water or air. It was across the bay from Homer. On the way back to Homer we had a humpback whale make an appearance. David got a picture of its fluke. We went on line to find out its name but the picture of this fluke wasn’t listed so we emailed the organization with his picture. They let us know our whales name , Scorpio, and thanked us for sending in the sighting. 

From here we traveled on to the town of Seward, this is where Mitch Seavey has some of his sled dogs. He holds the record for the fastest time on the Alaska Iditarod. We toured and had a team of 14 dogs hitched up to a modified golf cart that held 7-8 persons, along with a musher. Mind you this is summer for the dogs. They prefer -20 to 20 degrees. They are like your Marathon runner, when you look at them you think how can this skinny little dog pull us. Well as soon as they started putting dogs into their harness you wouldn’t believe the commotion from all of the other dogs because they all wanted in on the action. They were all  excited and ready to run. After our mush we were asked to tell the dogs “good job”and pet them to thank them. These dogs are not your huskies you see in the Disney movies, although we were introduced to a dog that was in one such movie and he was a topical husky type. We also got to hold 3 week old puppies. We learned all about the race. The musher has to go through check points to make sure he/she is stable enough to continue. You see they are the ones that don’t sleep because they have to cook a hot soup for the dogs and take care of the dogs feet. So when they stop the dogs rest but the musher works. It was amazing.  

Here we also did a 9 hour boat trip. The Kenai Fjords boat cruse was great, first off because it was a beautifully clear day and we were able to see lots of wildlife. Birding was wonderful, seeing 2 kinds of Puffins, murres, bald eagles, cormorants, murrelet, guillemots along with stellar sea lions, humpback whales, sea otters and harbor seals. We were able to get within a 1/4 mile from the glacier. We only had small calving. the sounds were incredible. 

Now it’s on to Palmer. Our first night here we had a gentleman from the Mat-Su Valley chamber of commerce come and tell us all about the borough he lives in, which is the size of West Virginia. The next day we decided to drive the Hatcher Pass. Before going over the pass was Independence Mine Historical Park. We were able to walk around and learn all about the workings and life in the mining camp. It was finally shut down because of WW ll. After going over the pass we stopped in Wasilla for lunch at a brewery. From here it was back to Palmer to go for a tour of the Tsunami national warning center. This is one of 2 centers. The other is in Hawaii. It was amazing that this center is run by 12 scientists 2 of which are on at all times and if there is a major event they are all called in. This center covers all of the US east and west coasts. They also are in contact with Canada and Iceland. Hawai covers all of the Pacific. While we were there an earthquake in Alaska set the alarms off but it wasn’t anything big so “ no big deal”. They chose this place to put the center because in 1964 Alaska recorded the strongest quake ever in the US. There are at least 2 earthquakes a day in Alaska, although most aren’t felt.  

We are now in Valdez. After several days of rainy weather we were lucky to have a clear sunny day to travel. It was the greatest drive here yet. Absolutely beautiful.  We were so grateful for the wonderful day. When we arrived we found out we could wash the truck and trailer at our campsite so laundry, truck and trailer were all cleaned. 

Here in Valdez the silver salmon are trying to get up river. When the tide goes out there are thousand upon thousands of dead fish. The Gulls are also here by the thousands. We went for a drive after dinner to see the Black Bears come out for the fish. One was only interested in the roe. It would use a paw to squeeze the dead fish to squirt out the eggs then feast upon them. The gulls were also having fun. They would land in the water by the fish ladder and ride the current in the water back out to the sea then fly back to take a ride on the river again and again. There were hundreds doing this. 

The next day we had the Columbia Glacier Cruise. It was a 7 hour trip down through Prince Willams Sound then to the Columbia Glacier. We debated going because of the rain and fog. We were glad we did. Even though we have done other cruises to glaciers this was different because the boat had to slow down to just a head way speed because of the ice field we had to navigate through. We have never seen anything like it. We were fortunate to get close enough to see the glacier. To hear the ice grading down the metal hull was spooky. We also were treated to a display of orca whales swimming and surfacing around us. The Captian told us the dorsal fin on one of the large males was at least 6 feet high. They identify the individual orca’s by the dorsal fin and light patch right behind it. We also saw stellar sea lions, seals and sea otters along with several different birds.

Deeper into Alaska

Fairbanks, our largest town in a long while, gave us a bit if culture shock. Divided highways and traffic lights along with big box stores. The first thing we did was go to the local farmers market. Here we managed to find not only fresh veggies but also baked goods. As usual we found several wildlife sanctuary’s. No new birds but had a lovely walk. Our caravan planned events were a riverboat trip on the Tanana River and Dredge 8 tour with an opportunity to try panning for gold. Both these events were kind of hokey tourist events scripted as well as any Disney Park Ride. There were hoards of tour buses with hoards of tour boat passengers. The events were designed to give us an idea of the local history and culture. They did that in a polished manner. Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska and they had a world class museum along with a Musk Ox research farm that provided a great and very informative tour. The Musk Ok seem to be a sentinel species that is being challenge by climate change. Fairbanks also allowed us to get another B&B. Lulu’s bakery made great breads and croissants. A small town north of Fairbanks named Fox was home to Silver Gulch Brew Pub where we had a great dinner washed down with good beer. 

Next stop Denali National Park. It was on my list of “need to see places”. Just 3 miles before the entrance of our RV Park is the 49th State Brewhouse. In their parking lot sits the old bus made famous in the book Into The Wild. This is where Chris Mc Candless lived his final days of his short life. Despite this somber note the lunch and beer here were good. Mother Nature did not fully cooperates with us for our visit to the Park. Despite the less than optimal weather we did what we came for hiking and a bus trip into the park. This made getting good photos difficult. You can only drive into the park 15 miles. First stop was at the dog sled compound to see a demonstration and learn about the work they do in the park in the winter. The dogs will travel about 3,000 miles per season throughout the park. At mile 15 we hiked along a river and once we crossed a bridge to hike back to the parking lot we saw a grizzly bear loping along where we had just been. Once back the Rangers wanted to see our pictures of the Bear. It was a 4 year old male that has been hanging out in that area. They closed the trail. 

The only way to visit the interior of the park was to take a converted school bus. We chose an 11 hour tour to Wonder Lake that, in rare good weather, offers an iconic view of of Mt Denali. When we approached the Eielson Visitors center we were in the midsts of a snow storm. At Wonder Lake we wondered where Mt Denali was because it was completely hidden in the clouds and fog.  On the return trip from Wonder Lake the weather improved. No snow at Eielson and the sun came out briefly. This park, more so than any, offers a true wilderness experience.

Anchorage is now our home at least for the next 4 nights. Our first event is a ride on The Alaska Railroad to Whittier. In Whittier we boarded a boat to visit glaciers in Prince William Sound. We had a parks ranger along to share his knowledge about the all the different types of glaciers we cruised past. The Captian took the boat to within a 1/4 of a mile of several glaciers, any closer wouldn’t be safe when the glacier calved. We were lucky to see or hear it happen several times. The boat crew used nets to harvest ice. It was later we learned why, drinks were served using glacier ice! Glacier ice is purer than any water you will ever drink. The train ride back was interesting because we saw a moose and her calf. She couldn’t move very well so everyone was asking David what was wrong. She had a swollen hock and the info was passed along to the train crew. So even in the wildes of Alaska he is still being a Veterinarian.  

Today we went to Potter Marsh. Here we did some birding but also got to see salmon trying to go up stream to spawn. We then went downtown to an artisan/ food market after which we had to complete the other half of B&B. We had found a bakery in the morning before the Marsh trip, now for the brewery!

Tomorrow will be more exploring, most likely in the rain, but never the less we make the most of it. 

Glacier Whittier Bay

Train Ride To Whittier

The Alaska Mountain Range

Sea Otters Enjoying The Afternoon

Mt Denali note peek just above the clouds

Fire Weed along the road to Anchorage

Grizzly Bear 100 yards away as seen our hike

Ididarod Dog Team

Cackling Goose

Prince William sound

Salmon Working Up Stream

Glacier meets the sea

Diana with friends Russ and PJ on hike in Denali

Sled Dog from Denali Team

Into Alaska

Our next destination is Dawson City, the 2nd largest city in the Yukon. Population 2000 in the simmer, winter it dwindles to 600 hardy souls. Dawson City sits on the banks of the Klondike River. This area was the epicenter of the gold rush of 1898. The trip to Dawson City from Whitehouse is sufficiently long to necessitate a stop along the way. We spent one night in Carmack Yukon, named after the first person to strike gold in Bonanza Creek close to Dawson City. Dawson City has the feel of an old time town. There is only one paved street in town and the side walks are elevated boardwalks. Parks Canada has done a superb job of restoring a number of older buildings. We went on a walking tour of the town and into several of the old buildings. In its hay day Dawson City had a population of 30,000 people making it the largest city north of San Francisco. Initially the prospectors worked with pick ax and shovel but  it didn’t take long before large mechanized mining operations were the norm. We visited dredge number 4 that was put in operation in 1914 and continued until 1966. This is a very large machine that floats in a pool of water. It digs up everything in its path down to bedrock. As it digs in the front the rocks are washed and tumbled inside using the pool of water it is floating in. The flecks of Gold fall to the bottom because they are heavier, it then spits out all the rocks in the rear thus moving slowly forward in its self contained pool. Upon entering town we saw piles of rocks that stretched on for miles. These were tailings from this operation. 

The Alaska portion of our adventure starts with crossing the Klondike River on a small ferry that can only hold 2 trailers at one time. The road to Chicken Alaska is known as the Top of the World Highway. It is not what most people would call a highway. It is a gravel road of about 100 miles that corses over the mountains offering grand views of the surrounding landscape. Chicken has a summer population of 23 and a winter population of 6.  It received it’s name when a bunch of the original settlers were sitting around trying to come up with a name for their new community. The area was home to a sizable population of Ptarmigans, a chicken like grouse bird. The people couldn’t spell Ptarmigan so the decided to call their new town Chicken. This area was originally settled by prospectors in the Alaska Gold Rush of the ladder 19th century. In fact at that time the population of Chicken was much larger. 

Eagle is a small town on the Klondike River that is about 90 miles from Chicken. The only way to get there other than by bush plane or boat is a 90 mile gravel road that is only one lane wide in places. It winds up and through the mountains and offers hair pin turns, 2000 foot drop offs and no guard rales. They have their own diesel electric generator. A visit to this town is like stepping back in time. Several of us made the trip up there and had a guided tour of the town after eating lunch at the towns only restaurant. 

Next stop Delta Junction, the official end if the Alcan Highway. There is not a lot to see here. In fact we stopped at the local visitors center and asked what we should see while in Delta Junction and there was a long period of silence after which the attendant said there wasn’t much to see! We did I visit Rikas Road house and had a nice breakfast there. It is located in a State Historic Park. This site has served many functions in the past. It served as one of the original telegraph stations connecting Alaska to the lower 48. After that the Road House started providing lodging and food for the adventurous travelers of the early 20th century. It also serve as an Army base during the construction of the Alcan Highway. 

Later in the afternoon the owner of our campground brought us back into the woods, about 4 miles from the campground, to harvest Diamond Willow sticks to make into walking sticks. I managed to get 5 sticks and have started to prepare them by stripping the bark off.

The next day we set off to Fairbanks. 

Yellow warbler

Sunrise Top Of the World Highway

Local utilities in Eagle Alaska

Caribou moving out

Cash where people stored food so animals would not get it

Eagle Alaska

Dredge #4

Small rainbow at dawn looking back toward Dawson City along the Top of the World Highway

abandon Road house

  Caribou on their way to eagle!

The Road to Eagle

Willow Ptarmigan 

The view on the road to Eagle

What permafrost can do to buildings

Alaska Car Wash. we drove the truck into the river and washed off most of the dust from the Top Of The World Highway

On the ferry to to cross the Klondike River

Having a beer with friends Russ and PJ in "Downtown Chicken"

Top of the World Highway looking down 2000 feet to river

Top Of the world Highway