Homer

Homer is kinda the beach of Alaska...a lot cooler than Myrtle Beach of course, but interesting.

Fine last Alaskan dinner oceanfront, sharing salmon and halibut.

Soldotna

On Friday, head south to the "beach" of Alaska, Homer. After about five days of clouds and some rain, the sun is finally out!  Stopped on the way down at the town of Soldotna, and took a tour of the historical museum. Interesting that any veteran was given a large homestead of land after WWII. Many descendant families still live on their land.

Coopers Landing

Two nights at the little Hutch lodge. Owner built a covered pavilion so that he can have a campfire even if it rains (which it did).

Took another rain suit hike up to the Russian River Falls, five miles total. The lodge owner loaned us a bear spray canister “just in case” Saw grizzly poop but no grizzlys. Coopers Landing is a big fishing hotspot with the Kenai and Russian rivers. Saw hundreds of salmon swimming upriver. Talked with campfire guests about the special technique needed to hook salmon.

GoreTex Day

Finally got to wear all that rain gear we brought to Alaska. Headed out to Exit Glacier down the road from our Seaward cabin. Took a 2 miles hike up to the base of the glacier. Off to our next stop in Coopers Landing.

Day In Seward

Gray and cool so we spent most of the afternoon in the Alaska Sea Life Center.

Picked up a car from Hertz, off to the grocery store, and our “Misty C” cabin up the road.

On The Water Again

Took a boat tour to Kenai National Park south of Seward. Knowing that we would spend some time in the open ocean, we each used “the patch” to avoid seasickness. Pretty rough while we were following pods of whales. Also saw sea lions, seals, and another glacier up close. Saw a pretty huge section of the glacier break off and crash into the ocean.

Salmon dinner Tuesday night was one of our best of the trip.

Goldstar Train to Seward

Splurged for the Goldstar train car to Seward, were we had reserved seats and glass dome for the entire car. Lots of nice vistas and more glaciers. You know, there's a bunch of glaciers in this state!

Back To Anchorage

Driving back to Anchorage on a gray day, we used Trip Advisor again to find some comfort food for lunch. Stopped in the “dinner” where everyone in Willow eats. Got to the hotel late afternoon so we just walked around downtown and turned in the rental car. Took the local bus back from the airport for 50 cents senior rather than $20 for taxi. Quite a cultural experience.

Stayed at the Alaska Grand Hotel right next to the train station. Nice for next day's activity, but those trains just don't stop blowing their horn. And with the windows open, since there's no AC in Alaska!

Alaska Time

Seem to be getting fully acclimated to Alaska time. Found ourselves sitting by the creek after 10pm reading our books! Stays light pretty late this far north and west. My PC says 3am so guess I better go to bed.

Heading South to Anchorage on Sunday, then further south on the train to Seward Monday.

Looks like a weather system from Siberia (don't hear that often in Salem) is about to cool things off.

May have to wear all that warm stuff we brought with us.

The Mountain

Almost forgot. We got to see something that only 25% of park visitors see....Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. Usually obscured by clouds, we were able to see all but the tip top.

Wildlife

We did see lots of wildlife: caribou, several moose, a fox, mountain sheep, and nine grizzly’s (including 3 cubs). After we left the park, we saw the largest moose on the way back to our cabin.