Home Stretch

Had a beautiful day for a long boat ride Tuesday . The Kenai Fijords tour was excellent, which is what we had heard. Got to see several glaciers up close, puffins, sea lions, & lots of whales!  A couple pods of orcas, fin whales and a hump back put on a show with a breach included!!!  Spectacular. Up close with lots of blue ice. The captain did a great job of imparting information on all sorts of historical and biological facts. 

Went to the Sea Life Center here in Seward yesterday. Good for an afternoon.  Funded compliments of the BP oil spill.ngotmto see some birds and sea mammals up close. Seems to be a good research facility.

 Walked the dock before and after dinner last night. This picture sums up Alaska tourism in my opinion. 

For our last full day in Alaska, yup, hard to believe, we plan to hike at exit glacier. The past 3 days have been sunny which has made everything enjoyable. Had flip flops on again yesterday for the first time since day 1 on Kodiak Island. 

One more post tomorrow before the return home I think.  Thanks for following along! 

Rain Rain Rain & Books

We are ready for the rain to stop.  Tomorrow that is what is supposed to happen. We are going on a Kenai Fijords boat cruise for the day. Hoping to see lots of wild life. We will keep you posted. 

While in Homer we did quite a bit of walking around...in the rain.  Happened on this amazing little quirky used book store. Packed to the rafters with every kind of literature. One sign for a nook with a category of "psychobabble, mumbojumbo, & hanky panky". Found a series of 1902 hard covers of Character Sketches from every book you can think of. 

Sorry about the orientation. Again iPad limitation. These gems had velum overlays on plates depicting the various stories being discussed. I really wanted to take all these home!

Also at the Pratt Museum there were hand made books with historical info in them on display. No real indication of who created them or when. They were rather worn and kind of funky.

So there you go, book arts in Alaska show up.  

There's always Hope

Wanted to be sure to get a shout out to Hope Alaska. It was a by chance choice for an overnight stay on the way to Homer. Off the beaten path, population of about 190.  We found out it was jam night the day we arrived, Thursday. By 8 pm the little bar/restaurant was packed! There were folks from all over the US and a few from other countries who performed. It was so much fun!

I would encourage anyone visiting the Kenai to make a stop in Hope on a Thursday evening. It is a cute little historic town that was one of the original Gold Rush settlements. 

Fish On!

We've been in Homer for a couple days now. Rain, rain, rain. 

But still lots to do. Merrill went on a halibut fishing excursion yesterday. Success! We are having his catch shipped home.

I did my own gallery tour. Lots of interesting artists in Homer. A friend had told me about a gallery that has some wonderful book artists. As it turns out it is right across the street from our RVpark!

I got to fondle some exquisite books. I will include links later as posting from the iPad has its limitations. 

Went to the Salty Dawg for a brew before dinner last night. Added our dollar to the wall of the bar. 

Animals Galore

Did the 8 hour bus ride through Denali National Park yesterday. We had a great day for seeing the large  animals that call this beautiful park their home.  

Grizzlies. 

Bull moose. 

Caribou. 

Sorry couldn't resist. 

Our bus driver did a fantastic job of relaying all kinds of information about the history of the park, the animals behavior, the landscape...wonderful tour. 

As you can see we encountered the type of weather we were expecting of Alaska during our time in Denali. We did get a peek at the peak a couple times. 

The craggy looking piece at the right of the view is it. Much grander in person, plus I have a smaller point & shoot I brought on this trip. 

On our way south to start our visit to the Kenai Peninsula. 

Meet the Mayor

Made it Talketna yesterday. Cute little touristy town that everyone seems to love. Reminds us of Mackinac Island at home, but with cars.  Talketna is a jumping off point for lots of fly in fishing, camping, rafting, etc. Had our picture taken on the bench at the iconic Nagley's Store.

The mayor of Talketna lives there, Stubs the cat, I'm not kidding. 

Lots of antlers and Moose "stuff" here.

Of tomDenali National Park today. Hope we are lucky enough to get a clear view of the top. 

Rolling Home

On the main land now. It's been rainy, but we are prepared and undeterred. Picked up our "rolling home", which is great, and are on our own. Nice to be able to prepare our own food, and listen to the rain on the roof while we sleep in warm dry comfort. 

Fish cleaning station at the RV park outside Palmer, about 40 miles north of Anchorage. 

The scenery in AK continues to delight us. We had sun & warmth our last 2 days on Kodiak.

Today we will head further north toTalketna.  I'm anxious to see this funky little town.

Drove up to Hatcher Pass yesterday along the beautiful Little Sustina River to see the old gold mine state park. Well worth the drive. Very interesting well done park. Lots of great photo ops.

Back in Kodiak

We had an amazing experience in Uyak Bay with Harry & Brigid of Kodiak Treks. Our trek mates were a sweet special family from Germany. Oliver, Harriet, and Leeloo, their 12 year old daughter. Absolutely delightful people.

Our fabulous weather turned to rain for the two days we were camping. Figures. But modern waterproof clothing is miraculous. Saw many bears from far off, then the last chance on day 3 we came upon a sleeping male in the thick brush who we woke up. Saw him at a distance of about 15 feet through the vegetation. No kidding. 

Back in Kodiak, weather back to gorgeous.  We will hike today and see a small museum dedicated to local heritage. Learned tons from Brigid about the Alutiiq people. 

Tomorrow we fly back to Anchorage to get the RV.  The next phase of vacation will be totally different. Feels like we've been gone forever already. 

Harbor Ride

Off to our bear viewing adventure today. Wish us good fortune. 

Last evening took a harbor ride with an interesting old coot. Just the two of us with him. Very interesting. Puffins, sea otters, Eagles and theses guys.  Looked like the day after a frat party.

Self Serve

Spent two great days with SERVAS hosts Mark & Pat in Anchorage. This is what was in the garage for our consumption at any time. He makes fantastic home brew! They had a pot luck with a bunch of other Anchorage SERVAS members. What an interesting well traveled bunch. 

Now that we have wifi I can post a few pictures and thoughts the next couple days. 

The weather has been amazing. Never thought I'd be in flip flops and no jacket in Alaska. Did a hike up Flat Top just outside town yesterday afternoon. 

We are now on Kodiak Island and predictions are for continued great weather.  We are delighted with our B&B here as well.