Joe Gets His Wish

Joe Gets His Wish

Traveling
Joe has been asking people as we travel if they have seen a grizzly along the road.  Probably 50% of the people have seen one.   Joe said that is his only disappointment on our Alaska trip even though we did the bear adventure.    He just wants to see that big grizzly walking alongside the road.  Well he finally got his wish.  About twenty miles from the Canadian border on our way to Haines we finally saw that grizzly.  We slowed down to get a picture and of course the bear turned around and headed into the woods.  We got a nice picture of its back-end but at least we saw one.  Little did we know that a few days later Joe would have a much to close encounter with a…
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Valdez, Alaska

Valdez, Alaska

Traveling
  Well the drive from Glennallen to Valdez was two things – first Joe classified it as the “worst road” we have been on in Alaska (but he will change his mind a few days later) and second one of the prettiest drives we have been on. From Glennallen to Valdez is about 120 miles and about the first 90 miles were terrible frost heaves and expansion repairs.  To say the least it was a very slow, bumpy ride.  Our speed was between 45 and 50 mph.  Once we hit Worthington Glacier about 25 miles north of Valdez the road got better but then we were stopping constantly for the beautiful views.   Our first stop was Worthington Glacier which was pretty and we could have hiked to the base…
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Best Private Campground in Alaska and Ten Million Mosquitoes Know It!

Best Private Campground in Alaska and Ten Million Mosquitoes Know It!

Campgrounds
We found the best private campground in Glennallen, AK.  I’ve talked about the Alaskan private campgrounds how they are gravel parking lots, or sites crammed in so close together you are looking into your neighbors windows.  Tolsona Wilderness CG is just what it says – wilderness.  Each of the eighty-eight sites sits on the side of a lovely creek that curves through the very large park.  It is about a mile off the road so no traffic noise.  It has a nice laundry and wonderful showers that cost only a quarter.  Best campground we have stayed in since we have gotten to Alaska. So here is the tiny, bity downfall of the park.  As we were checking in with a very nice older fellow, he asked if we knew about…
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Homer and Seldovia, Alaska

Homer and Seldovia, Alaska

Traveling
The town of Homer, Alaska is at the end of the Sterling Highway.  The Homer Spit is a 4.5 mile geographical landmark on the south tip of the Kenai Peninsula that goes out into the Kachemak Bay.  Marinas, restaurants, shops, a hotel, and a few campgrounds fill the Spit.  It was enjoyable checking out shops on the Spit and we had a wonderful halibut lunch at one of the restaurants.  We also booked a wildlife cruise with Rainbow Tours for a 7 hour trip to Seldovia, an island in the Kachemak Bay.   Our tour started at 10:30 from the dock in Homer.  An hour and a half cruise checking out wildlife before we were to dock at Seldovia.  We headed out to Gull Island to check out the birds. …
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Our Alaska Bear Viewing Adventure

Our Alaska Bear Viewing Adventure

Traveling
As we started really planning our Alaska adventure we talked about things we wanted to do.  We realize this is our one and only time taking a trip to Alaska so we wanted to do “those Alaska” things.   We talked about taking a bear viewing tour but having a fear of flying I had a hard time seeing myself in a small plane.  Joe started checking on a boat bear viewing tour.  We did find one but you had to be on the boat for 6 hours.  Then we started thinking about what happens if the water is rough.  Six hours on rough water would not be a lot of fun.  We started looking at plane tours and started talking to people who had gone on them and well it…
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The Start of Our Alaska Adventure

The Start of Our Alaska Adventure

Traveling
Beautiful – what more can I say!  We’ve seen some absolutely beautiful scenery, have stayed at some gorgeous campsites (and some not so gorgeous) and taken some fabulous hikes and all in such a short period of time.  What a wonderful world! I keep getting asked why I’m not posting more on the blog.  I have a lot of excuses – we don’t have electricity and the computer needs to be plugged in, we don’t have internet service so I can’t download it, we are just too darn busy enjoying Alaska but my best excuse is that my computer decided to quit and Joe just won’t share his (best excuse ever).  We have been looking for a new computer for me but not a lot of options in the area…
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