Great Alaskan Holidays

After flying in to Anchorage and overnighting at Red Roof Inn, our first stop was to pick up our RVs. Is Cathy happy?

Allen and Rene

at their unit, as we started south down the road to Seward to view glaciers calving and whale watching

On the road to Seward

Beautiful view from almost the first moment on the highway.

Rene and Allen aboard the Kenai Star

Slow moving glacier

pushing its morain ahead of it

Face of the glacier

We are only about 1/4 mile from the glacier and can hear it creaking. We witnessed a "claving" when a portion breaks off into the sea. Seals rest on the small rafts of ice which float nearby

Allen Cathy and Rene

Yes, our first full day was our coldest day - as we travelled inland and north, it got progressively warmer

Bald Eagle

the symbol of America, have made a great comeback and are plentiful now, tho not yet trained to fly close the the photographer

Eagle perched

Fortunately, American eagles have rebounded and are now plentiful.

Whales!

Whales - even closer

Whales -

a pod of three

Sea Lions or Walruses?

I think the former, but whoever they are, they enjoyed basking on the rocks

Sleeping Beauties

Well after a long day of whale watching, glacier calving, eagle tracking, etc., followed by a delicious prime rib and salamon buffet, well, the inevitable occurred on the long ride back to Seward

Splash

We did have some wind and weather out on the water

Our Ship, the Kenai Star

reserved window table, all day trip on the water, delicious salmon and prime rib dinner, a great captain and tour guide.

Puffins

We visited the marine museum in Seward and in their two story tank we could see the puffins "fly" thru the water using their wings for propulsion

Two puffins

Heads up!

Mr Seal was putting on a show for us - or maybe just hoping for food

First of many outdoor meals

We ate outside quite a bit - here we are dining along Stoney Creek

Stoney Creek

at our Seward campground. Many of the rivers of Alaska are "braided" - they are carrying so much glacial silt that the course of the river changes day by day.

Denali means "Land of Muddy Busses"

I know the tour books say it means "The Great One" and refers to Mt. McKinley, but my translation reflects the exterior condition of the busses which travel the gravel road all day

Mrs. Moose and her two calves

Since no private vehicles are allowed into the interior of Denali, we were waiting at the bus stop our first morning, and who should stop by...

Denali Road

There is one gravel road that runs basically east-west thru the middle of the park - no private vehicles - just the busses.

Rene and Allen along the Denali Road

The tour bus made many stops along the way, each, of course, another beautiful photo op

Denali, shrouded in mist

We were among the fortunate third that actually got to see Denali, often shrouded in fog. Highest peak in North America, at 20, 320'

Rene, Allen, Pepe and CJ

at one of many beautiful sights in Alaska

Bear on her way down

to the stream

Bear coming our way

Bear crossing the river

Three Bears, moma and two "babies"

They were on their way to pass just behind the tour bus

Bears retreating down the river

Having given us a great show crossing the road just behind our tour bus, the bears continued on their trek

Caribou

were plentiful, but were always quite a distance from the road

Dall Sheep

were the orignial reason for founding Denali as a protective reserve

Closer view of a Dall sheep

These "little white spots" can be seen in many locations, usually at higher ground

A nice outdoor cafe

at the Visitors' Center in Denali

Group picture, in our "Chalet"

You see a whole lot of these rental RVs in Alaska

All of us seated indoors

once again, having a bite to eat

Cathy writing postcard

Just happy to be in her RV!

Cabover bed

Unlike our coach, our "Class C" rental, very popular with families, features a bed over the cab - which the kid in all of us just has to try out!

Campground cooking

We did most of our cooking outdoors

Yep, eating again

This time in Denali's Riley Creek Campground, a great campground, with large level spaces and lots of privacy

All of us seated outside in the morning

Sunshine and moderate temperatures made being outside a joy

Too much coffee?

Pepe taking risks, again

The Denali Shuffle

Allen and Joe, dancing fools! Has something to do with being very happy on a wonderful trip

Working dog posing with Cathy

The Forest Service uses dogsleds to patrol Denali thru most of the year. See video below for a practice dog sled run we viewed to keep the dogs exercised

Here we are! The North Pole

Well, not the true north pole, but close enough for our RV trip. For you pilots out there, compass variation is almost 40 degrees up this far north.

Reindeer

yes, a real reindeer - yes, at the North Pole

Who are those little people in the sleigh below Santa?

Not surprisingly, Santa has an enormous presence at North Pole, Alaska

Allen, Pepe, Rene and Cathy

in Santa's Sleigh

Midnight in Fairbanks

Yes, on June first, three weeks before the peak sunlight, we have lots of light all night long. This shot of the river along our Fairbanks campground was taken at midnight - and it was so cold I was in shorts and a t-shirt!

Allen and Cathy

along the road back south towards Talkeetna and Anchorage

Pepe and Cathy

along the same road. Unfortunately photos cannot capture the rapture of these enormous vistas

We took a pass on this plane

at Talkeetna

Kiss a Moose in Talkeetna?

Well, we did visit the quirkly, fun little town of Talkeetna, famous as site of "Northern Exposure" - it even has an airport right in the middle of "downtown."

Flying north of Anchorage

Thanks to "Walt from Anchorage" - a local contact I made thru the Cherokee Pilots' Association, we got a wonderful airplane ride over the glaciers near to Anchorage

Following the chanel

Up toward the Knik Glacier

Getting closer

Closing in on the Knik Glacier

Glacier view

Cathy in the back seat

Allen was seated next to her, behind me. Rene had decided on shopping for the afternoon. Walt has a six seat airplane, and due to many exursions into the interior of Alaska, the back two seats were loaded with survival gear

Pepe in the front seat

Not usually seated in the right seat, Pepe enjoyed viewing rather than piloting

Walt, Cathy and Pepe

Walt's plane has larger than normal tires for riverbed landings near his gold claim up north. Like many Alaska planes, his plane is very familiar with glacial silt and dust. Turns out Walt is a local DJ known as Alaska's Oldest Teenager!