Rocky Goes to Alaska

Day 55, 19 July 2015

Stopped at the Ulu knife factory and was so impressed with the blade that we bought one. Picked up our friends Bob & Joan at the Anchorage International Airport, stopping at Humpy’s on the way to camp. Salmon salad sliders and beer – doesn’t get any better than that.

Using the new knife - watch your fingers!

Welcome to Joan & Bob

Day 56, 20 July 2015

We biked about 22 miles on the Coastal Trail and around the airport back into town.

The trail runs along the coast through the woods. It has an occasional lookout for interpretive information, views of Denali (too hazy to see), and spur trails to hike or bike along the Turnagain Arm – named after Captain Cook’s having to turn around when he discovered that the bay was not the Northwest Passage he was seeking.

We had lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse, which is a lot fancier than it sounds, and the food is

excellent. Found a great fresh fish market, Tenth and M, where we bought some fresh wild caught sockeye salmon and rockfish. Dinner was yummy.

Joan and Bob enjoying the trail

Earthquake Park

Downtown Anchorage

Mt McKinley in the clouds

Day 57, 21 July 2015

Anchorage to Seward 128 miles

The Seward Highway from Anchorage to Seward is one of the top 500 scenic drives in the world. The Alaska Railroad also runs nearly parallel to the highway along the coast. We stopped at several lookouts, including Beluga Point (did not see any whales, but they are often sited here), and Lower Summit Lake (nice lake with some fishing cabins). Mountain views all around. We did see some swans. We drove into the Fjords National Park to see the Exit Glacier. The trail is now longer than ever, since the glacier is retreating. Found an RV site at Waterfront Park in Seward, the town park where we met some nice folks from Homer who shared their firewood with us, and we shared smores over the campfire.

View from Seward Highway

Along the Seward Highway

View from Beluga Point

Another beautiful view

Train runs right along the coast

Summit Lake

Exit Glacier

Hiking up to the glacier

Bob, Charli & Joan at Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier

Nice campfire at Waterfront Park

Al giving away our Canada hats

Grateful Canadian recipients of the hats

Day 58, 22 July 2015

The highlight of our day was the 8.5-hour Fjords National Park glacier cruise on the Orca Voyager. We saw humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions, Puffins, Common Murre, and a mountain goat. And we got very close to the Aialik Glacier. Lunch was served on the run, but the salmon and prime rib dinner was at Fox Island – a very nice resort area and a great place to skip stones after dinner.

Our boat to the Fjords National Park

Resting sea lions

Lots of Puffins

Nice whale sighting

Aialik Glacier

Joan and the glacier

Fox Island Resort

Skipping stones on Fox Island

Cute rock cairns

Day 59, 23 July 2015

Seward, AK to Kenai, AK 105 miles

At Cooper Landing, we stopped at the K’Beq Footprints Kenaitze Interpretive Site. The Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the Seward Ranger District of the Chugach National Forest are working together to preserve, protect, and interpret important cultural and natural resources in the Cooper Landing area. We were invited to watch a dance, song, and drum presentation that young members of the tribe had prepared for their elders. All of the participants vowed to be alcohol, tobacco, and drug free, as part of their program for healthy youth. Nice to be included in what would have been a private function. Fishing is the name of the game here, at this time of year when the fish are running upstream. Every water body – river, bay, etc. – was swarmed with fishermen. Alaskans are allowed to “dip net,” meaning they can catch as much as they need to sustain them through the winter, even with a huge net. We took the last available site (luckily someone cancelled) at the Beluga Lookout RV Park. Completely filled with fishermen and families filling their freezers full of fish. But what a beautiful view of the Kenai River flowing into Beluga Bay and the mountains in the distance, including Redoubt and Iliamna– still active volcanos. And hundreds of fishermen on shore and on boats working the river and the bay. The only analogy I could think of was Fourth of July on Madeira Beach – everyone is there, and everyone is partying.