July 12, 2014 – Anchorage, AK

Today we left the RV Park around 10:30 and just drove around Anchorage. We visited the airport, the harbor, and the core area of downtown Anchorage. We noticed that there were several tour busses parked near the downtown area. It soon became apparent that Anchorage derives significant income form the tourism industry. The downtown area has numerous gift shops and a large vendor flea market. All of these business' were very crowded.

At the end of the day, we realized that this will be our last time to dine in AK. We dined at “The Bridge”, a casual restaurant famous for their seafood courses. Gayle dined on Halibut, while I had King Salmon. Both were excellent. We turned in early.

July 11, 2014 – Kenai Fjords

We left the RV Park at 6:30 this morning for the 2½ hour drive to Seward. It was raining when we left Anchorage and we experienced rain, wind, fog, and sun while enroute.

When we arrived at Seward, the weather was fairly calm and the fog surrounded the mountains. The harbor was full of large “tour” boats.

The boat tour “Orca” departed sharply at 10:00 AM. This boat is about 70' long and has a catamaran-type hull.

Were informed as we got our tickets that the sea at the outlet of Ressurrection Bay is a little rough this morning. The Captain also announced that it will be his decision whether or not to proceed with the voyage once we reach the rough water. As we proceeded towards waters of the Gulf of Alaska, the ride got significantly rougher. The Captain announced that the swells were 12'-15' (not only that, they were also extremely choppy and the wind was blowing strongly) and that we would proceed to the Fjords. Shortly after that announcement, the boat was pitching and bobbing over and through the waves. Many of the land lubbers were utilizing the little white bags conveniently provided to the passengers by the crew.

We finally reached the Aialik Fjord and were able to view the Holgate glacier from about 300 yards away. The noise that the glacier continually emits as it moves toward the water is amazing. The glacier calves continually and mini-icebergs peppered the water. We tried to get pictures and video of the calving, but it always happened when were not prepared. Even at that, the glacier was magnificent.

As we returned, the sea was a little calmer and we were cruising with the wind. We did see some spectacular scenery and stopped at a Fox Island resort for a salmon bake and prime rib dinner. It was excellent!!

While on the cruise, we got to see a bunch of wildlife including: sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions, piffins, muirs, grey whales, a mountain goat, and several porpoises.

On the way back from Seward, we took a side trip to Whittier, AK, Until about 25 years ago, this community was only accessible via boat or train via a 2½ mile tunnel. The Federal Highway Administration coordinated with the Alaska Railroad company to upgrade the floor of the tunnel to accommodate cars and trucks. And we actually got to see the “light at the end of the tunnel”!

Although the weather could have been better, overall, we had a great day. A long day (16 hrs), but a great great day.

July 10. 2014 – Anchorage, AK

This morning, we had a little R&R and got a late start. We visited the communities of Wasilla and Palmer – about 45 miles north of Anchorage. These cities have a beautiful backdrop of steep, snow covered mountains.

In the late afternoon, we returned to Anchorage, stopped at Costco for supplies, then went to Best Buy to purchase a better camera. We got back to the RV park around 8:30 and very tired.

Tomorrow we will visit Seward and take an 8 hour cruise to the Kenai Fjords wildelife area and coastal glaciers. The day will end with a salmon bake on a private island resort in the Seward inlet.

July 9, 2014 – Anchorage, AK

We left Denali at 8:30 for our 230 mile drive to Anchorage. The roads during the first part of the drive were heaved and sagged which made our drive a bit slower. However, the second half was smooth going!

We stopped in Cantwell for gas (only 2 places). The price: $4.799/gallon. Just as well be in Canada!!

In our original travel plans, we had hoped to take a flight seeing ride in Talkeetna. But since it is cloudy and you cannot see Mt McKinley, we talked about just bypassing Talkeetna altogether. Then we decided to drive the 14 miles off the route to see Talkeetna (Gayle was reluctant). When we hit the City Limits, Gayle perked right up. Apparently, Talkeetna is one of the main destinations for cruise ship land excursions as well as the bus tours of AK. (Now Randy is reluctant to proceed.) There must have been at least 1,000 tourists visiting the town. We ate lunch at the Wild Flower Cafe (very good halibut & chips). Gift shops??? Why, yes, on every corner and in between!! We visited them all. Before we left town, we indulged in an ice cream. Actually, we are glad we went to Talkeetna as we likely will not be back in this region.

We continued on to Anchorage. We were not sure exactly where the RV Park was located, so we exited the 4 lane onto side road “JBER”. Oops! This is the access to Joint Base Elmandorf -Richardson air base. We pulled into the parking lot of the visitor entrance to load the RV Park address into our Magellan. Apparently, this is not the proper protocol for the USAF as, one of the guards came out to find our what we wanted. After a brief explanation, the guard gave us explicit directions and we drove right to it.

We arrived at 4:30, set up the trailer and relaxed for the evening. Tomorrow, we will visit the communities of Wasilla and Palmer. Who knows, Sarah may invite us for a salmon bake!!