Into the Wild

Tom contemplating going "Into The Wild"

We flew out of Homer this morning into Fairbanks, rented a car, and made our way to the Denali area.  We are in Healy, Alaska which is just outside the entrance of Denali National Park.  We hope to take a flight seeing view of the mountain tomorrow morning.  Just outside Healy, we stopped at the 49th State Brewing Company, where the "Into the Wild" bus is on display (the bus from the movie, the real bus is actually still deep in the wilderness).  Into the Wild was a book (and also movie) based on Jon Krakauer's account of Christopher McCandless' trek (and death) through Alaska's backcountry.  Healy was one of the last stops McCandless made before he took up residence in the Fairbanks City Transit System Bus 142, located 20 miles into Alaska's mosquito-infested tundra, where he ate poison berries.  For those of you who haven't read the book, just visit BooksBySam.com for a copy of the scarce, hard-to-find first edition book. 

Flying to Katmai

Volcano

Kachemak Glacier

Glacier

Kenai Mountain Range

Volcano

Yesterday's flight to Katmai was almost as exciting as hunting for bears. In a small, 6-passenger plane, we flew over the Kenai Mountain Range which is absolutely breathtaking.  Then we made several passes around the Kachemak Glaciers.  On the way home our pilot (who was also our bear guide) flew us into the top of a volcano (inactive).  It was stunning.

Da Bears

First bear sighting at Katmai National Park

Sandy at Katmai National Park

You brought Oreos, right?

Sandy following the bear trails

Tom before we take off

Praying bear

Tom and Sandy viewing bears

Two male grizzlies

Just as we were leaving, we spot an Eagle

Momma bear and her cub

Tom's View

Day 3.  Three days since we left Indy, and at least that many stops at Starbucks.  (You may recall that for Sandy's blog for our trip to Switzerland her first picture was at a Starbucks.)  Here in Homer, we have become the taxi company's biggest customer - we're fast friends with Jake and Joey, the cabbies.  Joey picked us up at the airport and after a brief stop to drop off our bags, he took us to the Salty Dawg Saloon.  Every square inch of wall, ceiling, post, you name it, is covered with $1 dollar bills.  Sort of sets the tone for our stop here.

Hardest part of the trip so far has been getting used to the 4 hour time difference.  That alone would not be so bad, but combine that with sunrise being at 3:30 am and sunset being at 12:30 am (yes, am), it gets to be quite confusing when you wake up at what you think is 7 am, and it makes sense until you find it's really 3 am and the sun is starting to rise.

As Sandy said, we did go foraging for moose yesterday.  Can't be much fun to be a moose.  First, you have that funny name.  Then you stand around in 2 feet of marsh to eat.  On the other hand, we had an excellent breakfast of smoked salmon (surprise there) and cream cheese in a nice little bakery called Moreau Bakery.



The Time Bandit

Then off to Halibut Cove.  On the way out of the harbor we went by the Time Bandit - a fishing boat that is one of the "stars" of the TV series "Deadliest Catch".  That show takes place a few hundred miles west of here at Dutch Harbor in the Western Aleutian Islands.

Homer, Alaska

We have been in Homer since Friday. Homer is a rustic fishing village, but it does have its redeeming qualities, they have a Starbucks!  It is 8:30 am here (4:30 am EST) and we are there now catching up on communications.  Yesterday we walked throughout downtown and then hiked on and off trails through the wetlands hoping to run across a moose. No moose yet.  There are, however, plenty of eagles.  The locals are oblivious to them, but Tom and I are amazed every time we see one soaring by.  Yesterday we spotted two huge eagles perched atop a building. They were so large they reminded us of the storks we saw in Africa.  No one else seemed to care, but Tom and I walked/jogged down the Spit in order to see them.  Homer Spit is a narrow strip of land surrounded by the sea and the Kenai Mountain Range, part of the Kenai Peninsula.  

Yesterday, we took a boat out to Halibut Cove, an even more rustic village.  We had lunch at the island's only restaurant and then explored the island.  For the "mariners" in the listening audience, the tide here is 28 feet.  So all the houses around Halibut Cove are built on stilts and they have 30+ feet long ramps that extend to the docks and boathouses which all float up and down with the tide.  

Our main reason for coming to this area was for the bear viewing, which has been postponed due to weather (rain).  Fortunately, we awoke this morning to clear blue skies (although it is still rather brisk outside) and we are scheduled to take a sea plane to the coast this afternoon for bear viewing.  Don't panic if we don't post to the blog for a while, we won't return from the bear viewing until 9:30 tonight and then we have an early flight to Fairbanks tomorrow on our way to the Denali area.  I am, however, re-thinking my strategy during the bear adventure.  My plan, in the event of any bear mishap, was to outrun Tom. During a chat with one of the guides, they informed us that the bears usually chase and attack the one who runs...so on to plan B. 

Homer Spit

Halibut Cove

Bird Island on the way to Halibut Cove

Call me Ishmael...

Tomorrow begins our Alaskan adventure.  We fly to anchorage and then take another flight to Homer, Alaska where we will stay for three days.  While in Homer we will be hiking amidst coastal brown bears in the Alaskan wilderness with a trained guide.  We hope to see plenty of bears.  

June 9, we fly to Denali for three days to explore Denali National Park.  Weather permitting, we really look forward to seeing Mt. McKinley/Denali (we have scheduled a flight-seeing tour of the mountain).  We will also be renting a car and driving around the area in search for more bears, moose, and caribou. 

We travel to Juneau on the 12th and prepare to board the Safari Quest for our seven-day "un-cruise".  Our itinerary includes Frederick Sound, Stephen's Passage, Chichagof Island, Ford's Terror and the richest whale waters in southeast Alaska, Icy Straight.  We will be viewing glaciers, taking a few treks ashore and always watching for whales. We disembark on June 20 and return to Indiana on the 21st.  Hope you enjoy the blog.  Feel free to post any comments.