Day 37 - Seward, Alaska

Ken and Carole Adams #1 Wagonmasters                                              Thursday, July 15, 2010

This day began with overcast skies and light drizzle. Today is the day a lot of us having been looking forward to – salmon fishing in Resurrection Bay! After purchasing our licenses in town, fourteen of us headed down to the dock for our afternoon excursion on the Sea Quest. She is a 45’ catamaran with a large comfortable inside cabin.

The drizzle had stopped by the time we left the harbor, but the weather was still cloudy and cool. Because the fishing had been slow in the bay, Captain Al gave us the option of traveling further out into Prince William Sound to try our luck. We took him up on his offer and travelled 70 minutes out to where the fish were expected to be. Other boats were out on the water trying their luck too. Although this was a fishing trip, a pair of Humpback whales put on a show, cavorting and breaching about 100 feet away.

The captain had us fishing just off several islands. These glacial carved, spruce covered islands ascend steeply into the mist of the clouds. Ivan and Paris both were able to bring in a fish; three other fish were hooked, but got loose. After that, nothing!!! We switched fishing areas three or four more times, but the fish just weren’t cooperating, and most of us came home cold and empty handed. There were reports of Orcas being spotted in the bay. Since Orcas also enjoy a meal of salmon, perhaps the fish decided to take the day off. We guess that’s why they call it “fishing” instead of “catching”.

Day 36 - Seward, Alaska

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Wolf and Barbara Schlichting Rig # 18


Well it is our turn again to Document July 14 Wednesday

The day started by getting up at 6.30 am to Caravan at 8 am to the Marine Centre for a Tour behind the scene and also look at the Exhibitions at the Centre

Some of us had to get back to the Park to walk our four legged friends before catching a Bus to board the Northern Explorer leaving at 12 noon for a cruise of Resurrection Bay and a little ways of the Gulf of Alaska.  The Weather was just perfect for a cruise with sunshine and about 65 degree

First wildlife after leaving the Marina an Otter relaxing close by

The highlight of the Day came about 30 Minutes later with a Humpback Whale giving

us the trill of a life time playing on the port side of the Ship jumping half out of the Water and using the front flippers to splash the Water around him or her

The Salmon and Prime Rib Dinner Buffet was the best meal so far on this Trip

Next stop the Bear Glacier receding and leaving Icebergs floating in the Lagoon

passing Rugged Island on the way to Barwell Island to see Seal Lions lazy sunbathing and fighting for position on the rocks

At Cape Resurrection we found Mountain Goats way up on the hill feeding and Puffins swimming near by and viewed many Eagles perched in the Trees on the way back to the Marina

The Icing on the Cake the Desert just outstanding

A great trip with great weather memories of our Alaska Trip in 2010

Safe travel

Wolf & Barb

Day 35 - Anchorage to Seward

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Gary and Sally Johnson #17                                                                                      July 13, 2010


Today was another travel day after three days in Anchorage. We were looking forward to seeing everything on our relatively short 120 mile trip to Seward. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and we spent much of the day in rain. The road from Anchorage soon was along side the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet, so named because explorers searching for the Northwest Passage had to turn around again here. Much of the land here is part of Chugach State Park. The scenery was beautiful even though it shrouded by clouds and steady rain. We saw snowy, towering mountains, waterfalls, lakes, and streams, all in abundance. In the distance, the rain made the landscape appear black and white. But up close, the mountains were many shades of green with lush vegetation.

We decided to turn into the road to Portage Glacier and perhaps go through the tunnel to Whittier. We stopped at the Forest Service’s Begich, Boggs Visitor Center where we learned about Prince William Sound, receding glaciers (as is the case with Portage Glacier) and saw the Burns Glacier and a tiny tip of the Portage Glacier. The wind and rain was even worse here so we decided that Whittier could wait for another visit.

Farther down the road we stopped at the Trail Lakes Fish Hatchery. This is the off season for the hatchery. A worker explained that most of the fish eggs are captured in the fall, held over the winter, hatched in the spring, then air lifted to streams in the Cook Inlet drainage. From a male and female fish, they retrieve 2500 fertilized eggs, which will ultimately produce 80 adult fish. We took a picture of their picture of salmon returning to the stream they were dropped into. 

We arrived at our new RV park, Stony Creek, mid-afternoon. By that time the rain had stopped and a few clearer patches appeared. This is a spacious park with all hookups and next to a beautiful stream. We have seen bald eagles flying overhead. After getting settled in, we went into Seward and got our bearing at the seaport and downtown. We are looking forward to the next few days here – and already wish it was more.

Day 34 - Anchorage, Alaska

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Jenks & Nancy Jenkins Rig #16                                                                     Tuesday, July 12, 2010

Anchorage, Alaska

Our day started out with sunshine and it was a nice day. My travels started out with spending the majority of the day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. I rode to the center with Sherly Price, Bob wasn’t feeling well today and she was nice enough to ride share.

At the Gathering Place in the Heritage Center we started out with an introduction of the Alaska Native Games: Power, Balance and Focus demonstration. The games help the men with their hunting skills, they all seemed very difficult. The one we saw demonstrated was jumping over a small round stick and your feet were to push the stick backwards as you were going forward, not easy to do.

Next we went into the Theater and watch a 30 minute video on stories of the Athabascan, Yup’ik, Inupiaq, Alutiiq and Tlingit. Stories are a very important part of the Native Alaskans life, this is there way of passing there traditions down.

Back to the Gathering Place and watched several dance performances. They had two men beating on traditional drums and three young girls dancing using hand motions to describe the words to the song. The songs are another way to tell stories of things that have happened to tribe or and individual.

Next we took the tour of the village sites for Athabascan, Yup’ik/Cup’ik, Inupiaq St. Lawrence Island Upik, Unangax Alutiiq and Eyak,Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshia. The types of dwellings that they all lived in were very unique. All of the tribes lived in dirt covered mounds except for the Athabascans and they lived in log cabins. The traditional entrance was a hole you had to crawl through, but for Heritage Center visitors to view there was a traditional entrance made. The hole entrance was small for people but to small for polar bears. There were large huts for men to gather in and then small huts for women and children.

We went to a carving shed and got to see new totem poles being made. They start with pencil drawings and a 6 ft piece of wood and begin to carve with all there unique tools. Totem Poles are a way for the Native Alaskans to tell a story. You read them from top to bottom. The one we viewed is about the Box of Wisdom, the chief is preparing the nephew to use the box of wisdom. At the top is the Chief with a talking stick, below him is the talking box, below is the chiefs nephew, then there is the Eagle and Raven, then there is the children of the eagle and raven. Each totem pole is unique and tells a different story.

Day 33 - Anchorage, Alaska

Marlene and Nelson Cahill Rig#15                                         July 11, 2010

Our day, in Anchorage, began with cool temperatures and cloudy skies. An optional trip to the Anchorage Market And Festival was suggested by our Wagon Master and many of us went downtown to examine the crafts and sample the various foods. Items offered ranged from Ulu knives (pronounced “oo-loo”) and jewelry to craft items and leather goods. Food items included reindeer and buffalo meats to giant cookies and corn – on the cob or from a kettle.

Nelson and I purchased an original, hand-signed, spray-paint whale picture, created while we waited, by artist, Chaz, for only $10. The spray paints he uses for his art are obtained from the Anchorage land fill. When cans are disposed of and still have paint in them, the cans are removed from the dump and offered for free to anyone who will agree to use and dispose of them in an “Earth friendly” manner. More of Chaz’ art can be seen at http://www.billikenstudios.com/.

In the later afternoon, we gathered and boarded our elegant bus for a downtown tour in which we saw many significant buildings and learned much Anchorage history. We saw the area where the earthquake on Good Friday in 1964 occurred and the measures that have been taken to help ensure that buildings and areas will be better protected in the future from such disasters.

We spent time at the Ulu Factory and some of our group walked over to the river to see salmon spawning.

We visited Lake Hood Float Plane Base, the busiest float planes base in the world. We watched and photographed two planes landing before we had to return to our bus and continue our tour.

 Our next stop was Wild Berry Farm where we watched a magnificent movie about Alaska and had a wonderful buffet dinner.

After dinner, we stepped outside to meet an eagle and his handler. The eagle, injured at age five, had been with his handler for four years. Due to his injuries, he had part of his right wing removed and was no longer able to fend for himself in the wild. He is now used for educational purposes.

We then went over to the reindeer pen to meet and feed three reindeer before heading to the gift shop to do some shopping and view the world’s largest chocolate fountain. The sign by the fountain requested that we not sample the chocolate there. In the adjacent candy store, samples of chocolate could be obtained. Our day in Anchorage was both full and memorable.