Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park

We took our tour to Katmai NP with Rust's Flying Service in Anchorage. It is an all day trip. We checked in at 7:30 and returned at about 5:30, which was an hour earlier than expected. The plane was a Cessna Caravan piloted by Curtis. The takeoff from Lake Hood, the busiest float plane airport, was exciting, and the flight was fantastic. Curtis kept us informed and entertained the whole trip. He also served as our guide in the park. There were 8 passengers and the pilot on the plane.

 

A dock worker watches Curtis get the plane ready. They put cargo in the floats.

 

 A Rust's plane takes off from Lake Hood

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 On the beach at Katmai

 Flying through a mountain pass.

 

Upon arrival we had to attend Bear School to learn how to be safe around the bears. Stay 50 yards away, don't look bears in the eye, don't run, make noise. They need to tell the bears the rules. There were plenty of rangers about to help us get through without being eaten. If bears move into an area, the rangers close the area until the bears move on. The trails were often closed. The bears were everywhere. Fishermen could hardly get a line in the water before a bear would come to see if there were any fish.

The large bears take the places at the falls. The smaller bears get chased away if they come near. The smaller bears chase the fish in the stream and comically dive (belly flop) and run around in circles. The large bears just sit and wait for the fish to come within reach. They often miss when they try to catch one.

 

Large bears fishing at the falls.

 









Small Bears frolicking and splashing.

 

Bears blocking the trails and bridge.

While we were walking back toward the main area, Sue and I came upon a group stopped on the trail because a bear was blocking their way. We stopped and a moment later Sue turned around and said "Sh*t!"  She began to quickly moonwalk backwards. I looked back and there was a very large bear less than 20 feet from us. I joined Sue in her retreat. We were soon with the group that had stopped. They started to tell us that there was a bear up ahead. Sue told them to look back. There were very surprised. Rangers came and we all moved on, but just for a short ways before we had to stop and wait again. 

 

 

This is the bear that snuck up on us on the trail.

 



Denali National Park and Mount McKinley, Talkeetna, Anchorage

 

 Denali National Park is fantastic. It has the best visitor center of any park I have seen. We took the 12.5 hour bus tour to Katishna (sp?) Lodge. We opted for the tour from the park rather than the commercial tour companies. Our driver/guide was Wendy. She is local, but originally from Minnesota. She still had Minnesota language and accent. She was very informative and entertaining.

 

 The long ride on the school bus was great. Plenty of rest breaks and we stopped for every wildlife and scenic photo opportunity. Being there before 8:00 AM to catch the bus wouldn't have been a problem if we hadn't done the midnight ATV tour. I think it was after 2:00 when we got back and had to bathe and walk Savannah. Long day! 12 hours on a school bus on a bumpy, dusty, dirt road may sound bad, but it was great. I'd do it again tomorrow.
We saw a lot of moose, which Wendy said was unusual, but the bear were scarce. We had a fox at one of the visitor centers which didn't mind being photographed. There was also a young caribou which came down to the bus. We had just started the trip when we came to a mamma moose with a calf near the road. The weather was exceptionally clear and we had great views of Mount McKinley.

 

 

 

 Denali Visitor Center

Janice called Bill and fed the mosquitos

 

 Bear Tamers

 First view of the mountain

 Mount McKinley

 Wildlife Photographer

Momma Moose and Baby

 

                                   

 

 Caribou

Grizzly

 

Janice viewing Denali

                                        
The ATV tour was fun. We bounded around like little kids on the trail. It was unbelievably dust. We often couldn't see anything through the dust. The kids running the tour were fun. The mosquitos did manage to find us through the dust. Sue wore a white shirt which really looked good by the time we got back. there was dirt in places I didn't think could collect dust. I thought we would see wildlife since it was midnight, but we were too noisy. The sunset was gorgeous.
 

 



 Talkeetna is a little town not far from Denali. It is where the mountain climbers begin their trip. It is said to be the inspiration for the TV show, "Northern Exposure". It is an interesting place to visit. We had a great lunch at one of the historic restaurants. Sue got adventurous and had a caribou burger. My halibut was really good, but Janice's Caribou medallions were out of sight. JC and I walked down to the river for a view of Mount McKinley. The river was high and we had to cross a small stream to get to the beach. A couple of young entrepreneurs had built a bridge and helped us across. Worked for tips only.

 

 

 

Someone ordered a giant burger combination which the restaurant had added to their menu during the Alaska centennial. 

Bridge Builders

Helping the Elderly

 

Downtown Anchorage

Street vendors selling reindeer sausage



 

Anchorage, Animals, and Stuff

When we left Seward we stopped at Portage Glacier on our way to Anchorage. It was cold and windy. We stopped at the tunnel that goes to Whittier and turned around. Portage is a good stop.
In Anchorage we stayed on Ft Richardson again. They are nice sites with full hookups for $27/ night. You can wash your RV and car there. Folks were complaining  because they raised their rates this year. Good laundry room and convenient to commissary, etc. It is also a great place to walk Savannah. We have come across a couple of moose on our treks. The mosquitos have gotten us a couple of times.  They have sprayed in the campground and the mosquito problem has been solved.
In Anchorage we took the trolley tour (ok, but nothing I'd do again), went to the ulu factory and bought some stuff, and watched a film on the big earthquake at the Alaska Experience. We saw a film about the earthquake at the federal bldg across from the visitors center also. They show several different Alaska films at the federal bldg and they are all free. You have to go through security, so leave your ulu in the car. We had a great dinner at Humpy's on  6th Street. Halibut fish and chips with a local beer.
The weather has been sunny and warm most days. It has cooled off and clouded up for the past couple of days. No rain yet. We have used the heater on most mornings.
Everywhere you go the scenery is fantastic and there are interesting things to see. Lots of animals and snow capped mountains. The people are very nice. We have met a couple of people from around Newnan. One guy was a street vendor downtown selling reindeer sausage. When walking Savannah we are approached often.
We went to Lake Hood which is the busiest float plane airport. We booked  our flight to Brooks River Falls at Katmai to watch the bears. We go on Wednesday, July 3rd. I'll post pictures and info when we get back and get Wi-Fi.
Keeping up with the blog is a chore. I'm not crazy about using the computer. Wi-Fi is not readily available and is often slow. And there are too many other things to do. Cell phone service has been surprisingly good.
The roads have been fine. There are frost heaves but they are marked with cones and/or flags. Constructions zones are muddy and bumpy. RV came in yesterday and said he had problems on Alaska Highway. Broke both sides of his windshield and the windshield on his dinghy. He didn't have the right type of mud flap on his RV and no shield or cover for his dinghy. He also had a rock put a hole in his radiator and had to be towed 250 miles to Whitehorse. I don't know what happened to him. We had no problems like this, even on the Top of the World. He may have ignored the warnings to slow down for the gravel areas. His towing experience should have been in the movie, RV with Robin Williams. I tried not to laugh too hard.
Fuel has been readily available. I don't know how much I paid in Canada. It said $1.799, but it sure cost a lot to fill up. In Anchorage it is $4.20 and about $.50 more outside. I have not seen DEF at any pumps and some Walmarts didn't have it. The truck stops have it in containers.
I wanted to post some pictures of Alaska animals.

 



 

Wild Beast waiting in the driver's seat. 

Many wood bison on the Alcan

 Momma moose and calf in Denali

 Yearling moose Denali

 Caribou Denali

 

Mooses Denali

 Moose Denali He kept putting head under water

 Red Fox Denali

 

 Dall Sheep Denali

 Vicious beast petting Savannah 

 Black  Bear, Alcan

 Moose Alcan

 Sheep licking salt on road, Alcan

 Black Bear Alcan

 Canadian Canada goose, Liard Springs

 Momma bear with two shy cubs Alcan

 Black bear Alcan

Musk Ox Kenai Peninsula  

Flash Dancing Elk, Kenai Peninsula 

 

 Black bear Kenai Peninsula

 

Two Brown (grizzly) bears playing Kenai Peninsula

 

                                      

 Grizzly Kenai Peninsula

 Bald Eagle landed in tree next to us

                                    

 

Young caribou Denali