Bob & Lisa's Great Alaska Adventure

Hikes Cancelled On Account of Rain M Visits Denali National Park Today we couldn't seem to escape the rain.  It followed us everywhere.  At times the sun peeked out of the clouds-- but that was always while we were driving.  Once we neared a destination, or once we stopped, down it came again. So, instead of hiking in Denali National Park we ended up driving along the 15 mile stretch that is open to private cars. We saw amazing scenery, but alas no animals other than the human kind.   We began with a visit to the Visitors Center, where we watched a video about wildlife in the park and where we saw this relief-map of Denali and the surrounding mountains: Relief Map of Denali National Park We attempted to walk the trails around the Visitors Center-- but got rained on again, so we headed back to the car.  We decided to drive to the Savage River Look trail head, and see what the weather would be there, as it seemed to change every 5 mi...

The Mountains Turned Red, The Leaves Turned Yellow, and The Rain Turned Lighter The Leaves Have Started to Turn in Denali State and National Parks We began our day with a major rainstorm in Seward that promised a yucky day of driving. M decided that she had taken all the bumpy, dusty, muddy, gravely road abuse she was going to take without fighting back, and she greeted us with a low-coolant warning when we turned her on this morning.  I think it was just a cry for attention (and perhaps a car wash) because a few miles later she dismissed the warning and gave the all clear. However, since there is only one BMW dealership in the entire state of Alaska, in Anchorage, which we just happened to have to pass through on our way to Cantwell, we decided to stop there and have the coolant topped off.  Bob was obsessing about not having an appointment, but I assured him that all we needed to do was show up, and M would be topped off with no problem and no charge. Luckily, ...

An All Day Choppy Small Boat Trip Whale! The good news was no rain and only 3-5 foot swells out on the ocean; the bad news was cloudy, cold, and windy.  The better news is that we saw jumping fish, eagles, otters, harbor seals, sea lions, mountain goats, a variety of birds, and a whale.  However, we only have pictures of a few of them-- the otter, eagles, seals, goats, and of course jumping fish, were elusive. However-- the whale obliged.  That's him (her?) in the main picture, and again below. Whale Again Whale Diving Here s/he is again in a short video: The sea lions were not so much photogenic as too lethargic to even move. Here's a video, but might as well be a still. Also on the wild-life front, here are murres-- birds that look like penguins when they stand up: Not Penguins (they are at the South Pole), but Murres And finishing with wildness-- here's Lisa on the boat with very wild hair: Wild Hair!...

Today I Learned That Fish Really Do Jump Otter in Resurrection Bay (as seen on our walk back from downtown Seward) This city girl always thought that fish jumping only happened when the cotton is high, and that even then it was a metaphorical jump.  Not so, I found out today.  There isn't a cotton plantation within a thousand miles, and today we saw fish not just jumping but leaping out of the bay.  We saw them on our walk into Seward (more on that momentarily), and while we were recuperating from that walk and sitting in bed and looking out our cottage window. It seems that the fish jump at both high tide and low tide, and that they enjoy jumping right in front of fisher-people trying (but not succeeding) to catch them--perhaps by way of ironic taunt. So, with all of this talk about fish jumping, why is the lead photo of an otter?  Because jumping fish also like to taunt would-be photographers.  They leap up, cause you to focus your camera on one ar...

One Month on the Road Today Partial Sun on the Mountains on Resurrection Bay in Seward, AK (Taken from our cottage) Today is the one month mark (30 days) of our Great Alaska Adventure-- and we are loving every minute of it, with each destination being unique in its own way. We spent most of today driving from our cottage on the bluff above the bay in Homer, to our cottage right on the bay (Resurrection Bay this time) outside Seward.  We started with rain and fog, drove out of it for a bit, found it again, and finally left it behind us when we hit Seward.  Hopefully that good weather will hold (we hear it had been raining here all week and that we got the first clear day). Here are the highlights of that drive: We arrived in town a bit earlier than check in, so we had some lunch at the local brewery (just fine), and bought some fresh salmon to cook up for dinner from a local smokehouse. (We bought it fresh and un-smoked-- it was as good as it promised, th...