Alaska Adventures
August – September 2013
About the trip
It started as a simple plan to take a trip to Alaska – maybe drive up there and camp along the way. It grew from there.
Sheila and I visited Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park for whale watching, kayaking, hiking, and more touring. After she headed home, I spent a few more days in Denali camping, and then joined Arctic Wild tours to take an 8-day rafting trip down the Wind River in the Arctic Refuge. And then took a the ferry home.
And yes, I know: Bears! Mosquitoes! Bears!
For your amusement, a little Denali science, via XKCD: http://what-if.xkcd.com/57/.
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Juneau
Friday night I left Seattle, flew to Juneau, met Sheila, went to sleep. Steep Creek The next morning, we caught a shuttle to the Mendenhall glacier (about…
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Glacier Bay
Heading for breakfast, a Sooty Grouse family wandered past our cabin. Glacier Bay Lodge rooms are plain (Sheila says “rustic”), but nice and clean (although not enough…
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Glacier Bay Glacier Cruise
When we woke up, it was pouring down rain. I didn’t mind (much) since we were going to be on a covered boat, cruising up to a…
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Whale Watching
The next day, we went on a whale watching boat. The captain was 100% devoted to looking for whales – no birds, other mammals, glaciers, etc. Whales.…
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Around Glacier Bay Lodge
The evening after the kayaking, Sheila and I wandered down to the beach. The tide was very, very low. One passage that we had kayaked through was…
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Denali
We left Glacier Bay and flew to Anchorage. The next day picked up a rental car, ran errands (the REI in Anchorage is great!), and drove to…
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Kantishna Experience Tour
Our second day in Denali, we took a 12-hour bus tour all the way to the end of the road. We though we would be tired or…
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More Denali
The next day, Sheila did go on her flight-seeing tour (it was another clear day.) I went back to the park and hung around the entrance area.…
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Camping in Denali
The next day, we packed up and checked out. Sheila dropped me off at my campsite at Savage River, and then drove to Anchorage, and eventually headed…
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Alaska 1980
In July, 1980, the family took a vacation in Alaska. I was 15, my brother was 11, my sister was 10. We hired a guide, Ron Yarnell,…
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Arctic Refuge Rafting Trip
I met Ron and the two other people who were joining us. Dave (precise and focused, doctor from California who had lots of questions about everything) and…
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Arctic Refuge Rafting Trip – On the river
On the first day, it took time to pack up our stuff and get the raft ready to go on the river. We probably got underway at…
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Arctic Refuge Rafting Trip – Continued
We had pretty good luck with the weather, considering it was September and we were north of the Arctic Circle. It was usually cold (although twice in…
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Fairbanks and heading home
Back in Fairbanks, I spent the day wandering around Creamer’s Field, a migratory bird refuge. I could hear whooping cranes somewhere nearby, but never saw anything other…