End of the Road

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Juneau is self-contained.  While there are a number of roads in Juneau, the only way to get here is by boat or plane.  You can't get here by driving, but you do need to drive once you get here.

Alaska Route 7 is the main north-south road on this peninsula that runs about 40 miles. We drove the entire length to where it ends at Echo Cove some 30 miles north of downtown Juneau.  The views and scenery are well worth the drive.  Most visitors that come, especially by cruise ship, typically don't venture that far, but they're missing out.

When you drive "out the road" as the locals would say, there are several state park areas and beaches with public access.  There is also the National Shrine of Saint Therese, a ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Juneau. Saint Therese is the patron saint of Alaska, and this site began some 80 years ago as a place of spiritual retreat and refuge.  There is a lovely stone chapel that sits on a small island jutting out into Favorite Channel and is connected by a permanent causeway.  It is quite the idyllic setting, and I can understand why folks come for a spiritual retreat. 

Japanese Butterbur

Just past the shrine is the Juneau-Olson Arboretum.  The arboretum was a gift to the City of Juneau from Caroline Jensen who was a local master gardener.  Located on about 14 acres next to Pearl Harbor on the Inside Passage, it's home to a nationally-accredited collection of primrose.  They have several species rarely seen in other parts of the United States.

We drove out all the way to Echo Cove and we were driving through lush forest, surrounded by snow-capped mountains on one side and spectacular views of the inside passage and the Chilkat mountains on the other side.  After our initial bout of rain when we first arrived, we've been blessed with abundant sunshine and blue skies.  Plus, with the midnight sun we've been experiencing, we have this awesome scenery most of the day.

Alas, we've reached end of the road of our trip as well.  The past two and a half weeks have been wonderful.  A much-needed, soothing tonic to our recent stresses and an incredible first trip post-covid.  It will not be our only trip to the Last Frontier.

What a Fluke!

When we originally planned our Alaska vacation, we had scheduled a day trip to see bears on Admiralty Island while we were in Juneau.  The weather (and the bears) were uncooperative so we ended up canceling and instead scheduled a whale watching and wildlife excursion.  That was definitely the right call.

Our trip left from Auke Bay about a 20 minute drive from downtown and we headed north into the inside passage. Captain Chris and Naturalist Troy led us on a four hour journey where we saw about 8 or 9 different humpback whales, including a mother and her calf swimming side by side.  Many of the whales return year after year, dividing their time between Alaska and Hawaii.  How do they know this?  The coloring of a whale's tail -- its fluke -- is unique to each whale, much like a fingerprint. They have photographic evidence of these same whales returning each summer.

There's a registry that scientists use to study the whales and they even give them names.  The two returnees we know we saw by their flukes were Sasha and Flame.  Flame was the mother with her calf.  In addition to all of the whales, we also saw Steller sea lions and harbor seals.  And eagles of course.  Lots of eagles and other sea birds.

Steller sea lions

Bald eagle

Harbor seals

We've done a few other whale watching tours, but this will likely be our last as it was so incredible to see so many whales that it would be difficult to replicate.  We even saw two different breaches where the whales came completely out of the water.  Humpbacks don't often do this, especially in Alaska, and to see two in the same trip was amazing.  Even Chris and Troy were awed and impressed as that's something they don't normally see and they do this for a living.  Breaches are so unexpected and so sudden that we were not able to get any pictures, but that won't diminish our memories of the experience.

Mendenhall Glacier

Juneau is considered to be in a temporate rainforest so it gets lots and lots and lots and lots of rain.  When we arrived, between the rain and low clouds you couldn't see the mountains or much of anything else.  Today has been quite the opposite - fabulous weather with lots of sunshine and blue skies.  We also realized that in addition to all of the eagles, we can see Mendenhall Glacier from our Airbnb.  Win - Win!

Nuggett Falls

Mendenhall Glacier is very accessible.  It's within the Tongass National Forest, and normally attracts busloads of cruise ship passengers.  However, the cruise ships have yet to return because of COVID, so we've been enjoying all of the sites with much smaller crowds.  The glacier was no exception.

As with all of the other glaciers we've seen, they have been dramatically receding due to global warming.  We hiked out to Nugget Falls, a dramatic waterfall that plunges into Mendenhall Lake which is fed by the glacier.  Twenty years ago, you could take a great picture that captured both the falls and the glacier.  Now, you only see the very tail end of the toe of the glacier from this vantage point and not much else.

The view from our Airbnb

Both are tremendous sites to behold; however, it's a shame that this glacier could all but disappear from view in my lifetime. 

Juneau's Eagles

We're now in Juneau where we will spend the last few days of our Alaskan adventure. Juneau is the capital of Alaska and the only way to get here is by boat or plane.  You can't actually drive to get here as there are mountains on one side and water on the other.  I think that's one of the reasons it's popular with cruise ships.  It's been the capital since before Alaska became the 49th state in 1959, but I wonder why that's so since it is remote and not centrally located.  We met several Alaskans in Anchorage who have never been to Juneau, in part I think because you can't drive here.  That, and it's really not much bigger than a small town.  The population is only about 33,000 making it one of the smallest capital cities.

We're staying in an Airbnb that overlooks the Gastineau Channel.  We're actually on Douglas Island which is across the channel from downtown Juneau, the airport, and Mendenhall Glacier.  It's still a part of Juneau but not in the center of the the city.  The Gastineau Channel is impacted by the tide cycle and can vary as much as 20 feet between low and high tides.  When it's low tide, a lot of marshy land and even grassy areas are exposed that you don't even realize are there during high tide.  It is a hotspot for birds, including both golden and bald eagles.

The birds are out in force during low tide hunting and competing with each other for food.  We've had bald eagles not even 20 feet from our balcony as they swoop down for fish and other things while hunting for their next meal.  It's been awesome to watch and has given me the chance to take some incredible photos. 

It's only day one here, so we may become avid birders before the end of the week.

Anchorage

Anchorage is Alaska's largest city by far and the business and economic center of the state.  However, it is not the capital.  Juneau holds that distinction and we'll be heading there next.  Today was just a relaxing day of exploring and experiencing the city like a local.  Here's our day in pictures:

Seeing Denali in full view from the Flattop Hiking Trail in Chugach State Park.

Eating a reindeer sausage dog which, given the proliferation of vendors selling them, is apparently a staple of Alaskan cuisine.

Enjoying the views from the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail -- almost 20 miles of paved bike paths that stretch along the Cook Inlet from downtown to past the International Airport. You can stand at the end at the end of one of the runways and watch jets take off and land.  Very cool.  We saw both 747s and 777s while we were there.  You also get great views of downtown with the Chugach Mountains in the background.

Enjoying the local flavors at the Anchorage Cider House.

We capped off our day with a visit to Moose's Tooth Pizza and Pub.  Everyone said this was the best pizza in the city hands-down.  They were right.  The wait to get in was an hour.  Our pizza was fantastic.  So fantastic we forgot to take a picture.  But here's one of the empty plates.  It has their logo.

Out and About in Homer

Homer is the southernmost point on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, with Cook Inlet on one side and Kachemak Bay on the other.  This has been a great place to stay, not only for its proximity to Katmai, but the town itself is an eclectic mix of shops and art galleries as well as the harbor, deep sea fishing, and other maritime activities.  And the views!  We get to stare at snow-capped mountains and glaciers across Kachemak Bay.  Not too shabby.

Homer Spit

One of the defining features of the town that most people know about is the Homer Spit.  The Spit is a finger of land jutting out about 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay.  It is a natural land formation created over time by either the retreat of glaciers or by the swells and currents of Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay.  Or maybe some of both.  Either way, it has been here for millennia.  The Spit is home to Homer's harbor where all of the fishing boats, charters, and water taxis come and go, as well as a hodgepodge of shops, restaurants, and lodging.  Definitely the center of activity although far from the center of town.

Grilling with a view

Our AirBnb in Homer has given us such wonderful views of the town, Kachemak Bay, and the mountains beyond.  Even when it's been raining, the views are still fabulous.  Homer also has abundant wildlife.  We encountered a pair of sandhill cranes as well as a nesting pair of bald eagles.  We know moose roam the area as well but didn't see any while we were here.

It's our final morning here.  One more drive around town to soak in the wonderful views before heading back up to Anchorage.

Sandhill Crane

Katmai National Park

Bears.  Bears catching salmon. Bears with cubs.  Bears walking right in front of us. Did I mention bears?

Seeing the bears standing atop Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, catching salmon as they fly out of the water on their annual spawning run upstream, has been on the bucket list for a long time.  We're so blessed and happy to be able to cross this off this list.

Katmai National Park is remote.  It is on the southwestern peninsula just before the start of the Aleutian Islands chain.  It is mountainous and rugged.  The only way to get there is via float plane.  We took a day trip from Homer and were treated to up close and personal views of the snow-capped mountain peaks.  We threaded the needle of flying between the mountains and over the valleys to reach Naknek Lake. We landed a little after 10:30am and would have about five hours to view the falls and just wander on our own.

Brooks Falls is a wide but short waterfall on the Brooks River.  The Brooks River itself is very short, only flowing between Brooks Lake and Naknek Lake.  At most, it's maybe two miles long.  Every July, salmon began their spawning run upstream and have to fly out of the water in order to make it over the falls. The more adept bears have learned they can stand at the top of the falls and the fish will come to them.  It is quite the sight to see.  Talk about practicing patience.  We watched bears standing with their eyes gazed at the water for sometimes 15 or 20 minutes at a time waiting to grab their salmon snack out of the water.

It is important to note these bears are NOT tame. They remain very much the wild animals they are. The National Park Service has done an outstanding job of maintaining a consistent, non-threatening co-existence with humans.  They have constructed two great viewing platforms that look out over the falls and the river to safely observe. The bears have learned we are not threatening and tend to ignore us.  

Everyone must have a brief bear safety lecture before you're allowed out into the park.  Bears use the same paths that we humans use in the park and one of the cardinal rules is that bears have the right of way. We encountered bears three times on our trail as we walked out and back to the viewing platforms.  When we see a bear, we stop and allow it to go its own way.  If that way happens to be towards us, we step off the trail and let it pass.  You're supposed to maintain a distance of 50 yards, but on the trail, that's not always possible.  The park rangers are very serious about bear safety and not altering their environment. Another great example of this is that you re not allowed to bring any food with you inside the park.  You eat before you come and if you do have food in your backpack, you can eat it at the designated spot at the visitor center.  Otherwise, you must check it into the food storage locker and pick it up when you leave.  They don't want the bears to see humans as an easy source of food.

Because of the size limitation of the viewing platform at Brooks Falls, you have to sign up on a list and wait your turn to go out there, and you're limited to 30 minutes. Fortunately, we were able to get out onto the falls platform twice during our trip. The other platforms don't have this restriction, but they also don't have the up close view of the falls.

We probably saw close to two dozen different bears during our time at Katmai.  I took way too many pictures while we were here and I need time to go through them all -- especially all of the video that Mona took -- but here are a few.  

It was both an incredible and humbling experience to be in such an amazing place with these amazing creatures.  So thankful to have experienced it.

Halibut Cove

We've made it to Homer, we haven't even unpacked our bags, and we're off to catch a ferry to go across Kachemak Bay to Halibut Cove.  My high school friend Christy, whose husband is from Alaska and spends her summers here, recommended we dine at The Saltry restaurant as it's one of her favorites.  I now know why. Dinner was outstanding.

Halibut Cove has fewer than 50 year round residents and maybe about 200 during the summer.  The Saltry is only open three months out of the year, but it is one of those destination restaurants that people want to dine at, so business is brisk all summer long. 

We were blessed with abundant sunshine at the cove during our time there (although I know it looks cloudy) and it was like scenes from a movie. Everywhere we looked was picturesque.  Unfortunately, we won't be able to come back while we're here; however, it will be near the top of the list when we come back to Alaska.  

Driving the Kenai Peninsula

After enjoying the Mt. Marathon race and a nice dinner at the Seward Brewing Company, it's now moving day. We're driving from one end of the Kenai peninsula to the other.  Our home for the next three nights will be the town of Homer on the western tip.  Before leaving, we took a few photos of all of the murals in town.  Seward bills itself as the mural capital of Alaska.  A great demonstration of public art and how to liven up the community

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We made a couple of stops along the way at Kenai Lake and Cooper Landing and drove the Skilak Lake Road in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  We were hoping to spot some moose or bear, but no such luck.  We were treated to some awesome views and scenery.

Russian Orthodox Church

We made a final stop in the City of Kenai to see the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church.  It dates to the 1890's and is the oldest Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska.

We have an AirBnB in Homer so looking forward to cooking some meals and getting some laundry done for the 2nd half of our trip.

Olympic Fever

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo will be held later this month and Seward's own Lydia Jacoby, a 17 year-old swimmer will be a part of the team.  She's the first swimmer from Alaska to make the Olympic team.  We've seen these signs all over town.  To say they're proud would be a gross understatement.  She had the second-fastest time in the world this year in the 100-meter breaststroke meaning she'll be in the hunt for a medal.  Probably a good reason she missed yesterday's Mt. Marathon Race after having participated the last four years.  We'll be cheering for her too.

Mt. Marathon "Marathon"

Mt. Marathon is one of several mountains that surround Seward.  There's a trail up to the summit which starts right from downtown.  Every year on the 4th of July there's a race to the top of Mt. Marathon and back down.  It's not actually a marathon, but it's slightly longer than a 5K.  Runners from around Alaska and across the United States vie for one of the limited spots in the race each year.  This year was the 93rd running of the race, and because of the ongoing pandemic, the race was moved to July 7th in the middle of the week to limit the crowd size.  That's fortuitous for us as we had no idea the race would be taking place since we weren't here on the 4th.

Why is there such a race in the first place?  From the race website:

According to folklore....the tradition of the Mount Marathon Race began when two sourdoughs argued about the possibility of climbing and descending the mountain in less than an hour.  "Impossible" one said.  To settle the argument, and the resulting wager, a race was held, with the loser to furnish drinks to the crowd.  Enterprising merchants put up a suit of clothes and other attractions for the winner and proposed the race take place on a holiday - why not the 4th of July?  The optimistic sourdough lost his bet.  The winning racer took one hour and two minutes.

**A sourdough is the term used to refer to an Alaskan who has lived here "for several winters," i.e., a long time

So essentially the race is the result of a bar bet.  This is small town Americana at its best.  The whole town comes out to cheer the racers on, and it's now celebrated as a multi-day festival.  The all-time record winning time for men is 41:26 and for women is 47:48.  Basically about 30-35 minutes up the mountain (3,022 foot elevation) and about 10-12 minutes down.

After watching runners slip on the mountain and come down covered in mud from falls, I'll stick to being a spectator.

Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield Trail

After our Denali adventures and a night spent in Anchorage, we've headed south to the Kenai Peninsula.  We've now landed in Seward for three nights.  Top of our list of things to do while we're here is visit Kenai Fjords National Park and hike the Harding Icefield Trail.

Kenai Fjords National Park has over 40 glaciers all fed from the Harding Icefield.  The Icefield is over 1,100 square miles and caps the Kenai Mountains.  Exit Glacier is the most accessible of the glaciers as you can drive out to the visitor center and walk a mile to the observation area near its toe.  Alas, the glaciers are receding at a fairly fast pace.  There are signs as you drive in showing you various years that mark how far out the glacier used to come from the Icefield.   It's quite sobering to drive and walk past these signs and realize the receding of Exit Glacier can be measured in miles.

Seward and this portion of the Kenai Peninsula are considered to be a temperate rainforest climate.  It's quite the juxtaposition of seeing a glacier next to dense, tropical-style vegetation as you walk out to the glacier and hike the trails.  

The Harding Icefield trail is a four mile one-way trail (eight miles round trip) that gains about 3,300 feet in elevation as you go up the trail.  There are basically three lookout points -- Marmot Meadows, Top of the Cliffs, and End of the Trail.  We decided to stop at Top of the Cliffs, mainly because the trail above that area still had lots of ice and snow and we could see folks slipping and sliding trying to navigate that portion of the trail.  While we missed seeing the vast expanse of the Icefield itself, we were still treated to incredible views of the glacier and the edge of the Icefield.  The trail goes though a lush, dense forested area, across a cascading waterfall, before you begin the steep ascent.  You then enter an area of ground brush before climbing into the tundra and minimal vegetation.

The ice appears Blue

With a guide and the proper permits, you can actually hike on the glacier itself.  We did a glacier hike many years ago in our 30s and now that we're not in our 30s, we thought we'd just stick with the traditional hike.  We loved the combination of hiking through the forest before opening up to cliffs overlooking the glacier.  It rains a lot in Seward, but we were fortunate to have no rain and an overcast morning only to be greeted with full sun and clearing skies in the afternoon.  Sections of the ice appeared blue and when the sun came out, it really made the glacier sparkle.

Hikers out on the glacier

No wildlife sightings on this hike, but the views were breathtaking.  Our legs will be sore tomorrow but I'm not complaining.  Another fabulous Alaskan day.