2012 July 6-20 Alaska Land and Cruise Adventure Review with LOTS of photos!

[WalleyeLJ]

Car packed up, we finally took some shots of the Rangeview B&B before we left. Kathy & Dennis were terrific hosts with for us, a great concept. Trip Advisor won't let us post reviews for them because they only have one bedroom (TA requires the establishment to have at least two bedrooms available for multiple guests). They were warm, friendly, full of knowledge and suggestions, yet unobtrusive. The space was great for one or two people looking for both space and privacy.

 

 

 

Living room area front left as you walk through the door

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dining area/work table to the right as you walk through the door

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchenette area

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bathroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bedroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communications Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Our last stop in Homer was at the Two Sisters Espresso Bakery. Hidden on a side street down near the bay, the bakery was located in what appeared to originally be a two story single family home. When we pulled up, you couldn't find a parking space - it was packed - with good reason!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside - full house - it looked like the floor of the NY stock exchange!

 

 

 

 

 

 

While most food in Alaska is pretty pricey compared to back home in NC, we ended up with 6 items (yes...6) and a large coffee for $21! Chocolate bread, cookies, muffins and more. It was all delicious! We understood right away why the Two Sisters had such a great reputation.

 

 

Fueled up with great coffee and great food, we headed towards Soldotna!

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

The Pacific Ring of Fire!

 

 

On our way out of town, we stopped one last time to look back on Homer...

 

 

 

 

 

Checking out the opposite end of the Homer overlook/rest area, a huge mountain loomed in the distance. We didn't see it previously do to constant cloud cover over that part of the Cook Inlet, even when the weather was clear in Homer. It was our first glimpse of the volcano Mt. Iliamna! I know it wasn't Denali (we never saw it when we visited in 2009), but for me it felt like it!

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing on down the Sterling Highway, we were able to view not only Mt. Iliamna, but infamous (at least in 2009) Mt. Redoubt as well! Here are two shots from our second photo stop.

 

 

 

Mt. Redoubt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt. Iliamna

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made one more pit stop a bit further down the road, which offered not only a pretty field in the foreground, but several pairs of eagles that flew by while we were checking out the volcanoes. The other cool thing was that a local woman who had stopped by pointed out that on the upper right slope of My. Iliamna, what looked like a small cloud at first glance was actually a volcanic vent releasing steam! She said the volcano had become active about 12 hours before. As far away as we were, it was awesome to see our first ever volcanic activity!!!

 

 

 

Redoubt 2.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angry(?) Iliamna

 

 

 

 

 

Bev was rightly getting stressed about getting to Talon Air in Soldotna in time for our flight, so after this, no more stops until Soldotna! Fortunately there apparently were not any Alaska State Troopers on our stretch of the highway, and we managed to arrive for our 11:30am at...11:30am on the dot thanks to Bev's steady hand and lead foot!

 

 

 

L.J.

[NoobCruise]

The Pacific Ring of Fire!

 

 

On our way out of town, we stopped one last time to look back on Homer...

 

 

 

 

 

Checking out the opposite end of the Homer overlook/rest area, a huge mountain loomed in the distance. We didn't see it previously do to constant cloud cover over that part of the Cook Inlet, even when the weather was clear in Homer. It was our first glimpse of the volcano Mt. Iliamna! I know it wasn't Denali (we never saw it when we visited in 2009), but for me it felt like it!

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing on down the Sterling Highway, we were able to view not only Mt. Iliamna, but infamous (at least in 2009) Mt. Redoubt as well! Here are two shots from our second photo stop.

 

 

 

Mt. Redoubt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt. Iliamna

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made one more pit stop a bit further down the road, which offered not only a pretty field in the foreground, but several pairs of eagles that flew by while we were checking out the volcanoes. The other cool thing was that a local woman who had stopped by pointed out that on the upper right slope of My. Iliamna, what looked like a small cloud at first glance was actually a volcanic vent releasing steam! She said the volcano had become active about 12 hours before. As far away as we were, it was awesome to see our first ever volcanic activity!!!

 

 

 

Redoubt 2.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angry(?) Iliamna

 

 

 

 

 

Bev was rightly getting stressed about getting to Talon Air in Soldotna in time for our flight, so after this, no more stops until Soldotna! Fortunately there apparently were not any Alaska State Troopers on our stretch of the highway, and we managed to arrive for our 11:30am at...11:30am on the dot thanks to Bev's steady hand and lead foot!

 

 

 

L.J.

 

I bet the volcanic steam was exciting! I was in Seattle getting ready to head to the airport to fly home to California with my Dad when Mt St Helens blew. Our plane had to fly way out of our flight plan to avoid the ash. I remember being a little embarrassed by my dad who was jumping around in excitement taking pictures out the window lol I was 11 and didn't quite understand the significance of it lol I have very fond memories now of my dad of those shared moments.

Edited August 9, 2012 by NoobCruise

[sue402001]

You really do take awesome pictures LJ. Love the pictures of the sun setting over Homer. The rainbow was an added bonus!

[T-Rox!]

These shots are breathtaking. I got chills looking at your cloud rainbow photo and can only imagine how you felt being able to witness (and capture for all of us) it in person. Your effort, skill, and ability to hold your water:D are all appreciated!

[LMZinSC]

L.J. - Thank you so much for taking to time to post this review. Your pictures are amazing! We have cruised to Alaska 3 times, but never had time for a land trip. We were considering going next year and this really makes me want to do it. DH thinks we will miss cruising, but I say no way. Not if we are seeing incredible things like this.

 

Looking forward to the next installment.

[WalleyeLJ]

I bet the volcanic steam was exciting! I was in Seattle getting ready to head to the airport to fly home to California with my Dad when Mt St Helens blew. Our plane had to fly way out of our flight plan to avoid the ash. I remember being a little embarrassed by my dad who was jumping around in excitement taking pictures out the window lol I was 11 and didn't quite understand the significance of it lol I have very fond memories now of my dad of those shared moments.

 

Not nearly as cool as the expereince you and your dad had, but it did help make it even more memorable than just the pure beauty of the moment.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

These shots are breathtaking. I got chills looking at your cloud rainbow photo and can only imagine how you felt being able to witness (and capture for all of us) it in person. Your effort, skill, and ability to hold your water:D are all appreciated!

 

LOL - thanks! It was definitely worth it. I hate how I drive myself into the ground when we vacation, but it's the times like that the make it all worth it!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

You really do take awesome pictures LJ. Love the pictures of the sun setting over Homer. The rainbow was an added bonus!

 

Thanks Sue! It was one of the best memories of the whole trip!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

L.J. - Thank you so much for taking to time to post this review. Your pictures are amazing! We have cruised to Alaska 3 times, but never had time for a land trip. We were considering going next year and this really makes me want to do it. DH thinks we will miss cruising, but I say no way. Not if we are seeing incredible things like this.

 

Looking forward to the next installment.

 

Lynn,

 

I'm watching my DVR recording of the USA/Japan Women's soccer match, so I may be late or may have to wait until tomorrow to post new:D!

 

As for the land tour, we had done 3.5 days in 2009, and it was much nicer having the full 7 this time. We loved the cruise portion too, but next time we go back it will likely be just to land tour. Either way you go, you win!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Having safely arrived at Talon Air, we packed up our gear and headed down to the float planes. This was to be our second bear viewing adventure of the trip, and a little different from the one two days before to Katmai. Whereas we took a small (tiny) wheeled Cessna and landed on a beach after 90 minute or so flight to Katmai, this was going to be a 30 minute or so flight in a much larger float plane across the Cook Inlet to a place called Wolverine Creek.

 

 

Our plane - the famous de Havilland Otter!

 

 

 

 

 

Bev getting ready to board the plane!

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of shots of the cockpit and the controls...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once there, we would transfer from the float plane into a small john boat/skiff for a short (less than 10 minute) run to the little bay Wolverine Creek empties into. Before that happened, however, we had a beautiful flight across the Cook Inlet! Here's a shot of the Inlet & Mt. Redoubt...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Once across the Inlet itself, there was a large coastal plain area, even more broad than the similar area along the Katmai coast, leading up to the base of the mountains, our final destination. Again it provided a wonderfully lush green landscapes, coupled with the amazing colors of the glacial fed rivers and streams, which took on a surreal milky grey color!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we landed, we were able to see the little marina that was set up on the marsh bog. The other 4 people that flew across with us were going fishing, so I was able to grab a shot of them before we got out of the plane and into our own boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was our turn, and we were off to hopefully see some bears!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Hopping into our boat, with our guide Rusty and a fellow bear watcher/photographer Steve, we motored our way across the lake towards Wolverine Cove/Creek. The weather was absolutely fabulous - probably the best day we had the whole trip. Snow & glacier capped mountains, lush green forests, and bright blue skies and cotton candy clouds - just perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our trusty guide Rusty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming up on Wolverine Cove...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fishing line...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, all we need is bears!

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

While we were there to see the bears, the vast majority of people were there to "fish" for Sockeye salmon. I say "fish", because Sockeyes won't feed when heading to spawn, so the means of fishing for them involves bare hooks, colorful floats and some split shot weights, which were used in combination to snag the fish - legally - hopefully. Foul hooked fish are released, with a limit of 3 fish per person. There were 10 or so boats on site, with 3-8 people in each boat. The boats were lined up in two rows, with the ones on the right side of the cove in the best fishing spot, with the unlucky anglers and the bear watchers in the left line/lane.

 

The fishing was fast and furious and very entertaining in its own right, so the good thing was in between bears, we wouldn't get bored. That said, we hadn't settled in but 5 minutes or so when we had our first bear appear! A Black bear, small in comparison to the Browns we were hoping to see as well, came into view from the thick brush on the left side of the creek, making its way down to the waterfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of these shots give you a good idea how close we were 25-50 feet at some points. Just remember that at least we were in boats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[RubyLee]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos and story. In the photos above, was the bear casting his nose about to smell the fish or was he anoyed?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[am-mc]

WOW - that is all I can say - I hope I can find an excursion in one of the ports that sees half as many bears as you did. You wouldnt know of a good bear viewing in one of the ports - do you?

 

All of your pictures are amazing - keep them coming!!!!!

[harry0]

LJ

Thanks for your review-I just wanted to let you know I anxiously await your next post.

We leave in 2 weeks for Anchorage then Seward for a few days and we are very excited.

Thanks again for taking us along your journey.

[WalleyeLJ]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos and story. In the photos above, was the bear casting his nose about to smell the fish or was he anoyed?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

It may have been trying to locate some source of food, but coupled with it's looking over it's shoulder upstream repeatedly, it seemed like it was trying to detect a Brown bear before it appeared and ran it off or worse. Plus, that's what Rusty told us:D! Seriously, though, that did seem to be the case.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

WOW - that is all I can say - I hope I can find an excursion in one of the ports that sees half as many bears as you did. You wouldnt know of a good bear viewing in one of the ports - do you?

 

All of your pictures are amazing - keep them coming!!!!!

 

Hey am-mc,

 

Since you are going in July next year, your bet bet would be to check on bear viewing trips out of Ketchikan. Anan Creek should be a really good option then. It seems like the majority of bears there are black bears, but like Wolverine Creek there are Browns there too. There is a popular bear watch excursion on Icy Straight Point, but it seems a bit more hit or miss.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

LJ

Thanks for your review-I just wanted to let you know I anxiously await your next post.

We leave in 2 weeks for Anchorage then Seward for a few days and we are very excited.

Thanks again for taking us along your journey.

 

Thanks Harry! We really enjoyed our time in Anchorage and Seward. I'll be covering them both a bit the next few days - once we get through the bears! Have a great trip!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Here's a few more shots of our first black bear of the day. He spent a lot of time sniffing along the water's edge. Rusty explained that while the back bears would catch live fish on occasion, there spent much more time scavenging rather than hunting.

 

 

 

Check out my paws...and claws!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for scraps it tiring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that trouble coming?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographer fishing with bears!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to go...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What comes next???

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

In between bear visits, the fishing was fast, furious and highly entertaining. Watching someone hook one of the explosive sockeyes and seeing it, and them, do a 360 around the boat in a matter of seconds was fantastic fun. The best fishing moment of the day was the boat where 3 people all hooked up at the same time - talk about a three ring circus! Since we we just watching for bears and not fishing ourselves, Rusty spent the afternoon fishing while we held cameras at the ready. Here are some of the shots of the people - and the fish - that keep us in stitches all afternoon!

 

 

 

Rusty with a freshly caught Sockeye

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fish clubs were flying all afternoon. It sound like we were at a softball or baseball game at times...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feisty fish fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sockeye can...jump! jump!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our float plane mate Kay - out fishing all the men in her boat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up - our first Brownie of the day!

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

After a bit of time, we spotted what our first little bear was so worried about - a beautiful Brown sliding out of the shadows to sneak attach the salmon stacked up at the creek mouth, hoping to catch a tasty morsel!

 

 

 

Attack!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No luck this time...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scoping out the possibilities...

 

 

 

 

 

 

While not successful this time, our intrepid bear was to return and try again repeatedly during the afternoon...

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

After a bit of a break watching the fishing action, we had another Brown bear appear - a female, but bigger than the young male that had visited earlier. Like the male, she made her way to the water pretty quickly, and pounced on the pool of fish in a flurry of splashing white water...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rats...no luck!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bears 0, Salmon 2...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the woods went the bear, to rest and regroup for her next attack...

 

 

L.J.