View from pkg lot waiting for tour to begin Bear gone fishin’ Nice outfit, huh? All suited up and ready to go Kenai River view from the raft How much fun can you have on a cloudy drizzly day in Alaska?  Plenty!  Carl and I went on a 3 hour scenic rafting trip from Cooper’s Landing to Jim’s Landing…a 14 mile winding route through the Chugach Mtns.  Cooper’s Landing was originally inhabited by gold prospectors in the mid-late 1800’s.  Now the community is best known for its sport fishing.  Speaking of fishing…we floated past the area along the Russian RiverRead More

Me sitting in the snow on top of Mt Alyeska!!!  Snowball fight in August!!!     SNOW….in August?!  You bet!  After riding the tram up 2300′ from the Alyeska Lodge to the upper terminal where skiers catch a ride to the tippy-top in the winter, we decided to hike up a trail for another mile to the SNOW!  This trail was fraught with single track switchbacks and pretty steep runs.  There were a few ‘stop and check the scenery’ moments…LOL  We actually had no idea that we would encounter snow when we started…we just heard the view from the topRead More

 Two stops we made this trip to Anchorage were the AK Aviation Museum and the AK Native Heritage Museum.  In Alaska, the sky is a major avenue for travel even within the state as a very small percentage of it is developed…passable paved roadways are at a premium.  Residents of Alaska fly like the rest of us drive!!!  Most people have their own little private planes actually sitting in their yards!  So, the history of air travel here and its function personally and commercially is quite important.  The museum provided a wonderful visual of the old and the current aircraftRead More

Fun display across from the depot “All aboard” View of train from the upper landing as we were riding along the Kenai River  What a splendid gift!!!  Carl and I were gifted a round trip ride on the RR with Gold Star Service (meals, adult beverages and ongoing commentary along the route!) So, first, let me say thank you to those responsible for making this trip possible!!!      THE TRAIN – I can’t say enough about how great it was from picking up tickets to prompt departure and arrival to the over all service from the supervisor, the bartenderRead More

Ptarmigan – Glacier Tour Boat Portage Glacier Turquoise Ice!!!  WOW!  Turquoise ice! Waterfalls hundreds of feet tall streaming down into a glacier fed pool!  That was what we got to see aboard the ‘Ptarmigan’ in Girdwood on the Kenai Peninsula.  What a splendid hour…we got within a couple hundred feet of the face of the Portage glacier…it was gorgeous!  There were icebergs bobbing in the cold waters around us.  This towering wall of ice is 6 miles long!  In addition to the extreme beauty of the experience, there was one fact that I learned from a staff member that trulyRead More

  Add caption Add caption What a full and fun day we spent in the city of Palmer.  The museum was part of the Midsummer Faire, so after Carl drove the Dodge touring car to the faire site, we helped Sherry set up.  Off we went with Joe and Joy to check out the two animal farms in the area…musk ox and reindeer!  We had seen a few reindeer during the Colony Days in Palmer, but I wanted MORE…lol  Not only did I see more, but I learned a lot more.  The reindeer grow a full set of very heavyRead More

     Talkeetna, about 1.5 hours north of where we are staying, was where we caught the Jet Boat.  It rained some on and off during our ride but it didn’t interfere too much with our experience and the boat had a closed cabin with huge sliding plexi-glass windows.  Denali wasn’t visible, but I know we will see it eventually! Rafting tour we passed on the river… looks a bit crowded to me…lol Our Jet Boat Just awesome flowers in the sky Our captain, Tommy The tour covered an area where three rivers converge…the Talkeetna, the Susitna and the Chulitna…allRead More

  I haven’t been in a 4th of July parade since I was 12 years old…not doing the math…lol  When Sherry asked us volunteers if we wanted to dress up and/or drive one of the museum vehicles…our eyes lit up…for different reasons!!!  I couldn’t wait to rummage through the closet filled with costumes from back in the day and Carl was chomping at the bit just thinking of getting the 1923 Dodge Brothers touring car on the road! “Well, what do you think?” Hooray!!!  It’s running!  Smoke and all!Go Carl!  You did it! Adding a little pizazz to the floatRead More

   There are many places in Alaska that we’ve been told you can spot eagles.  So far, we have not had much luck.  We did get wind that you can sometimes see them at the landfill looking for snacks! LOL However, you can’t get close enough to see them without binocs.  A local told us about a hiking trail nearby.  So off we went.  We climbed up several high hills yet we were still quite a distance from the landfill.  We did see probably 100 pigeons, a few blackbirds AND maybe 6 eagles.  With binocs we could see 3 matureRead More