RV Date 290799
Got up early to get down to Portage. You board a train there over to Whittier. This train goes all of 11 miles and takes somewhere between 30 and 90 minutes to get there. It goes through tunnels and under the Portage Glacier. The drive down to Portage along the Cook Inlet is just gorgeous. The mountains come right down to the sea. Although we didn't see any, there are Beluga whales that spend lots of time here.
After we get off the train we board the boat - the Emerald Sea. She is 100 feet and can take 149 passengers. The entire top deck is for sightseeing and picture taking. The passenger deck is basically one big picture window where you can see everything out of the weather. The day is what we call a typical "Alaska" day - gray and drizzly. There have been lots of these since we got to Alaska.
We head out through Cook Inlet and across Prince William Sound to the Blackstone Glacier. As we approach we can see little icebergs everywhere. Clearly this glacier is calving a lot. Blackstone Glacier, as most are in this area, looks blue. It's because the snow is so compressed that the air has been forced out. The only light refraction that gets through is the strongest wave and that color looks blue. The captain turns off the boat and we sit quietly in front of this glacier. The sounds it makes are amazing. It moans and groans. Occasionally there is a sound like a gun shot. It's almost like a living thing. It doesn't calve too much so we go over to another glacier.
This glacier is slightly smaller but has lots more fissures on the face. Again the captain turns off the boat. We don't have to wait too long before a huge piece comes off and hits the water. Almost immediately another one calves. In just a short time we feel the wave that results. While here we see a Stellar sea lion hauled out on the rocks. This is an endangered species so we are lucky to see him.
This cruise includes a lunch and we share a table with a couple from Missouri. They live on Lake of the Ozarks and were telling us all the inside scoop about Branson. Any of you planning to go soon let us know and we'll tell you what to see and do.
On the way back the captain pointed out the "toothpick forest." These spruce trees just stand naked in the low area. He explained that during the 1964 earthquake the Prince William Sound coastline dropped as much as 8 inches. The resulting wave sent sea water way up into what are now swampy areas. The sea water killed the trees but also preserved them. So they stand there as witness to what mother nature can do.
After we get off the boat, we get back on the train to get back over to Portage to reclaim our RV. We head down to Cooper Landing for the night before going on down to Homer.
RV Date 300799
Got to Homer at the end of the Kenai Peninsula. Another beautiful drive following the Kenai River to Soldotna and then following Cook Inlet on down to Homer. The salmon are running so we must dodge fisherman every few feet on the river. We call this combat fishing as these guys (and gals) are standing shoulder to shoulder along every square inch of the river. We are not really tempted to stop as this is not our idea of fun.
In Homer we pull into the Oceanview RV Park which is literally right on the Inlet. They only have one spot left and we try to get into it. We finally succeed after bending up the wheel of Andi's bike which is on the back of the RV. But we have the best site in the park at the top of the hill with an unobstructed view. Many times we have been able to get the last spot in a park. That's because there are so many RV caravans that take up all the spaces. Most of these are 20 rigs or so strong. In the small towns the parks just aren't that big so the independent traveler sometimes has a real problem. We still wouldn't like to travel with one as they are on a set schedule and you end up spending your entire vacation with the same people.
We head down to get Mack on a halibut charter tomorrow and have dinner on top of the mountain overlooking the inlet and the mountains.
RV Date 310799
Andi wakes up with a cold. Luckily she hadn't planned on going on this fishing trip anyway but has to get up and take Mack.
Off he goes on the Puffin Lady for a fun day of fishing and sightseeing. Andi goes back to bed. What bliss!
She shows up to pick him up wanting to hear all his great fish stories. He didn't have many. He caught his two halibut almost right away and then was so seasick he stayed inside the cabin the rest of the day. There were whales playing in the water - no pictures. There were birds flying - no pictures. Not even any pictures of his fish! Poor guy!
The two halibut filleted down to about 10 pounds of fish which we look forward to eating this winter after having them vacuum frozen and mailed out. (Note to Mom and Dad: Packages of frozen fish coming your way. Please put in freezer till we get there!)
RV Date 020899
Just a lazy day yesterday sleeping in and enjoying the beautiful sights. Walked along the beach which has almost no sand but is very, very rocky. It is also very steep with lots of evidence of erosion and landslides. We wouldn't want to be anywhere around during a serious earthquake or a prolonged rainstorm.
Today drove back up to Anchorage. Another "Alaska" day where the clouds look like they have fallen down the mountainsides and are sitting right on top of the water.
Along the way we see lots of bald eagles flying and a mountain sheep eating right alongside the road.
If our mail comes in tonight, we'll be off to Valdez tomorrow. Mail did get here (Thanks, Mom!) and thanks to Liz Roodberg whose brother, Hollis, has let us use his house as a post office. I am sending this from the beautiful lodge of one of our favorite RV parks, the Anchorage RV Park. It is owned and operated by Alaskan natives and is beautifully done. They have two free modem ports here beside the crackling fire. All spaces have cable so Mack is able to catch the Woods/Duval golf match and this park has the most beautiful flowers. That is something quite common up here - the most gorgeous flowers. We guess it's because of the cool days and lots of sunshine. But it's something we definitely have enjoyed.
On to Valdez tomorrow!