Just back

[signora]

some of the highlights: we did the land portion on our own, which was great for us. Best: Kenai Fjords Boat Tour, really a tour seeking marine animals: absolutely fantastic. Saw orcas, a humpback, Stellar Sea Lions (which are highly endangered), eagles in fabulous places, rare Red-faced Cormorants, otters, seals, horned and tufted puffins, black and white murres lined up in nooks and crannies like penguins, and more. Outiside in the wind every layer I brought was essential, and most people stayed inside until the boat slowed down: that was our signal to rush outside as quickly as possible to see what our terrific captain was stopping for. Excellent calving at the Aialic (sp.) glacier we stopped at, and delicious salmon bake when we stopped at Fox Island. Only small complaint was that we didn't have time to walk along the beach at Fox Island since we stayed in for the Ranger presentation (which was excellent). To note: I was very impressed with all of the National Park Rangers we encountered along the way, as well as with the work they've done in Skagway and the fantastic and necessarily strict way they're running Denali.

 

Which brings me to one of my other bests: Denali, which was an unplanned jaunt 7 hours up from the Kenai. We stayed one night, long enough to get us onto the Tundra Wildnerness Tour which gave us a total of 7 hours in the Park. My husband got a fabulous movie of a she-bear, very close to the bus, which we hope to post on line. For me a caribou with gigantic antlers was an epiphany. We saw Denali 4 or 5 times: we were lucky to have a brilliantly sunlit day after they had had days of rain. I learned that much of Denali is sub-arctic desert and I was surprised how dry it was. A final treat: on the way back to Anchorage, I did a 3-point turn on the 65 mph hwy to see a female moose real close up, eating flowers--yes we have photos which again we'll try to post.

 

Still, after all these great things, my favorite place was the Yukon. Many parts of Alaska were too huge, too stark, for me to appreciate (but my husband found them beautiful). Our day in the Yukon was sunlit, and all the water on the lakes and waterfalls sparkled. Every turn in the road opened up a new vista or sight to see. I remember it with a smile. Thank you again Murray!

[cjnky]

Thanks for the great report. Now you have me REALLY anticipating!! :D

[photodoodle]

It sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to your photos, especially of the moose. That was the one animal I did not see during my Alaska trip. Bummer. Which tour company did you use for the Kenai Fjords trip?

[signora]

I believe it was just that: Kenai Fjords tour co. They did an excellent job. We had Captain Bob: gave us a lot of info, but not too much, and most importantly found the animals!