Drive to Skagway

The drive from Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory to our final Alaskan destination, Skagway, was spectacular. Best of all, we managed to cross the border back into Alaska without incident. (I was pretty convinced our passports were flagged after our last Alaskan border crossing- the border “crashing” event). Our Skagway “home” was a cabin at the Chilkoot Trail Outpost. The Outpost was down a 7 mile unpaved, narrow road with blind curves. Since it was a busy road, driving back and forth to town was quite an adventure. For some reason Dad is not a fan of “dangling over precipices”. It was well-worth the commute, though. While downtown Skagway was very touristy, Chilkott was a peaceful getaway. Four grizzlies were also in residence out there..and they never get old!

Gooney Bird

Passing through Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, we saw an airplane on a pedestal. A little investigation proved interesting. Civilians know the aircraft as a Douglas DC-3, the military designates it a C-47, and pilots everywhere affectionately call it a Gooney Bird. The Gooney Bird’s place in aviation history cannot be overstated. Though the total hours on the airframe of this aircraft (31,000 +/-) is unremarkable, it lived out most of its life as a bush plane, on wheels and skis, in the Yukon. Interested parties rescued this bird from going to the scrape yard, restored its appearance and turned it into a weather vane.

Beaver Creek, YT

Leaving Seward for Skagway, our plan was to drive to Tok, Alaska the first day, spend the night in Tok, then drive on to Skagway the following day. Having started earlier than usual, we found ourselves arriving in Tok early in the afternoon, leaving a LONG drive, with two border crossings, for the next day. Taking a chance, with serious reservations, we pushed on to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, hoping a place we had seen advertised, Buckshot Betty’s, would be at least tolerable. Besides having an additional two hours of driving under our belt we would also have one of the border crossings behind us. Beaver Creek is the western most community in Canada. Buckshot Betty’s turned out to be just fine. The restaurant had a varied menu and the little cabin we stayed in was well appointed and immaculate.

Hiking though wild flowers in Seward

Went for solo hikes in both Seward and Skagway. Nothing like being out in the “wilderness” alone to make you realize how small you are.

Paddling across Resurrection Bay

Spent another day in Seward on the water. Kayaked across Resurrection Bay in the morning, stopped on the beach of an uninhabited island for lunch and a hike, then sailed back to port. So good for the soul. I’m not sure which was more colorful..the scenery or our kayak guide and sailboat captain. Both were full of interesting stories. The captain had even lived with a native tribe in northern Alaska and helped them hunt whales. Not a job for wimps!

Northwestern Glacier

Our visit to Seward, Alaska was prompted by the recommendation of an on-line acquaintance who suggested we go to Seward and take the Northwestern Fjords Tour, in the Kenai Fjords National Park, if we did nothing else. As the date of the tour approached, I started having misgivings about being captive on a boat for nine hours and was wishing I had not committed to that tour.

The tour was all that it had been promised to be by the acquaintance and by the tour company. The boat was a purpose-built tour boat that was very comfortable in its accommodations and motion. It allowed excellent viewing, in every direction, of marine life and geological features either from within the climate-controlled cabin or from the deck.

Addie and I were initially more interested in the marine mammals than rocks and glaciers. It turned out that the rocks and glaciers were as fascinating as the critters. The captain of the tour boat, who had been doing that tour for twenty years, was great. The amount of information he provided along the way, undoubtedly carefully researched and scripted, was voluminous and entertaining. Wildlife was plentiful; we saw Orcas, Humpback Whales, Sea Otters, Seals, Sea Lions, Bald Eagles, Puffins and numerous other bird species. The tour’s climax was reaching the Northwestern Glacier. It is magnificent and the captain put the eighty-something foot boat within a boat length or two of the glacier and very slowly pinwheeled in place for thirty minutes so everyone could get all the pictures they wanted. Besides the awesome views in every direction, I thought that was an impressive bit of boat handling.

What I feared would be a too-long day, passed quickly and was over all to soon.

Only place in Kodiak where I would let Dad cross the road 🙂

Senior Crossing Sign

Rental Car

After one day of brown bear viewing and one day of kayaking, Addie and I spent two days riding around Kodiak Island. Actually, we covered all the road, paved and unpaved, on the island, some of it more than once. Several times we had to pass scary signs to proceed, but the locals paid no attention so we went ahead, too. Spectacular vistas were around every curve, wildflowers were blooming everywhere. Loving airplanes, especially old ones, and work boats, I could have spent days just photographing those subjects. We stumbled upon the Kodiak Launch Complex – the other cape, they say. Who knew? We had a little excitement when, approaching Fossil Beach, we started down a STEEP grade we should not have. Once begun, there was no turning back and the situation worsened when we reached a deep gully in the middle of the road that caused our rental car to bottom hard a number of times. We actually feared getting high-centered and being stuck there. Addie did a masterful job of driving back up the the hill, but I think she did say a bad word! We have been waiting to hear from the rental car company or their lawyer about the condition of the car we returned.

Paddling out to Womens Bay

Spent our 2nd day in Kodiak paddling across big water under the VERY watchful eye of our drill sergeant/guide, Wendy. Although quick to scold, she did an excellent job helping these loud lower-48ers sneak up on seals, otters, and puffins. It was Dad and my 1st attempt at paddling a tandem kayak, and after a lot of loud paddle clanking (and possibly some muttered bad words), we settled into a rhythm..and even made it back to shore without either of us swimming!

Grumman Widgeon on the water

Addie told you a little bit about the bears and included many pictures of some of the bears we saw. I will tell you a bit about the details of the bear viewing trip.

Harvey Flying Service of Kodiak was chosen partially based on a recommendation of friends of Joyce and mostly, I confess, because I wanted to fly in Steve Harvey’s beautiful 1943 Grumman Widgeon airplane.

Another major factor in choosing Harvey was that his bear guide, Jo Murphy, is reputed to be the best. Even though I had high expectations for Jo, her knowledge and competence exceeded them by any measure. That was appreciated when walking around in the bear’s environment, often quite close to bears, even mama grizzlies with cubs.

The flights to and from Katmai National Park and Preserve were a treat in themselves. Though I had flown in float planes a few times, flying in the old Widgeon was my first flight in an amphibian. The scenery was beautiful and Jo was able to provide a lot of interesting details about what we were viewing.

Once we arrived at Katmai, we got out of the plane in knee-deep water and waded ashore. We kept on hip boots for the duration of the excursion, as we waded across small rivers numerous times. After leaving the beach, we hiked into a meadow valley surrounded by mountains. The meadow, mountains and several visible glaciers were gorgeous.

On the return flight, we had a blond co-pilot that made me more nervous than the bears (see picture).