Coast International Hotel Anchorage

Last September, my passion for volcanoes incited me to visit Katmai in Alaska. In June 1912, a volcano – Mount Novarupta – erupted, generating a huge amount of ash and pumice that filled the Utak valley. The place was called "The Valley of the Ten Thousand Smokes" because of the countless fumaroles discovered by the first explorers.

Visiting Katmai National Park in Alaska is quite an ...

... I hate these overnight flights...)

Anchorage airport is interesting as it is a cargo jet haven. They must just stop to refuel from Asia - the cargo carriers here have been Eva Air, China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Asiana, UPS, Shanghai...none seem to empty any cargo...just park for an hour or two.

It's been a great trip...pictures will be on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmbell64/c ollections/72157622360839812/

... catch. The glaciers were awesome and as a whole breathtaking beauty all around.

On arriving at Whittier we went through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel which is 2.5 miles long and at the other end we popped out at Portage Lake where we had lunch and we were in luck and had another clear view of the glaciers although we had loads of knats hanging around.

Along the Turnagain Arm we looked out for the Beluga Whales and guess what ...

... of the road to wait until the highway opened.

We needed gas, so instead of waiting, we turned back north to fill up. Our Wagonmaster determined that because of the delay, we would miss our cruise and notified everyone to turn back and reschedule the events until tomorrow. As it turned out, the highway was closed for more than five hours.

These are the details from the local newspaper:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- It's happened again: Another ...

The last night at Alaska. No specific schedule, just shopping, and easy short drive to the berry farm to see the chocolate fountain. Our flight was like 1:28 a.m., so we got to the airport around 10 p.m. Finally, the night fell. I was so glad to see the night. My eyes felt comfortable. No wonder we all felt sore for the eyes, the sun's been shining all day long!

The Anchorage Fur Rendezvous in an annual Winter event that has been going on for about 75 years. The object is the World Championship Sled Dog Race . . .which is 3 days of 25 mile sprint races . .which are dogs that are trained totally ...

... It was raining again as we checked into our hotel next to the small boat harbor and we washed up for a nice fish dinner. The next day we took a boat tour of the Prince William Sound and the Columbia Glacier. We passed more bald eagles and saw cute sea otters lying on their backs nibbling on crustaceans. Years ago boats were able to cruise by the glacier wall, but warmer temperatures led to more ...

... smartwool socks I brought. I took a small solar shower thinking it would come in handy ... not! Since I'm not a big beer drinker, I took pepsi. I wish I had taken boxed wine instead; it lasted a long time and we had plenty to share with the rest of the camp (most nights anyway). The pepsi cans didn't hold up well; they were just too wimpy to make it in the drag bag long. Thanks for looking!

... Keystone Hotel and the Downtown B&B Inn) for you to choose from for a good night's sleep. Drive along scenic byways such as Alaska Marine Highway and Seaward Highway. Take a short visit at the Whittier port whose ferries ...

Monday, July 11 Today was another wonderful day spent enjoying Alaska's mountain beauty. We rode a bus about 30 miles down the Seward Highway to Portage Glacier where we got on a good sized boat and rode it (on Portage Lake) to the glacier. There were a number of icebergs floating in the water but we did not actually see any "calving" or ice breaking off the glacier while we were on the boat. There were several glaciers in view, but only one that ...