Alaska's Wilderness Place Lodge 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/

... full so we met them at the Snow Goose which was great. We had outdoor seating with a view of Mt McKinley.

Perfect!

The next day we just bummed around for a bit and went for a walk. We flew out at 20:30 to Denver going via Dallas. We missed our connection by minutes as the plane was still at the dock but made the next flight which was 2 hours later giving us time for breakfast. We arrived into Denver at 09:30 pretty tired!

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!

Finally, after two days' time-zone adjustment, we left SF airport before 8 p.m.
The flight was longer than expected, but the sight was interesting. Sun hovered above the cloud.
I could see small viliages amid mountains. A mid-age couple sat next to me. They're planning their trip ...

... exactly 12 midnight . . .and is a decent representation of how light it is at midnight. After that I drove out to the point past the airport (to cloudy for a decent photo in that direction). And realized on the drive back home that the city street lights come on about 12:15 am.













Jackie


Hope you enjoyed . . .



Jackie Whedbee

... were more dominant than the males (that's what I'm talking about). We then took off to see a Ulu Factory. A ulu is a type of knife the Alaskan's use a lot for chopping and fileting their fish. Afterwards we took off for a salmon run, which proved very disappointing. The only salmon there were a few dead ones, and a lot of small black fish swimming in the shallow waters. After our fish viewing, we decided to try the Anchorage ...

... information about the life and habits of Alaskan sea life. There's a pretty good section at the beginning that presents and even-handed look at how global warming is affecting Alaskan sea life, and how the balance of nature has been interrupted by certain changes but not others. The information presented showed that while some global warming scares are myths, or at least, unproven; many are having a very visible effect on the natural balance of life in Alaska. One of the best joys of a ...

... was soon to depart for Anchorage but immediately realized when I looked around me that I needed a baseball cap and some heavy duty moisture lotion. This crowd looked like they had waged and lost some rough battles against the savage elements of the Alaskan environment. I, however, was HOT. A few too many layers and above normal temperatures made for some steamy travel companions. Thanks to my buddy's advice I had scraped the long ...

... are beautiful but obviously the summer offers more fun day trips etc. For me the driving was better in the winter. There are very few people on the road and everyone is headed south (I passed maybe one person each hour). In the summer tourists traveling the route are often more focused on seeing moose and bear than driving which makes it difficult and dangerous. I would recommend driving it anytime you can. Check out the photos! -Pete