Sherry and Rob spent an amazing 10 days in Alaska, mostly in the Kenai Peninsula and Lake Clark National Park. This is how it all unfolded.
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travel to Anchorage | Photos |
| Travel to Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC), Anchorage, AK We travelled on American Airlines, you can book with whom ever | aa.com | |
| Lodging: Holiday Inn Express, 4411 Spenard Drive | Holiday Inn Express | |
| Airport transport: Hotel shuttle | ||
| Rental Car: Turo | Turo | |
| Dinner: Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse | Humpy’s | |
| Drove around the Earthquake Park area on Northern Lights Blvd. around to Point Woronzof Overlook |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Brooks Falls Bear Watching, Katmai National Park | Photos |
| Breakfast: Hotel | ||
| 8:00am Travel to Brooks Falls with Katmai Air, booked through Bristol Adventures Private plane ride to King Salmon, transfer to float plane to travel to Brooks Falls visitors center | Bristol Adventures | |
| 10:30am Attend bear school (safety training) | ||
| 10:45am Hike to the falls | ||
| 2:45pm Hike back to the visitors center, ate some snacks | ||
| 4:00pm Float Plane back to King Salmon, Private plane back to Anchorage | ||
| 7:00pm Dinner: The Bear Paw Bar & Grill | Bear Paw | |
| Picked up bug repellant, other supplies for the week that we didn’t want to fly with. |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Travel to Soldotna, site seeing | Photos |
| Breakfast: Hotel | ||
| 9:00am Alaska Zoo | Alaska Zoo | |
| 12:00pm Drive to Girdwood, AK Stopped at multiple scenic stops along the way | ||
| 1:30pm Lunch | ||
| 2:30pm Depart for Anchor Point to find eagles, stopping at scenic stops along the way | ||
| 5:30pm Arrive at Anchor Point… No eagles. Drive to Ninilchik and the Russian Orthodox Church, where some eagles were reported. Found one! | ||
| 6:30 Leave for Soldonta, AK. Stopped several times to photograph a Rainbow | ||
| 7:00 Check into the Aspen Hotel, Soldonta, AK | Aspen Hotel | |
| 7:30 Dinner: Pizza Boys | Pizza Boys |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Glacier/Wildlife Cruise out of Seward | Photos |
| 5:00am Leave for Seward Note: several construction areas added enough delay that it changed out breakfast plans for the day | ||
| 7:15am Stop at the Safeway Grocery to pick up dramamine (which we forgot at the hotel), and a couple of light items for breakfast | ||
| 7:30am Arrive at the docs. $5 / day to park | ||
| 8:00am Depart from Seward Harbor with Seward Ocean Excursions for a 6-hour glacier and wildlife cruise. Water provided. Captain Calley was awesome! Don’t forget to tip! | Seward Ocean Excursions | |
| 2:00pm Arrived back at the dock | ||
| 2:15pm Lunch at Firebrand BBQ | Firebrand BBQ | |
| 2:45pm Drive to Kenai | ||
| 6:00pm Dinner at Playa-azul | Playa-azul | |
| 7:00pm Drive to Soldotna (15 min) |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Half-Day silver salmon fishing trip on the Kenai River | |
| 10:30am Brunch at Gingers picked up some rain pants at an outfitter in the same building | Gingers | |
| 12:00pm Drive to Eagle Rock Boat Launch | Eagle Rock Boat Launch | |
| 12:30pm Half-day Fishing trip with King of the River | King of the River | |
| 5:30pm Drive to Soldotna | ||
| 6:00pm Dinner at Dinner’s Ready | Dinner’s Ready | |
| 7:00pm Laundry (Note: we have a weight limit on the flights to Lake Clark, so we brought minimal clothing with us) |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Bear Viewing, Alaska Homestead Lodge, Lake Clark National Park | Photos |
| 7:45am Check out of the hotel | ||
| 8:00am Breakfast: Buckets Sports Grill | Buckets | |
| 9:00am Fly to Lake Clark with Natron Air (booked through the lodge) Three hour weather delay | ||
| 12:30pm Arrive at Alaska Homestead Lodge | AHL | |
| 1:00pm Lunch, 6:00pm Dinner, hunting bears the rest of the time The typical day is to go out before breakfast, then breakfast at the lodge, morning trip out, lunch, afternoon trip out, dinner, evening trip out, retire. |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Bear Viewing + Boat trip to Puffin Island, Alaska Homestead Lodge, Lake Clark National Park | Photos |
| Today was a normal agenda, but instead of the morning excursion to find bears, many of us chose to take a boat trip to Puffin (actual name Duck) Island to photograph puffins before they migrate for the season. Back to the lodge in time for lunch. |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Bear Viewing Alaska Homestead Lodge, Lake Clark National Park | Photos |
| Today was a normal bear viewing agenda |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Depart lodge and return to Anchorage | Photos |
| 6:45am Last bear viewing trip | ||
| 8:00am Breakfast at the lodge, out of rooms before breakfast | ||
| 11:00am Fly to Soldotna with Natron Air (we were on the second flight for the day) | ||
| 11:30am Drive to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center stopping for landscape photos along the way | ||
| 2:00pm Visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center | AWCC | |
| 4:00pm Lunch/Dinner: Turnagian Arm Pit BBQ | Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ | |
| 5:00pm Drive to Anchorage and drop off the rental | ||
| 5:30pm Check in to the Hotel — Holiday Inn Express, 4411 Spenard Dr. | Holiday Inn Express |
| Day | Description | Website |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Return home | |
| 4:15am Hotel Shuttle to the airport Breakfast at the airport (McDonalds) | ||
| 5:45am Fly to DWF Three hour layover Lunch: Papasitas, Terminal C 11:00pm Arrive home |