Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula - Kayaks, Cranes and Kings
Sally
This month, Steve and I are checking off a big item on our life list. After years of planning and dreaming, we’ve finally reached Alaska! Even after just three weeks in this amazing state, I can happily say that the rumors are true—things are all done on a large scale here. The mountains tower over any we’ve seen before. The water is bluer, and icier, and it seems to go on forever. The pine forests are carpets of green, and the wildlife is everywhere. From the bald eagle that soared over our heads on the first day we arrived to last night’s bull moose, we’ve seen something incredible during every day of our visit.
We started our tour in Anchorage, thinking that would help us get our bearings and lay our plans for heading further afield. This is where the Iditarod Sled Dog Race starts every March, and I’ve already made Steve promise that we can come back here to watch it one day. Right now, however, snow is the farthest thing from our minds. It’s been in the high 60s lately, with beautifully clear skies—perfect for snapping photos of birds and local attractions.
We took a tour of the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, then I left Steve there to look at more planes while I went to the Museum of Art. They had amazing baskets and hand-made crafts by the Aleut, Tlingit, and Haida people—truly stunning. Another day I poked around town and did some gift shopping while Steve played golf at the Anchorage course. It struck me as so funny to think of him golfing in Alaska! But I suppose they play bridge and have book clubs here, too—I shouldn’t be so surprised.
It turns out that we’re just one month too late for the Alaska Renaissance Festival and the Solstice Celebration. But if we stay long enough into August, we can catch the Annual Silver Salmon Fishing Derby, which Steve is pretty excited about. In the meantime, we’re heading southwest to the Kenai Peninsula, because that’s where our friends told us to go for absolutely fantastic fishing. Kenai is 137 miles from Anchorage, and that’s considered nearby in this mammoth of a state!
Steve
Kenai is amazing. There’s no other word for it, really. The open water, the endless meadows, the forests, the sea—it’s all spectacular. After we’d soaked in the views, Sally and I caught the ferry early one morning to the Russian River so we could get a jump on salmon fishing. The river bank was a popular spot, but that didn’t stop us from getting our day’s catch. A silvery salmon, as long as Sally’s arm, chomped on my line after about two hours of fishing. How about that!
We processed and froze that fish, then went out for a hike on one of the Kenai River boardwalks, so Sally could try out her new bird-watching binoculars. Our fishing streak continued strong all week as we tried different spots: the Kenai River, Crooked Creek, the Ninilchik River (which Sally awarded “best name”), and the Anchor River. I have to admit that Sally became a pretty serious fisherwoman. After she caught her first twenty-pounder, she became just as fanatical about the mechanics of fishing as I am.
After that first week, we picked up camp and headed south, trailing around the Kenai Peninsula to Homer where a short 4 mile water taxi takes you to the magical world of "across the bay" as the locals say. Kachemak Bay is an extraordinary place to explore by kayak, since you can slip right up into the narrow little fjords, looking at sea otters and ocean-going birds. We even saw an orca-whale pod from a distance one day, blowing their spurts of water up into the air. Sally got a photo of one with its tail flipping up after a dive, just as if it had posed for the picture.
It was in Homer that we saw the fields full of sandhill cranes engaged in their spectacular mating dance. Sally saw a momma moose with this springs twins walking right through the local dime-store parking lot! Locals didn't even blink an eye, but did warn the tourists about keeping our distance. Apparently moose cause more injuries to people than bears. One day kayaking "across the bay" and we spotted more dall sheep that we could count high up on the mountain ridge. On a hike later that day we saw ptarmigan and something that looked like a weasel. The weasel turned out to be an ermine and both these critters are now wearing there summer camouflage of browns and tans, but just before the first snow fall they will change into there winter attire and turn completely white. Mother nature sure is amazing. Sally has started sketching the creatures we see and then making watercolor paintings of them, so we have a colorful little booklet full of the animals we’ve seen. Between you and me, she’s going to have a hard time getting me back to the lower forty-eight. At least until the snow starts flying!
Alaska's Aleutian Islands & the Marine Highway -Otters, Orcas and Bears - Oh My!
Sally
One of the things I love about RVing is the way you can change your route at the drop of a hat. Because we carry our home with us, Steve and I can head off on side trips any time we want. And we learned in a hurry that it pays to listen to other campers at RV parks and campgrounds along the way -- they're full of good tips on where to go and what to do.
This month we're taking an extended version of one of those side trips. After we spent July on the Kenai Peninsula, enjoying some of the best fishing and wildlife we've ever seen, we decided to head north to Alaska's amazing Aleutian Island chain. We started by visiting Kodiak, an island I was excited to see because it's so famous for its bears. And we saw so many bears there!
We took the ferry from the mainland to Kodiak Island, then to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge that covers about two-thirds of the island. And wow, is that a terrific place to see bears. We saw them hunting and eating, ambling around, and just sunning themselves, twitching their noses at the air. This is also an amazing place to go bird-watching. While Steve did some more fishing, I kept my binoculars pointed at the beach and the trees, watching the bald eagles soar above us, chasing off crows and calling out to their young.
It's a good thing we had a picnic lunch and plenty of snacks with us, because we spent a long time out on the trails, taking photos of bears. After a good night's sleep in the RV, we headed back to the town of Kodiak. Kodiak is a fun place to explore. Aside from cozy restaurants, we found galleries filled with art and baskets made by the Alutiiq people, descendants of the island's original inhabitants.
The Russian influence is also strong here. In the late 1700s, this was the capital of Russian America, as you can see by the ornate Russian Orthodox Church. We took a tour of the Baranov Museum and saw where they used to store the furs before they were shipped back to Russia. Even in the heart of summer, it's fun to imagine what it was like to live here year round in a time before TVs and cell phones.
It turns out that we’re just one month too late for the Alaska Renaissance Festival and the Solstice Celebration. But if we stay long enough into August, we can catch the Annual Silver Salmon Fishing Derby, which Steve is pretty excited about. In the meantime, we’re heading southwest to the Kenai Peninsula, because that’s where our friends told us to go for absolutely fantastic fishing. Kenai is 137 miles from Anchorage, and that’s considered nearby in this mammoth of a state!
From Kodiak, we took a ferry to Unalaska and Dutch Harbor and started exploring the Aleutian Archipelago in earnest.
Steve
The Aleutians are just amazing. This chain of islands stretches 1,000 miles away from the Alaskan mainland. 1,000 miles! I can't stop thinking about the early explorers, sailing from island to island, trading with the native peoples and looking for solid land. There are still active volcanoes in the Aleutians, and more rugged, rocky coastlines than you can count.
You'd think an island chain would be hard to explore in an RV, but Alaska makes it easy—at least in the summer. There are regular ferries from Unalaska to all the major ports, and a massive bridge connects Unalaska Island to Amaknak Island, where Dutch Harbor is located. Even with all the mountains and curving coastlines, it's easy to get around.
Unalaska shows its history on three levels—the very old native cultures, the Russian influence of the 1700s, and the World War II sites. Sally and I explored some Aleut villages together, learning about what it was like to live off the bounty of the sea in this harsh, northern climate. Even for Minnesotans like us, Alaskan winters count as downright cold!
Next, we toured the original Russian-American Company's fur trading building for a different take on "living off the sea". Then we split up for a day, and Sally went to see the oldest Russian church in the country while I went to Fort Schwatka and learned about the 19-day World War II battle our troops fought against the Japanese here in May 1943.
We had a great dinner that night of grilled salmon and Sally's homemade ice cream (she makes it in two coffee cans that we kick around the RV until it's all mixed up). The next day we went to Sitka Spruce Park and saw the six trees that were planted by the Russians in 1805. We hiked out to Uniktali Bay, watching for birds the whole way. Dramatic peaks like Mount Ballyhoo shot up like they were rising straight out of the ocean. Just breathtaking. If I had my way, I don't think we'd ever leave Alaska.
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Wild and Beautiful British Columbia
Sally
After our visit to Alaska, I thought British Columbia would seem tame -- but boy, was I ever wrong. The southwestern-most corner of Canada is thick with Native American heritage, deep forests, and some of the most incredible wild animals I've seen anywhere. From the bears we saw at Tweedsmuir Provincial Park to the sea birds off Stanley Park, I learned from our first day in this province to keep my binoculars with me at all times.
Other RV travelers we met in Alaska had told Steve and me about a great B.C. RV park, Whistler RV Park & Campgrounds that's set right outside the ski town of Whistler. I was excited to get there, but I wasn't prepared for the powerful beauty of the Whistler area. Two mountains dominate the skyline, Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain, both of which are famous for their winter skiing and summertime mountain biking and hiking.
Even in November, snow blanketed the mountainsides. In the lower elevations of Whistler Village, fly-fishing streams still flowed freely, but the crisp edge of winter was definitely in the air. We checked into our campsite, got all set up, then headed out to explore Whistler. The village is a charming collection of shops, fine restaurants, and cafes, mostly designed to look like a modern Swiss-Alpine village. They offer special bear-watching hikes and birding tours, but nearly everyone we saw was there to hit the slopes in one fashion or another. We saw kids with snowboards, grown-ups with skis, and plenty of inner tubes and snowshoes.
Whistler RV Park & Campgrounds is also near a place called Squamish that's famous for being the‚ outdoor capital of Canada.' Squamish literally has every outdoor activity you can think of. There's salmon and cutthroat trout fishing on the Mamquam, Cheakamus, Squamish, and Elaho Rivers, rock climbing, horseback riding, and white water kayaking on the Mamquam. The region is large and extends all the way to the coast, including the scuba-diving center of Porteau Cove. Steve and I will definitely be coming back to Squamish and Whistler in the summer. He's dying to try fishing those rivers!
Steve
B.C. is just my kind of place. I love this deep-forest terrain, and the evergreens make this an especially fun place to visit at the start of winter. Wherever the snow hasn't reached, it's green as far as the eye can see. Plus, the fishing here can't be beat.
Sally and I took a snowshoeing trek on Whistler Mountain, then spent another day cross-country skiing on the forest trails. Talk about a workout! There's nothing like hiking in snow to get a person warmed up from head to toe. Let me tell you, we earned our hot cocoa those nights. After all our exercise, I was glad to take things a little easier on our day trip to Vancouver.
Vancouver is more than just B.C.'s biggest city. It's also the city that's getting ready to host the winter Olympics in 2010, so there was a hustle and bustle on everywhere we went. Vancouver is bordered by water on three sides, so it has a surprising number of sandy beaches and pretty coastlines. And the fourth side is edged by the Coast Mountain Range, so there's plenty to look at. Sally really wanted to visit Stanley Park, a massive forested park that's full of long winding trails for walks or bike rides. We had a great time tooling around in the park, looking at the graceful trees and admiring the ocean views.
After we left our RV park, we headed even further south to Victoria, a small city on the coast that Sally was really excited to visit. Victoria is known as a little patch of England in Canada, and sure enough, it's full of tea shops and English-style pubs. We tried beef pasties there (I wasn't up for the steak and kidney pie) and wandered through all the shops and stores. Sally even found a kilt made of my grandfather's tartan, but I'm not ready to start wearing kilts either. Because it's November, we decided to put off our trip to Butchart Gardens until next summer, when we plan come back. They say you can take a hydroplane up from Seattle and be in Victoria in a matter of hours, so maybe we'll give that a try.
The Wild Washington Coast - Windswept Beaches, Waves and Whales
Steve
There's something about heading to a rough and blustery coast that fills my head with visions of shipwrecks, ocean storms, and old sailing legends. When Sally suggested we spend this month exploring the Washington coast, I knew I'd have plenty of time for starting off at the ocean waves, thinking about briny old sea captains and cresting whales. And with the fascinating Native American heritage of the Pacific Coast, I was sure we'd have a great time.
We started our adventure by crossing Puget Sound by ferry and heading north to Port Townsend, a town that's full of Victorian houses and sail boats, Moving west from there, we stopped off at the Sol Duck hot springs for a dip in the 90-degree pools. They don't get a lot of snow here, so even in December we were able to don our hiking boots and hike up to see the Sol Duc Falls and to take the Ancient Groves Nature Trail. Sally called for one more dip in the hot spring before we set out again. I think she's on the verge of getting hooked!
Neah Bay is set out on a windswept point that leans into the Pacific ocean and it's also the northwestern- most part of the contiguous United States. It's home to the Makah tribe, one of the few groups that's allowed to hunt whales using their traditional methods. We had a great time exploring the museum, learning about the ways these people have lived for centuries in harmony with nature.
From there, we headed south to Rialto Beach, which other RVers had raved about as the most beautiful beach on the Washington Coast. It sure was stunning, not just because it's an untouched sandy beach that stretches for miles, but also because craggy rock islands sit right off the coast, catching the waves with massive sprays.
We took a three-mile hike up the beach to a spot called Hole in the Wall, a gaping cavern that can only be passed through when the tide is low. When we were there, it was full of water rolling thruogh the gap, surging in and out of tidepools.
We camped in our RV right there at the beach so we could wake up early in the morning to explore the shore at low tide. December is known around here for its dramatic tides, so we set the alarm for an early hour and took our flashlights out to see what we could find. The waves were cresting much further out than they had during the day (I guessed about sixty feet or more), and we found tons of sand dollars, beach glass, and neat pieces of driftwood. Sally even found one of those Japanese blown glass balls!
Sally
After I found my beautiful green glass ball, I couldn't get enough of beach combing. Steve literally had to pull me off the beach so we could have breakfast. It's so fun on the coast. As long as I'm wrapped up tight in my raincoat, boots, and all-weather pants, I don't mind the wind and the occasional rain. Folks here don't seem to notice the rain at all, to be honest. They just go about their days as if it were bright and sunny out.
After we left Rialto Beach, we trailed south, stopping off at one viewpoint after another for picnic lunches or a cup of coffee. When our road turned inland, away from the coast, we took a side jaunt to the Hoh Rain Forest in the southern part of the Olympic National Park. This is the only temperate rain forest in the U.S., and it was as green as green could be. In the heart of the rain forest is Quinault Lake, a gorgeous blue lake with an old-fashioned lodge and a nice nature trail, which we took. Everything was covered with moss and ferns, almost like a fairyland. Of course, I also spotted plenty of slugs and snails.
We took one more side trip to Lake Crescent, a stunning bright blue alpine lake that's in the middle of towering mountains and forests. Steve really wants to have a cabin there one day. Just gorgeous!
After Lake Crescent, we headed back to the coast to Ocean Shores, a resort village that's on a huge stretch of sand flats. Ocean Shores has a long history of shipwrecks, and Steve loved reading all about the people and cargo that washed up there over the years. Ocean Shores is at the mouth of Grays Harbor, and one day we took a short ferry ride across to Westport, the town on the other side of the harbor, enjoying incredible views of the ocean. In the spring, this area is famous for its bird watching. Apparently, hundreds of thousands of migrating shorebirds stop at the Grays Harbor flats to feed and rest. We learned all about it at the Ocean Shores Interpretive Center.
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