Photography

We are heading out of Anchorage toward Denali. The drive is about 250 milles. We stopped at Talkeetna on the way up there. It is a small town which reminds me of Captiva Island. Many small shops and restaurants and more beer places. Not too much to see on the trip up there. When we got to Denali National Park we got our tickets and headed to our cabin at Ridgetop. It was just past Healy and was ONE MILE up a ridge. It was small cabin with no TV or radio. I was so sick I just went to bed. Hoppy went back to Denali and got me soup.

The next day we headed out to Denali for our bus trip into the park. We stopped and got Subway sandwiches before our trip and they were $9.50 each. It was a 66 mile trip which got us closer to Mt. McKinley. The day before they had 1 1/2 inches of snow. Our day was perfect weather and were were able to see carilou, moose, dall sheep and grizzy bears. We had a clear day and could see Mr. Mckinley perfectly. The tallest mountain in America.

That night when we got back to our cabin we found a radio. It was great to lisen to the TV news.

We headed back to Anchorage with nice weather. Our B & B is the nicest one yet. We can sit in the main room and see the mountains opposite Anchorage. We are heading out for a good meal tonight. I'm still sick but trying to get better before the flight.

Pictures will be up soon.

DAY 3

We got up and it was raining for the first day of the trip. We heard about the Earthquake when we were 150 miles out of Anchorage and we never felt anything.

As we headed South it got colder until we reached Homer and it was in the 40's.

Pros about the day: Got to see a small black bear near Skilak Lake turnoff. It was a good opportunity to get some photos.
Found a great fish stew at Cole Point Trading Company. The mostly are a shipper of fish but have a small area they serve food in.
Salty Dog Bar in Homer - Like Captain Tony's in Key West except freezing getting there.

Cons - Other than the bear the trip down was terrible. We stopped at a Glacier but it was so windy the rain stung when hit.

The towns of Kanai and Nikiski were not worth going out of the way unless you want to fish. A number of the better restaurants in Homer were closed for Monday.

Day 4

Clearing but still cold. Last night we stayed in a unique nautical themed B&B called Beach House B&B. A good place to stay. http://www.alaskabeachhouse.com/?gclid=CKenwJnJqZsCFRlcagodtAZ8DA
Went back down to the Spit to see if there were any commercial fisherman. They were having a very low tide so boats could not get out that were at the docks. We started the trek north to Anchorage for an overnight before leaving for Denali NOTE TO SELF - Don't ever stay at the G Street B&B Again.

Sunny and in the 50's. We rafted down the Matanuska River north of Anchorage. A calm Level I / II or as June calls it the Cowards Trip. It was nice though. a 2 hour trip in 35 degree weather. Even with the calm waters we still got a little wet.

The first day was up and at em at 6:00am to go to the race. June Wall ran her best time ever. Afterwards we went to downtown Anchorage to celebrate. If you know Hoppy you know the after celebration involved visiting local breweries and pubs. After four we were ready to retile for the night.

As we drove back to the B&B it was still daylight at 10pm.

As we get closer all the arracngments for flights, car and accomadations are complete. Now it is time to monitor the possible volcano and a series of earthquakes
VOLCANO
The 2009 eruption of Redoubt continues. Webcam views today show continued steaming from the summit crater. Occasional rockfalls down the steep sides of the lava dome are also continuing, often generating diffuse, low-level ash clouds at the summit. Seismicity remains low, but is above background levels.
EARTHQUAKES
Alaska is the most tectonically active region in the United States. We experience more than half of all earthquakes recorded in North America each year. This is due to the state’s unique location on the northern rim of the Pacific Basin. At the northwest corner of the North America, Alaska is situated at the receiving end of the Pacific Plate as it slides laterally past southeast Alaska and collides directly with the North American Plate across southcentral Alaska and along the length of Aleutian Island Chain. The accumulation of tectonic stresses at depth along the plate boundaries and the translation of those stresses into the shallower crust of southern Alaska are the driving forces behind the high level of earthquake activity that occurs in our state.