Alaska 2023

[jj1000]

This is AMAZING!

Thank you for sharing!

[JMHO]

This is AMAZING!

Thank you for sharing!

Yes!!!

[goldilocks99]

What an awesome trip report. One of the best I've read yet.
Have always known that I want to visit Alaska in the future but these pics have taken my yearning to a whole new level.

[g8trgr8t]

I will just say it is a different place if you can get out and hike it and the cruise / package experience is different than the way we do it. The cruise is a whole different set of ecosystems and cultures but too rushed for us. When I retire, we will spend a few weeks + working the alaska ferry system from Seattle north to Whittier to see that part of the state. 

Hopefully the itinerary encourages you to proceed. I think my retirement job is going to be a personal small group guide. Tell me your preferences and I will set it up in that small part of the state. The number of other amazing experiences is usually only limited by your budget but a lot can be experienced without extravagance.

Previous trips here

2020 - covid year. weirdest eyar ever. no busses into Denali, got pass to drive myself all the way in. mostly only locals met ont rails and in parks or in Seward fishing. said they were always working too hard and couldn't compete with tourists for the experiences so it was a wierd, welcome respite for them.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/85268984@N02/albums/72157714801392948

2022 - includes flight and glacier landing on Denali from Talkeetna. one of my favorite pics, midnight on the headwaters of bear creek in Seward. waiting ont he tide to come up and the salmon rush in.

20220620_230006 by bluewaterfever, on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/85268984@N02/52189967526/in/album-72177720300267549/

2015 with trip to brooks falls. . probably my personal best wolf shot and bear shotto date. miserable rainy day on bus through Denali. fogged, muddied windows. this guy walked right down the road to us and past us as we sat in the bus. all alone, surprising. not many bears due to lack of salmon at the time at Brooks Falls.


IMG_7018a by bluewaterfever, on Flickr


IMG_2295a by bluewaterfever, on Flickr


https://www.flickr.com/photos/85268984@N02/albums/72157656297895495

[g8trgr8t]

headed to Scotland (edinburgh 3 nights, isle of sky for 2 nights) and Iceland in September.

We will be doing the ring in Iceland over 9 nights. lots of stuff scheduled, bought a dji mini3pro, hoping to find some northern lights mid September and cross that off the bucket list. Insight into Iceland is welcome. doing the fissure snorkeling, ice caves, most of major falls, 3- 5 hikes, baths, and parasailing off a cliff on the south shore (if I don't chicken out or get weathered out).


Rental car (4 x 4 SUV) and BNB's along with several excursions are booked.

Whales and puffins have been covered in Alaska. Is it wrong to hope for a mild little volcano tube spewing lava with the northern lights firing off in the background?

[myb821]

Thank you so much for sharing. This is high up on my list of things i want to do.

[g8trgr8t]

Great TR, makes me want to go salmon fishing! I wonder how hard it is to clean the fish before eating?

if with a charter, they clean them for you. if not, you clean them. we have fished a lot of years so cleaning fish is second nature for us. Some places, you will find someone looking to make a buck wiling to fillet fish for you. Once filleted, it goes to the processor that cuts it into 1 lb +/- pieces and vacuum seals it and hard freezes it. ship it home via fed-ex (very expensive) or as checked luggage in insulated fishbox with dry ice or gel paks.