Author Topic: Alaska Master Thread  (Read 189482 times)

Offline Fan of Dan

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #100 on: May 12, 2013, 12:52:46 AM »
From Kenai Fjords ( just picked random picks I need to find the good ones)

Offline yehuda S

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #101 on: May 12, 2013, 12:52:51 AM »
Before you decide, figure out which part of PWS Fan of Dan toured. Another difference seems to be that PWS has much calmer water. I think I'm tilting toward PWS for now, even though was almost decided on Kenai.

As far as Seward goes, I plan on (hopefully) taking the exit glacier ice climbing tour from exit glacier guides which sounds like an amazing adventure.
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #102 on: May 12, 2013, 12:53:46 AM »
WAIT! Don't settle it until you watch this video: It looks so amazing.
http://bcove.me/o9ve0knm

Darn it. You had to do that, did you ;)?

On the other hand, this video was taken out of Seward...
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Offline yehuda S

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #103 on: May 12, 2013, 12:54:22 AM »
SF - What type of outerwear do you plan on bringing? It might get very cold/wet.

I think if you have very limited time you might consider taking the flightseeing tour of Denali instead of going in.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #104 on: May 12, 2013, 12:57:01 AM »
Before you decide, figure out which part of PWS Fan of Dan toured. Another difference seems to be that PWS has much calmer water. I think I'm tilting toward PWS for now, even though was almost decided on Kenai.

As far as Seward goes, I plan on (hopefully) taking the exit glacier ice climbing tour from exit glacier guides which sounds like an amazing adventure.
I went to the PWS out of Whittier. Don't get me wrong I loved it and I would certainly reccomend it, just not over Kenai Fjords. The water in PWS is calmer as it's more sheltered but that is why there is less wildlife. We took dramamin which is a must for the Kenai fjords.

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #105 on: May 12, 2013, 01:01:55 AM »
SF - What type of outerwear do you plan on bringing? It might get very cold/wet.

No idea, didn't get that far in my planning yet. Any recommendations?

I think if you have very limited time you might consider taking the flightseeing tour of Denali instead of going in.

Yeah, doesn't look like Denali's gonna happen at this point.
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #106 on: May 12, 2013, 01:02:23 AM »
I went to the PWS out of Whittier. Don't get me wrong I loved it and I would certainly reccomend it, just not over Kenai Fjords. The water in PWS is calmer as it's more sheltered but that is why there is less wildlife. We took dramamin which is a must for the Kenai fjords.

How bout a TR?
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #107 on: May 12, 2013, 01:04:27 AM »
How bout a TR?
I can try. Its almost 3 years so I won't get it all in but we can attempt it if you want.

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #108 on: May 12, 2013, 01:05:15 AM »

On the other hand, this video was taken out of Seward...

Darn it. You had to do that, did you ;)?
I want to do that now.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #109 on: May 12, 2013, 01:05:34 AM »
I can try. Its almost 3 years so I won't get it all in but we can attempt it if you want.

Please do, I'd love to see it.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #110 on: May 12, 2013, 01:07:50 AM »
No idea, didn't get that far in my planning yet. Any recommendations?

Not sure. I'm still trying to figure out camera, binoculars and whether to bring a burner to cook food.

What I really want to know is if I can (halachically) buy a wild salmon in a fish market and cook it for dinner.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #111 on: May 12, 2013, 01:12:08 AM »
Btw I highly recommend Fodors Alaska  guide. I got mine from the library, there were two slightly older versions that are probably just as good.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #112 on: May 12, 2013, 01:14:35 AM »
What I really want to know is if I can (halachically) buy a wild salmon in a fish market and cook it for dinner.
I did that once in New Foundland but I was with my father who knew exactly what to do. This summer I am going to Bali and there is zero kosher food on the entire island but they sell a lot of fresh fish so I am thinking about it.

Offline sky121

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #113 on: May 12, 2013, 01:15:59 AM »
Quote from: yehuda S link=topic=3395.msg1#msg1 date=1368335270

What I really want to know is if I can (halachically) buy a wild salmon in a fish market and cook it for dinner.
[/quote

I would.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #114 on: May 12, 2013, 01:17:25 AM »
Not sure. I'm still trying to figure out camera, binoculars and whether to bring a burner to cook food.

What I really want to know is if I can (halachically) buy a wild salmon in a fish market and cook it for dinner.

I imagine you could, but I'll be asking a Rav myself to confirm. I'm actually thinking of trying to fish one myself.

Btw I highly recommend Fodors Alaska  guide. I got mine from the library, there were two slightly older versions that are probably just as good.

Considering that the Kenai Penn. is a relatively tiny part of the state, don't you think it's better to get on something focuses on just the Kenai area?
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Work is what you do between vacations.

Offline yehuda S

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #116 on: May 12, 2013, 01:28:58 AM »
I imagine you could, but I'll be asking a Rav myself to confirm. I'm actually thinking of trying to fish one myself.

I was referring to an issue i heard about- worms in the wild fish.

Considering that the Kenai Penn. is a relatively tiny part of the state, don't you think it's better to get on something focuses on just the Kenai area?
I guess but i think this one covers what you need to know for the four days. Where are you going to be staying?
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #117 on: May 12, 2013, 01:40:02 AM »
Where are you going to be staying?

RV.
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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #118 on: May 12, 2013, 01:46:44 AM »

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Re: Alaska Master Thread
« Reply #119 on: May 12, 2013, 01:47:40 AM »
Alaska trip report, Disclaimer I did this 3 years ago so trying my best to get it right.

I planned this whole trip with my wife pretty last minute but it ended up working out really nicely.

We landed in the evening in Anchorage and rented a jeep from a local guy so that we could drive the Denali highway which you can't do without a jeep. We payed about 900 for 2 weeks. We spent the night in Anchorage. The next day we drove to Whittier and did a nice cruise of the Price William sound. We saw many glaciers and a few sea otters. Was really cold as Alaska can be when you are on the water so bring rain gear etc. We loved driving thru the tunnel and found the town small but quaint. We then drove to Seward.

The next day we drove to Homer AK to catch a float plane to some remote national park to see Grizzly bears catch fish. Was really cool taking off and landing from the water. We paid 300 per person which is why we did it out of Homer which was a 2 hour drive away. From the touristy areas they start at 600 pp. Was the coolest part of our trip. We saw many many grizziles swimming in the water all around us (some were less the 5 feet away!). A few of them had cubs and it was really something you gotta do one day. You can see the salmon swimming in the water, and when they get caught the bears just gobble them up!

The next day we did a 9 hour tour of Kenai Fjords. It was a Friday but we got back at 5 and Shabbos wasn't until 10 so that was not an issue. We saw humpback whales, killer whales and a lot of other wild animals as well. We saw glaciers and the coolest scenery and it was well worth it. Make sure to take something for the rough seas, the ships sell them and if you take before you leave you wil be fine.

Shabbos we walked around Seward and played games till Shabbos was over at around midnight!! We stayed right by the water so we got to watch the bald eagles and otters hang out right near where we were staying.

Sunday we drove up to Talkeetna, stopping many times along the 4 hour drive. we then checked into out log cabin deep in the woods. We did a small hike and just walked around town a bit. The town has a real charm. The next day we did a flight over Denali which was super cool and did another nice hike. Note that we had bear spray as the area has many bears. A few hikers were mauled the next year in Talkeetna so go prepared.

Tuesday we drove to Denali and did another hike near the cabin we had rented. The scenery was out of this world and even just the drive up to Denali was for the books. Our cabin had a balcony overlooking a huge river and was right next to the park.  Wednesdat we did the Kantishna bus into Denali park. It was very cool however we found it to be a bit long. There was a lot of animals but they were all far from the road and we were spoiled from our bear viewing experience so we were not as impressed. The mountains were really cool but seeing Denali from the flight was a lot cooler. It's still worth going into the park just to experience the vastness of the area.

Thursday we drove across the Denali highway to the Copper river princess lodge http://www.princesslodges.com/copper-river-lodge.cfm . The drive was on this rugged highway which you can only do with a jeep. Took a couple of hours but was from the more scenic drives in AK. As you can imagine there werent to many other cars out on the road. Friday we drove on a dirt road thru Wrangell-St. Elias national park. We only went in about 35 miles which is as far as you can go, but the drive was over 2 hours. Hard to describe how amazing it was. The park has the largest concentration of high peaks anywhere in North America and you see them along the whole drive. Pretty scary driving but was worth every minute of it. The whole area has less tourists but it's still on the tourist route so you don't feel like you are out of it.

Shabbos was very relaxing in the wilderness lodge. There is a huge sitting area in the back overlooking this huge valley and perfect mountain range in the background. The lodge caters mostly to cruise passengers so it's really nice. We booked our room through princess cruises.

Sunday we drove to Valdez to watch the ships and see the bay which was really pleasant. The drive from Copper River to Valdez has these huge mountain passes which was one of the reasons we did it. Valdez itself was also just a fun place to walk around. We then drove about 6 hours to Anchorage, stopping many times along the way. We went hiking on a glacier which was really cool. IIRC that night we flew back home.

We did many more small things while we were there, mainly stops along the way that caught our eye. We also tried finding Sara Palin in Wasilla (that was when she was still big) but we couldn't find her.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2013, 02:52:00 AM by Fan of Dan »