ALASKA 07

Second Stop - Alaska

I think all of you know that Emily spent the summer working at a wilderness lodge on the Kenai Pennisula south of Anchorage. Even though it wasn't in our plans (or budget) to visit, when we found out that she could get a "mom and dad" discount (normally $500 per day per person... we were able to barter for wine!), and we discovered that we had enough frequent flyer miles to get us up there, we were off...

After overnighting in Anchorage at what could be best described as a dive, we drove south to pick up Emily. We spent the first day on the eastern side of the pennisula exploring the Fjordlands National Park by boat - amazing wildlife(sea lions, sea otters, orca, black bear, bald eagles - but they're everywhere, moose - grazing along the side of the road!), and amazing mountains covered with ice 1/2 mile thick with glaciers cascading down into the sea. After camping at Exit Glacier, inside the park, we drove west to the fishing village of Homer. More incredible ice-covered mountains followed the next day. We took a water taxi from the Homer Spit to Katchemak Bay State Park (not accessible by car) and hiked high into the mountains.

We then moved on to Cooper Landing, to the main lodge (base camp) of Emily's company. She left us to take the shuttle/boat to her lodge while Caryn and I took the guest route in - a 6-hour rafting trip down the Kenai River which ends at 17-mile-long Skilak Lake. Stunning views the whole way down. Skilak borders a national wilderness area of over 1 million square acres! I'm running out of adjectives, folks. The lake is just pristine, surrounded by majestic snow and tundra-covered mountains.

We spent two days here hiking up to the tundra, dining on great meals prepared by the staff (and drinking great wine - mine...), walking the woods, making much noise ("heeey, bear!) to make sure no bears were surprised by our presence (none were seen, but we stepped in enough bear poop to fill a pick-up). It wasn't hard to see why Emily loves this place. It is spectacular, and for some reason, all the people here (10 - including Emily) seem to like her. Go figure.

We left to georgeous views of two volcanos visible to the west across the lake, the pennisula, and Cook Inlet.

The highlights? Wow, where to start... Probably seeing Emily thriving in this magnificent setting and the many compliments we got about her from her peers. Oh, and the views, the vistas, the wildlife weren't too bad either. Both Caryn and I agreed that this was, perhaps, our best vacation.