If you are going to Anchorage...

may we recommend that you take the 50 mile trip north of the city,
along the water's edge of the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet,
and visit this place:

It'll cost you about $ 15 per person or 30+ per car full,
but you'll get to see all the animals you came to Alaska to see.

Sure they'll be behind a fence,

but their fields are huge.

Put your camera between the  metal fence, and you'll have your neighbors back home convinced that
you were face to face with Alaskan wildlife!

Check these out:

As close as those pictures we took n Kodiak!
In fact, they even made a TV documentary about Alaskan wildlife...and they filmed the whole thing here, instead of in the wild!
Fortunately they made them take it off the air!

Yes, you can get some real beauties!

These are all animals which have been injured in the wild and can't fend for themselves. So they are in rehab.
This is where they took some of the  baby Kodiak bears who lost their mom.  One, unfortunately, escaped with a friend and was hit by a car.  The other one eventually made it to a zoo in New York, I think.

Anyway. Be sure to stop here and see real Alaskan animal close up,

like this Musk Ox, whose fur is about the warmest thing there is!
And you probably will not see one anywhere else, except Alaska
(or perhaps the northern parts of Russia and Scandinavia)

Anyway, we repeatedly enjoy this stop as we drove through this area.

(PS Incidentally, the pics on our other blogs are real, not form the wildlife center)
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From the Kenai

We are down in Texas now, and reviewing our pics after our shortened "Retirement Vacation".

So, if you have nothing to do, take a look at some of our upcoming blogs of our 5,000 mile trip to our "new" home.
We hope to post a few pictures of each phase along the way, within the next week or so.

Maybe you'll enjoy it enough to get you a rental motorhome in Anchorage and explore the real AK!

First, may we recommend you take the ferry from Homer, on the Kenai peninsula and cross to Kodiak island. Sure it's 9 - 12 hours, but you you'll see lots of sea life, enjoy the "Emerald Isle" and definitely not regret it.

Check out our prior blogs here or those about Kodiak at
 http://lifeinkodiak.blogspot.com

(PS be sure to get housing reservation in Kodiak pre-arranged, because housing can be hard to find in the Summer time).

On the way back you'll see glaciers under the bright 9 PM sun, as you land on the Homer Spit.

Watch the tourist on the beach, envying your ocean trip.

And reflections form the 10 PM sun

Is that that the  Redoubt volcano that caused so much fear for air travelers just a few years ago?

On the peninsula we saw 9 moose on this trip, including the babes we\'e shown before,

and some large lakes

by which you can pose a a regular tourist

and on which you can literally "reflect upon"

So, let's just make a decaf espresso, camp out overnight, watch the birds nesting near-by,

and just enjoy the view.
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Cutting our trip short

We had to cut our "Retirement Celebration" trip short because of family illness.

Instead of our relaxing 8,000 mile vacation,
it became 4066 miles in 5 1/2 days, starting from Fairbanks, AK.

to San Antonio, Texas.


The last day started before 6 AM, in Trinidad, Colorado's Wall Mart parking lot,

through north-eastern New Mexico,

through the West Texas plains

at the temperatures of 104,

(admittedly the clock is wrong, it was PM, not AM, but the temp is correct)

....and then rising to an all-time historic high of 108 degrees in San Antonio the next day!

So, can you blame us, if the first thing we did was buy two six-packs of these?

One made right here in San Antonio.
We remember their TV ads in the 1960's claiming it tasted so good because it came
"From the land of 100,000 Springs".

And the other is because it's the closest thing we can get here to of our favorite:
Sarah Pale Ale from the Kodiak Island Brewing Company,
where the temperature was 57 degrees while it was 108 here!

Nursing in the wild.

Not all animals take care of their young alike.

For example, while waiting to get off the ferry, there was a grouchy near-two-year-old kid in line. The mom gently pulls him over, puts him under her blouse and continues her conversation without missing a beat.  Natural we say.

But its not always so gentle as that, it seems, in the animal world.

Take these 2 moose just off the Kenai Highway.

One tried to nurse but the Mom just kept on moving to find more food for herself.

Remember the Stone Sheep a few days ago?

It's Mom was not going to let him feed in the middle of the road.

And the “wet” buffalo babe we saw, just following the Mom along the side of the road?

Well,  when he tried to nurse as they walked down the road, Mom kicked him so hard that the babe  went almost halfway across the road.

Then it got in line and followed along in a nice straight line. That’s when  we took the pic on that prior blog.

Guess there is a right and a wrong time for some things in the animal world.

From Whitehorse to Dawson Creek, BC June 24, 2013, 6:45 PM

Made it to Dawson Creek, BC. , the beginning of the AK Hway. 

822 miles since last memo.

Rested at Lairds Hot Spring.

Lots of wildlife,

to look at

Many newborns.

Is this one still looks wet!

Saw three groups,  11 Stone Sheep total.

with 2 babies.

One wanted to nurse in middle of road.

But, Mom climbed rocks and then continued  nursing.

Meanwhile, the older ones shed their winter fur

and 'checked us out" for safety.

 (No these are NOT goats, they are Stone Sheep, more about that on another day)

Unfortunately, we are having to cut our "Retirement Trip" short. 

Sick family member. Have to go straight home. What a bummer.

And, still 680 miles to the US border.

From Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Sunday 9 AM

Left Fairbanks on Saturday, 23 hours ago.  522 miles. Rough trip, particularly south of the border due the “heaves” in road  from the melting  permafrost.  Worse than on our prior 3 crossings.

Slept on the side of the road.

Had dinner with two brothers that came to munch next to us.

Next report will be form McDonald’s Wi-Fi in Dawson Creek, 833 miles down the road.

Saying Goodbye to Kodiak

Leaving Kodiak was a real sad day,
knowing there are things we will not see, until we return at least a year from now.

The emerald green and the 5 windmills,

the fishing boats

and pleasure boats.

But most of all, the friends we leave behind.

Seems they came to wave goodbye.

And as luck would have it, even the helicopter came for one last fly-by.

But as we rounded the isle's north end,

a fog came into hide it away,

till suddenly the fog does lift,
and humpback whales are there in dozens.

 and do their flips

and flip again,

and once again

they keep on flipping

 till we leave them far behind

and head out for our next experience.

Adios, Kodiak

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