This is a photo from the 1st day of sunshine after literally 31 days of rain in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the Turnagain Arm just south of Anchorage on August 20, 2011. On this same day I saw multiple beluga whales coming up the arm fishing for some Eulechon fish which are also known as 'Candle Fish.' The fish are so oily that natives used to use them as candles after they put wicks in them.





This is myself on the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain just outside of Denali National Park. The summit is at 1,624'. About a 2.5 hour hike.

8/26/10 this is the first signs of the northern lights I have seen in Alaska since I have come here in May, 2010. Last night we were at Pike's Landing Lodge and saw some amazing sights of the Aurora. Here are some more photos of the Aurora Borealis below:

That one time I went Kayaking . . .

Winner Creek Near the Hand Tram in Girdwood, Alaska

Sometimes I make the wrong decision, usually I am perfect in my decision making skills, but there is always that outlier that screws up everything. I usually forget about those situations because they are insignificant, but occasionally they are very memorable and I deem them necessary to share with others. My time in Winner Creek near Girdwood, Alaska is one of those situations that is necessary to share with others.

The day started like any other day, with me deciding what I wanted to do with the day, and actually my brother called me and we had a chat. I told him about how the day prior I had been mountain biking at a location just outside of town in Anchorage called Hillside/Hilltop. I told him a brief story about how a woman who was racing in a mountain bike race had been mauled by a bear days prior. As I am from Wisconsin, bear attacks are rare, and even more rare are deaths by the hand (or paw) of animals. So, as I make this observation that in Alaska bear attacks are not that ridiculously uncommon he makes the comment "Alaska is real, you really need to be on your guard at all times when you are in the wild, or something bad could happen to you."

Now bear attacks are not the only situation when Alaska can become even more 'real' than other places in the world; people can get lost in the wilderness (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=8519242)

Resurrection Pass and Kenai River

Yesterday had to be the quintessential Alaskan day for me. I am not trying to brag, but it was a great day; the weather wasn't perfect but when is it in The Last Frontier? Rarely I would say.

So, I have wanted to get a salmon on my fishing rod for the last few months that I have been here in Alaska and have not even had the chance to put a lure on my pole because I didn't own a pole. I took a large step in the right direction by purchasing a pole, for $36 at the Trustworthy in Soldotna, AK. I then took my newly purchased rod with my reel and lures (as I was informed by a store clerk at Sportsman Warehouse in Anchorage the night prior) to snare a Red Salmon. I put my line into the Kenai River, just near Soldotna, AK on the Kenai Peninsula with all intentions of impressing everyone, even myself. Guess what?! I didn't catch anything, hardly a cold, as it was a glorious, sunny day in Soldotna and on the Kenai River.

After a bit of time on the river and tangles in my line, I departed (after 4 hours on river) and made my way back up the Sterling Highway through the Kenai Peninsula, past Kenai Lake to the south trail head of Resurrection Pass.

Resurrection Pass is one of the most popular trails to hike in Alaska, especially on the Kenai Peninsula, so I expected that there would be a ton of people at the south trail head. I was surprised to find a few cars, but no people once I got on the trail. So, I rode my Kona 4 bike up the trail, which was a consistent incline for the first couple miles, but then eventually there was some up and down. It has been raining for the last few days around the area so I found that as I got deeper into the trail that there was more and more water and puddles. I ended up pretty much covered head to toe in water and mud, but it was a great ride. I think I went about 8 miles in, just before Juneau Lake (which is amazing I have heard) then it started to rain, so I turned around. It took me about 1/2 the time to bike out as it did to bike in, as the hills were gnarly and I fell 2 or 3 times on the way back. Nothing ridiculous in the falls, well, I guess one time I took a solid header into these bushes, but that is going to happen. I almost fell off a cliff come to think of it, but I clipped out before I had a chance to really hurt myself. Besides constantly avoiding giant puddles and the odd cliff, I tried to steer around the huge piles of Brown Bear crap. That was the one thing that I was nervous about, because if I am riding down a hill, on my own at 20 miles/hour and a bear jumps out to say hello, I am not going to have enough time to do anything except be eaten.

But that didn't happen. And I'm still alive, which is super, because that was my best ride in AK thus far. Winner Creek story almost did end my life, but that is what is going to happen if you are in Alaska. I have to say that I would be disappointed if I woke up dead, but I am sure that it would be a sweet way that I die if I am in Alaska. But I'm not expecting that to happen for the next few years at least.

Here's a photo of me doing some kayaking in the Prince William Sound a few weeks ago, was a fun time. I thought that I would share it with you all, as it's one of the last photos that I took with my camera.

Alaska Wildlife and Conservation Center

Here is a photo of Hugo and Joan at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) just outside of Girdwood, Alaska was taken June 11, 2010. These Grizzly Bears are in captivity but they are not in a zoo; they were all rescued or orphaned therefore, would have died unless they were relocated here. Hugo for instance was found as a cub with many porcupine quills embedded in his face, all alone and left for dead, near Hugo Creek. The AWCC is a cool place for tourists and visitors to see the 'Big Four' of Alaska in one area. The Big Four are: Moose, Caribou, Bear and Dall Sheep; some people include the Grey Wolf as the fifth as well. The AWCC also has Bison (not native to AK), Moose, Caribou (aka reindeer), black tailed deer, black bear, an eagle and muskoxen among other animals as well.

It is clearly not the perfect place to see wildlife, but it is always a for sure find, as they are all enclosed in a fence. But remember it is here or they are dead.

And as everyone knows, bears are super sweet. This day that we were at the AWCC the weather wasn't amazing, it was raining off and on, but we still had a great time. This was during a tour 16 with a group of about 40 people for a 6 day long tour. We have some great people on this trip and the energy level is high, which is sometimes difficult to keep up.

Some Days are better than others

(Donald) Duck and Joanna Williams (6/26/10)
Denali from Talkeetna Lodge 5/28/10 (ish)

These photos are from my first tour of the summer up in Alaska. During this tour there were 28 people in my group and it was a great way to start off the summer as there was great weather, attitudes and energy level. We were on a tour 16, which is also known as the 'Fat Kid Tour,' because we had 3 train legs, which is great and gluttonous. We ate more food than was necessary, but that kept the group in high spirits. And as usual, Denali and Mother Nature always know who has a good attitude and bad, because we all had some amazing vistas of Mount McKinley (Denali). Karma is an important part of every (Alaskan) trip, so I am trying to be a good person.


Here is a photo of a mountain (no name) in the Chugach Mountain range as Jeff (driver RCT) and I drove down to Seward at about 4am. We usually pickup our groups a little earlier, but today we had to be in Seward at the port at 7am, which was a little too early for my blood. I did get some great photos of the Chugach and Kenai Mountains as I came south though.

Mount McKinley is in the back round of this perfectly clear day in Don Sheldon's Amplitheater. This photo was taken on May 20, 2010 on the Ruth Glacier after a landing with K2 Aviation. Don Sheldon was an innovator when it came to aviation in Alaska and throughout his bush pilot career. He made his name helping Bradford Washburn survey Denali (aka Mount McKinley) in the late 1940's for the Boston Museum of Science, by being one of the first pilots to have the nerve to land on a glacier.

To land on a glacier, Sheldon would make a low pass just yards above his projected landing area to check out his runway. This would be done to verify that there was sufficient snow coverage and no crevices were not exposed. Once all looked good, Sheldon would make his final landing.

Besides being one of the innovators of glacier landings Sheldon received recognition for making various rescues in his single engine planes.