Page 12 . . The Bridgeport Index, Thursday, September 9, 2010
by Francine West and
Jo Gilbreath
Alaska, a destination like no
other containing 100,000 estimated glaciers, over 6,640
miles of coastline, 70 potentially active volcanoes, over
3,000 rivers and 3 million lakes
and 17 of the 20 highest mountain peaks in North America,
along with wildlife, native cultures and adventure, all awaits
you in The Last Frontier.
After a tenacious flight
from DFW aboard American
Airlines, we arrived in Anchorage, ready for our second vacation in The Last Frontier.
Thursday we headed toward Talkeetna Lodge, owned
by the CIRI Alaska Tourism
Corporation, where we had
reservations. It is located 113
miles north of Anchorage
above the small historic town
of Talkeetna on a ridge giving
an unobstructed view of the
Alaskan range and Mt.
McKinley.
Mt. McKinley, the highest
peak in North America, is
20,320 ft. above sea level.
Denali, the Indian name for the
peak, means "The Great One."
After checking in we went
for a walk on the well-marked
hiking trails. The majestic forest surrounded us in all its
beauty and serenity.
About 9:00 p.m., we started
taking pictures of the Alaskan
Range, hoping for a glimpse of
Mt. McKinley. There it is just
the very top peak showing.
Then, finally at about 3:00
a.m, it happened - the clouds
parted and we had the view that
many only wish for. Mt.
McKinley stood before us in all
its glory - no clouds, nothing
in sight to block the wonderful
view. What a magnificent
sight.
Time to leave Talkeetna and
head back toward Anchorage.
Saturday morning we went
on the Knick Glacier tour by
Rust's Flying Service giving us
a glimpse into how the Alaskan landscape was shaped.
Leaving out of Anchorage
at the world’s busiest seaplane
base for the expansive Knick
Glacier, soaring over the
Chugah Mountains rimmed
with overhanging glaciers, allowed us to feel the motion and
magnitude with which the glaciers helped to shape the landscape.
Knick Glacier is the centerpiece of Lake George National
Natural Landmark, at 25 miles
long and five miles wide, it is
one of South Central Alaska's
biggest and most spectacular
glaciers.
Leaving Anchorage headed
south along the winding
Turnigan Arm past Potters
Marsh, a protected waterfowl
habitat, Girwood, Portage Glacier, then continuing on approximately 125 miles south of
Anchorage on the Seward
Highway, we arrived in
Seward.
After checking into The
Windsong Lodge, we walked
across the well-maintained
walking paths to eat at the Resurrection Restaurant.
Sunday, we awoke ready
and excited by the thought of
a peaceful getaway with solitude and lack of technology
along with pristine beauty. We
traveled the 12 miles by the
Kenai Fjord tour boat, to the
Fox Island Wilderness Lodge.
Although it is only 12 miles, it
took approximately an hour to
reach Fox Island.
Mount McKinley taken from the deck of the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.
-photo by Jo Gilbreath
Tufted Puffin
-photo by Francine West
Once we reached Fox Island, we discovered that we
really were in the middle of
nowhere.
We found the Wilderness
Lodge nestled in the woods between the pebble beach and a
quiet island fresh-water lagoon.
There are only eight cabins,
all waterfront, a day lodge and
the Kenai Fjords Wilderness
Lodge, where breakfast and
dinner meals are prepared to
perfection by the island chef.
The island’s electricity is
generated exclusively by wind
and solar power generators.
There are no televisions, radios, phone lines, internet connections or any other devices
to distract you from the beautiful island and its surroundings.
The rugged landscape contains protected coves and
pebbled beaches which provide shelter for a variety of
marine wildlife which make
Fox Island their home.
To our dismay, no foxes.
continued on page 13
-photo by Francine West
Pictured right- Horned Puffin
-photo by Francine West
Bald Eagle
-photo by Francine West
Kenai Fjordland tour boat docked at Fox Island.
-photo by Jo Gilbreath
The Bridgeport Index, Thursday, September 9, 2010. . . Page 13
buildings still charm downtown Hope. The white and
green store has been serving
customers since 1896, and the
Girwood headed back to An- anyone could ever want to
chorage, for on Monday we shop for.
Some of the places we
would be going to the Alaska
stopped
were the Alaska Mint,
Wildlife Conservation Center
-photo by Francine West
-photo by Jo Gilbreath
continued from page 12
Foxes used to be raised on the
island for their fur, but fortunately this business went bust
in the 1930s.
Leaving Fox Island rested,
relaxed and excited to continue
our vacation, we headed back
to Seward.
On Tuesday we arrived at
The SeaLife Aquarium Center,
Alaska’s only public aquarium
and ocean wildlife rescue center which is located on the
shores of Resur- r e c t i o n
Bay.
T h e
Alaska
SeaLife
Center
offers
an unrivaled,
up-close
and personal experience with Gulf
of Alaska marine wildlife.
While we were there, the
resident 2000+ pound Steller
sea lion was gliding past underwater viewing windows.
Tufted and horned puffins,
along with black oystercatchers, common murres and redlegged kittiwakes, were diving
in a carefully-crafted naturalistic habitat, and harbor seals
were resting on rocky beaches
along with Alaskan king crab,
sea stars, and the Giant Pacific
octopus.
On Thursday we left
Seward and headed toward
Homer.
Homer is the Halibut Fishing Capital of Alaska, but even
non-anglers revel in this endof-the-road Alaska town.
Homer, a town nestled on
the shore of Kachemak Bay,
offers breathtaking views of
glaciers, mountains and wildlife, along with the Homer
Spit, which is a geographical
landmark located on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula.
The spit is a 4.5 mile long piece
of land jutting out into
Kachemak Bay.
The Spit features the longest road into ocean waters in
the entire world.
On March 27, 1964, the
Good Friday Earthquake
rocked Alaska with a magnitude of 9.2. Although centered
in Prince William Sound, east
of Homer, it caused the Spit to
drop seven feet, taking with it
tall trees and grasslands
where
reminders of Mother Nature’s
power.
While driving along Spit
Road we finally spotted a bald
eagle, feeding on fish carcasses
left behind by fishermen. We
stopped to admire these great
birds and take pictures.
Friday, we left Homer
headed for the gold rush town
of Hope. Along the way we
stopped for refreshments in the
small town of Copper Landing.
Hope lies on the northern
end of Kenai Peninsula, on the
south shore of the Turnagain
Arm of Cook Inlet.
Hope was one of the first
gold mining towns in
Alaska.
log Social
Hall, built
in 1902,
still hosts
community meeti n g s ,
dances,
and weddings.
The 1938
r e d
schoolh o u s e
n o w
serves
Hope as a
l i b r a r y.
Leaving
Hope on
Sun-photo by Jo Gilbreath
cattle and
horses once grazed.
Spit Road was reconstructed
over a period of six years and
at a cost of $6.7 million. What
exists today is higher, wider
and paved. However, heavy
seas and high tides are constant
day, we headed
for Girwood.
Girwood
evolved from
a gold mining town
i n t o
Alaska’s
Panning
only
yearfor gold in the
round
resort
Resurrection
c o m m u n i t y.
River is still
-photo by
Girwood
is best
done today.
Jo Gilbreath
known
Gold
rush
for winter
skiing
and
snowboarding at
Alyeska Resort on
Mount Alyeska.
You can take the
ski lift up to the
top of Mount
Alyeska anytime
of year. With a desire to play in the
snow, we took the
ski lift up to the
top of Mount
Alyeska. The
view was astounding.
S u n d a y
-photo by Jo Gilbreath evening we left
Sea Otter
(AWCC).
AWCC provides visitors
with the opportunity to view
Alaskan wildlife up close.
AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-’round,
and provides spacious enclosures and quality animal care.
Animals that cannot be released into the wild are given
a permanent home at the center.
-photo by Francine West
AWCC is home to five
bears - two black bears (one
named Kuma), two brown
bears (Joe Boxer and Patron),
and one grizzly bear named
Hugo, among many other types
and ages of animals.
Leaving AWCC headed
back toward Anchorage, we
decided we were going to go
shopping prior to boarding the
plane back to Texas.
Going to downtown Anchorage there is everything
Alaskan glacier
-photo by Jo Gilbreath
home of the world’s northernmost coin press. Another was
Trapper John’s Trading Post,
along with Polar Bear Gifts,
just to name a few. Hungry,
yep, now we needed to find a
place to eat. There is Orso’s,
Glacier Brewhouse, Downtown Deli, Simon & Seafort’s,
just to name a few of the places
that are downtown.
We concluded our vacation
Glacier Brewhouse
with dinner at the Glacier
Brewhouse, where we feasted
on fresh Alaskan Salmon, Halibut, King Crab with all the fixings, including magnificent
desserts, all prepared on sight
by their chefs.
To see the previous year’s
adventure to Alaska go to
www.bridgeportindex.com.
For more pictures of this year’s
adventure, go to www.pictures
andgiftsbyjo.com or www.sunshinesrose.com.
-photo by Francine West