lynnalan

First, thank you to all of you who helped to shape our amazing trip to Alaska . . . my itinerary was greatly improved by all of the feedback and tips that I learned from reading this forum and our entire family benefitted. My husband and I are in our 50s and 40s, travelling with our 10 year old daughter, 28 yo daughter and her husband, 25 year old son and his girlfriend.
We arrived in Anchorage on August 1 via Alaska Airlines (thumbs up for their good service) around 11 pm and stayed at the Captain Cook hotel. Hotel was good, a little dated perhaps and not especially close to the airport but we picked up our car at the downtown Hertz the next day (to save airport taxes – thanks Fodorites for that tip). We could walk to the Tony Knowles Coast Trail from the hotel (which we did and rented bicycles), the Alaska market (a little “touristy” and cheesy in our opinion but bought some great fudge and cherries) and the Hertz location. The older kids arrived in the afternoon of day 1 and we had lunch at Gwennies then headed to Girdwood and the Alyeska resort. Resort is lovely and that evening we took the tram to the top where we had cocktails before coming back to the resort for dinner at the Teppanyaki restaurant (which was fine). In retrospect probably would have eaten at the top instead of paying the $18 each to ride the tram (comp if you have a reservation at the restaurant). Saw bear and a moose from the tram.
Day 2: Breakfast at the resort coffee shop (Alaskans love their espresso) – good baked goods also. Shuttle picked us up to go to on the Chugach Dogsled Tour. Alpine Air runs the helicopter that took us on a short but beautiful ride up to the glacier where we met many of the dogs who have run in the Iditarod and spend their summers on the glacier. We helped to harness up the team and then went on a 2 mile ride, 2 at a time. It was great fun and we learned a lot about the race and what it takes to prepare the dogs for that feat. The entire trip was about 2 ½ hours and we all agreed it was probably the most fun and unique part of our trip. After lunch back at the resort we hiked the Winner Creek Trail in the afternoon. This is a lovely and relatively easy hike which we all enjoyed and the hand tram over Winner Creek is really cool. The kids made great fun of my bear bells which were quickly deemed unnecessary due to the number of people and dogs that were on the trail. Dinner at the well known Double Musky in Girdwood was good. Definitely the pepper steak is worth its fame and was the best thing anyone ordered. The wait was not bad bc we could sit in the bar and have drinks and appetizers. Weather was cloudy but no rain for dogsledding and very nice for hike (we shed our jackets).
Day 3: AM – rented bikes at Alyeska and rode along the paved trail which goes for miles. We saw a bear (our 3rd one!) fishing around in someone’s back yard. Breakfast at the Bake Shop was yummy though atmosphere a little lacking. If it would have been warm enough to sit out in front among their beautiful flowers would have been much nicer! Afternoon drove to Sunrise (near Hope) for float trip with Chugach Outdoors. Spectacular scenery along the way. Rafting trip was just ok. The guides were surprisingly not friendly (very different from all of the other wonderful Alaskans that we met throughout our trip). Perhaps it was just an off day or maybe they don’t enjoy the unchallenging float trip (the other trip they lead is the exciting Six Mile Creek which is supposed to be a lot of fun- we talked with others who took that trip the same day and had a good experience – must be 12 yrs old for that one). Anyway, afterwards we were looking forward to dinner at the Seaview Café in Hope – which is an old mining town with a current population of about 150 and 4 buildings “in town”. The concierge at Alyeska said it is a charming and funky Alaskan experience . . . but despite the website claims of being open every day May – Sept they are now closed on Mondays so instead we had some delicious gooseberry apple pie at Tito’s Discovery Café and came back for dinner at Alyeska. Weather overcast and cool – a little rain in the late morning after our bike ride and no rain on the float trip.
Day 4: Early morning departure from the resort to Seward for the 6 hour Kenai Fjords tour on Renown. Rained all of the way in the car but let up on arrival. Saw 3 humpbacks, otters, puffins, eagles, glacier calving and weather only intermittent rain though pretty cold outside on the deck. Two in our group were REALLY seasick so that affected the fun for all as they were not able to enjoy. My 10 year old and I used the wristbands and I really think they helped as we are both prone to motion sickness and did not get sick at all. I think prevention is key as once you get sick it is hard to get over until you are off the boat (no amount of Bonine would help them . . .. ). The ginger chews helped those who had only mild nausea (thanks to another Fodorite suggestion). Captain was full of good information and we learned a lot. Lodging that day was at the Bear Lake Lodgings B&B . . . we were in 3 of the 4 rooms that she rents. The location was incredibly beautiful and very convenient . . . only a mile off of the Seward highway and 6.5 miles north of town. The rooms were very comfortable and clean and there is a great common area with sofas, high ceilings and a beautiful deck overlooking the lake. The clouds lifted and by the time we headed for dinner at Rays we were all feeling much better. Rays was great food and we enjoyed seeing a bit of Seward.
Day 5: Husband and son took the kayaks from the B&B out on the lake and the rest of us went for a beautiful hike on the old Iditarod trail that is along the lake and only ¼ mile or so from the Inn. Not that we are antisocial but we loved not seeing any other people on this hike!! Lots of bear tracks and scat so we did a lot of talking so as not to startle one. The scenery was just beautiful and the sunshine made it even more spectacular. In retrospect I would have added another night and day to Seward so that we could see the Sea Life Center and Exit Glacier, but not at the expense of Homer. Around noon we headed on the road to Homer, stopping on the Kenai river to watch the combat fishing and at Gwins for lunch where we saw another bear. We arrived in Homer late afternoon and went straight to our house, the Homer Guest Cottage, which was just perfect for us!! Well appointed, clean, well decorated and incredible views of Kachemak Bay and the mountain range. There were 4 nice bikes with helmets for riding on the path that runs in front of the house up East End road or down into town. After stocking up at Safeway (sticker shock on the grocery prices) we picked up pizza at Fat Olives (yes it is as good as they say) and had a great dinner looking at the mountains and bay out of our kitchen windows and drinking those great Alaskan beers. Weather is beautiful and sunny all day long and t shirt warmth in Homer.
Day 6: Wow sun again -- we can’t believe it. PERFECT day for our full day Yukon Island kayak trip with True North Adventures. Can’t say enough good things about the company and our great guides, Ben and Mia. Saw many sea otters (very close!), porpoises, eagles and learned much about the geology and history of the region. Lunch from Two Sisters Bakery on the beach was top notch and even the little afternoon shower did not dampen our spirits (though it did cool things down a bit – glad to have our rain gear and an extra layer). It cleared up for the water taxi ride back over the bay and the sunshine returned for my birthday dinner at the Homestead. Excellent food and service and could not have been a more perfect end to a memorable day.
Day 7: The guys woke at 3 am to meet Gary from Silverfin Guide Service to go river salmon fishing on the Deep Creek outside of Nilnichik. Homer is the halibut capital of the world but they had never been river fishing and really wanted to give it a try. Apparently there is some talent and/or practice required as the 3 of them came back with 2 fish but they were the two best tasting salmon we have ever had. The girls slept in and then went for a bike ride and shopping in town (Homer has some great little shops and galleries). After lunch at Two Sisters and a walk on Bishops beach the older kids went to the Bear Creek Winery where they had a great time with the hospitable and knowledgeable hostesses and we took our 10 year old souvenir shopping on the spit. We all arrived back home in time for “happy hour” on the deck with the (surprisingly good) wines that the kids bought. The salmon was carefully prepared on the grill (a lot of lost sleep and cold feet to procure them!!) with superb results. Opening ceremonies of the Olympics topped off yet another amazing, sunny , beautiful and fun day in Alaska.
Day 8: We meet Chris and Ken Day of Emerald Air at the floatplane dock on Beluga Lake at 8:15 am. I have been anxious for months that weather would cancel this trip . . . the “grand finale” of our Alaskan adventure . . . and am overwhelmed to wake up to cloudless sunny skies. After our briefing with Chris we pile into the Osprey with 2 other women each traveling alone (one from Dallas and one from the UK) and head off to Katmai. The flight alone was incredibly beautiful and on the way home we were able to circle Mt. Augustine, an active volcano. We landed on Mirror Lake and were all impressed with the vastness of the tundra. What initially looks like a simple green carpeting of this volcanic soil upon closer examination is an incredible variety of plants and bushes that grow only a couple of inches due to wind and soil conditions. The temperature is warm by their standards though it feels cool because of the wind and we are glad for our layers in the morning.
I cannot describe how fascinating and amazing it was to watch these beautiful animals act and interact in their natural environment . . . seeing mama bear with her 3 cubs and watch her bring them salmon, try to keep them “in line” as they scamper and play in the stream, move them to the side when another bear approaches, rest and the start again . . . the gorgeous red salmon that are swimming upstream in throngs to spawn . . . learning from Ken and Chris about how and why the bears behave the way that they do. I must admit I was a little nervous about the thought of being “among the bears” before the trip but was completely at ease all day long and found the entire experience to be more moving and memorable than I even expected.
We returned to Homer a bit tired but rallied for dinner at Café Cups which was thumbs up. Don’t miss the peanut butter pie.
Day 9: An early morning bike ride on departure day brought gorgeous views and a moose encounter . . . he was about 10 yards away from me just outside of “town” and fortunately in no hurry! Brunch at the Mermaid Café was absolutely delicious and charming – talk about an open air kitchen . . . there is one cook who miraculously got all of our omelets prepared with the best toast I have ever had. The Café is connected to the Inlet Bookshop which is a book lovers dream (even if you don’t love books you can’t help but love the charm of this place). The drive back to Anchorage was easy and we arrived in time to have a final dinner at the Moose’s Tooth. The pizza and beer were both excellent and we toasted our amazing Alaskan adventure that exceeded all of our expectations.
This would hopefully have been the end of our reporting but alas our adventures continued when we arrived at the airport to find that a volcanic eruption in the Aleutians had produced an ash cloud which cancelled all southbound flights from Anchorage. Our flight headed NE to Chicago was able to depart but 1 ½ hours into the flight the Captain informed us that we would have to return to Anchorage because the cloud had spread and it would be unsafe to continue. We spent the night in the Anchorage airport rebooking our connections and hoping that our add-on flight to Seattle the next morning would be able to fly as planned . . . and indeed it did. So we returned home only 24 hours late and with an unexpected detour through Seattle and DFW. It was worth every minute of the exhausting travel and every penny that we paid . . . our memories are a treasure that we will have always.

spirobulldog

we found the two most exciting things on our was riding the sleddogs with Dario and our Salmon fishing/bear viewing. We were told at the Alyeska that bears weren't really in this area. We didn't see any, but sounds like you did. We were there in June, perhaps a month makes a difference. We did see a lot of bears when we went fishing. Our Kenai trip was calm, was your not? to bad for seasickness. sounds like you had a great trip.

lynnalan

Yes everyone in our group felt that the dogsled ride was probably the most fun and the bear trip the most interesting/moving. We saw 3 black bears at or near Alyeska . . . one from the tram, one on our bike ride and one on the way to the heliport. I think the conditions were relatively good for the Kenai Fjords trip but there were rough patches and once "it" hits it doesn't go away!

dfnh

Great trip report! Glad you had such a wonderful time. I loved all the little shops in Homer, too. My husband almost skipped the Kenai Fjords because of a previous bout with sea sickness on a deep sea fishing trip at home but with wrist bands and luck of a calm day, he was fine.

owinsmom

Lynnallen- Great trip report. Glad to hear that you enjoyed some of the things that we are going to be doing too.