Rain in Alaska
 

Hi! We are leaving for Alaska this coming Tuesday.(Aug.1) We will be staying in the Homer and Seward area. Rain has been forcasted for the entire week so far. We had planned on doing all the out door activities, fishing, hiking, etc.etc. We are staying at B&Bs in each location. Are there any museums to visit? So far, this trip looks like it is going down the "no fun" tube. Any suggestions, other than bring lots of books? The temperatures are in the low 49-high 57 range. We are from the south, so the cool weather isn't a problem. But when you add the rain.....what can one do? I know eat of course, but cool weather and added rain sounds pretty darn uninviting. Thanks, for any info. Of course, we will take the rain gear, but still. Thanks again, Sharon

No worries, mostly showers in isolated areas.((Y)) J. Kenai Peninsula:)

If it does rain - mostly, it doesn't rain hard or long enough to keep you from doing outdoor things. Typically cloudy with some light sprinkles every now and then constitutes a rainy day. Hence the need for raingear - you'll still WANT to be outdoors doing things, you'll just need to keep yourself from getting too wet during the intermittent light rain spells (or when you brush up against things that get wet from the rain.)

The other thing I have noticed, the weather forecasters are REALLY bad at predicting weather more than a day or two in advance up here...

For your other question re: museums, the Sealife Center in Seward is good. I actually think it would be neat to walk along Bishop's Beach in Homer on an overcast day. There's also the Pratt Museum in Homer & the Islands & Oceans (Oceans & Islands? I can never remember!) visitor's center has some interesting exhibits.

Rain is so common in Alaska that I think you should just follow your plans and don't worry about it! Bring along a good pair of rubber boots...or buy a pair there, (Everyone lives in them) and a good rain slicker. If you don't want to spend alot on outdoor gear, just a plastic jacket with a hood like they sell in fishing and hunting stores will work fine (maybe even with pants if you want to fish and hike). We took a marine mammal watching tour out of Seward, I think, that was great, even though the weather was terrible. I don't think the weather will spoil your trip...Alaska is amazing. Have fun!

Between Seward and Homer is the Soldotna/Kenai area. The Kenai visitors center is small but interesting. I think it may have been the Kalifornsky Beach we walked. If you need books, look for local artists and authors. I very much enjoyed one artist's book of how her style changed and where she went for inspiration. There's a nice little bookstore in Soldotna at the intersection you go thru on your way to Homer. Here's info copied from the Kenai Penisula Clarion website:
The Pratt Museum has fish feedings at 4 p.m. Fridays and Tuesdays and remote bear viewing cameras open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 to 5 p.m. The museum, located at 3779 Bartlett St. in Homer, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
If you are driving to Seward, I would also recommend stopping at the Visitors Center at Portage Glacier.
Read articles on the Anchorage Daily News' website. There's a humorous one about living in Alaska and envying the tourists who have time to enjoy the great outdoors while the locals are busy doing maintenance on their homes, etc. (the writer was re-chinking his log home). Read up on what's going on with salmon this year. During an early August trip we stopped at Bird Creek on the Seward Hwy to watch fishermen ... and this year there's a problem with bears hanging around and snatching fish.
Go with a good attitude and some rain gear. My husband tried to get out of going to the county fair one year because it was raining. I replied that was good because it wasn't going to be too hot, too dusty or too crowded (his usual complaints).

Sharon, don't worry about it too much. Last summer I checked www.weather.com before our trip to Alaska and it showed rain every day! Well, we had rain only one afternoon during twelve days. So relax, bring or buy some reliable rain gear and be prepared for anything regardless what is predicted. We took many trips to Alaska and never had any need for rubber boots. We always have good waterproof hiking boots but rubber boots. Never. Don't bring books from home, as suggested, buy them there or go to a local library. This is how we spent a part of one rainy day in Valdez. A long ago. Have a great trip.

Sharon, First the good news. You'll have a great time in Alaska even if it rains all day, every day. We just returned from a 9 day trip and only saw the sun briefly on 3 days. It doesn't rain hard, mostly just mists/drizzles. The bad part of it is that it obscures the view - the mountains are shadowy and the sky is grey. And the mud is everywhere. But, as one resident pointed out to us, summer in Alaska is too short so they don't let the rain change their plans. So, we bought some better rain gear and tried to live like locals. One day we were standing outside in Homer (in the rain) watching the fishermen clean their halibut when one commented to the other that the weather couldn't be more perfect. And he was serious!
On the days we were in Seward the seas were 14ft so Kenai Fjord tours were cancelled. Also, in Talkeetna, the flight seeing tours of McKinley were cancelled. We ended up seeing more museums than we had planned and took hikes in wooded areas where the rain didn't penetrate. Hope you have better weather than we did.

Thanks, everybody for your quick responses. I am going to run this off and keep it with me. I have everything ready, but the shoes. I'll need to work on that. We always try to bleed the most fun out of everything we do. Misty-moisty rain, we can handle. 14 foot seas, a bid No. Thanks again, Sharon

Shanart, we spent 2 weeks in Alaska in tennis shoes and did just fine. Don't sweat over the shoes . . . bring what you have, and should the need arise, which I doubt it will, then you can pick up some rubber boots or something suitable there.

We spent our time in leather athletic shoes as well and did fine. The tour companies provided leather boots/waders for the activities that were really muddy (fishing, ATV off road riding). I rinsed the mud off the bottom of our shoes every night in the hotel and one night shocked my 15yr. old son when I used my toothbrush to get them really clean. (Of course I sent my husband to the gift shop for a new toothbrush!)
Don't know if it was the weather or what, but we had really good luck with wildlife sightings. A bear crossed the road right in front of us in Girdwood and we watched two bears fishing for salmon in Bird Creek alongside all the combat fishermen. We also had a closeup of a grizzly in the upper Kenai river while fishing. In Homer we saw eagles and one buzzed my son a couple of times in Ninilchik while we were talking to some clam diggers.

Sharon, just relax and do not worry about it now. If it rains you just have to find things to do. You cannot change weather but you can find things to do wherever you go. Go to visitor centers in both places and talk to wonderful people who work or volunteer there.

((*))lots of bears out now. Please use caution as the situation warrants. Today's ADN had some stories of close encounters if you want to read online.
Rain is actually a blessing. Keeps things fresh and less dust down the gravel roads, plus, most of the biting insects go elsewhere((Y)).

Just remember the basic difference between the brown bears and the grizzlys: The Brown bears climb the tree after you while the Grizzly just knock the tree down. (HA?)

Brown bear is also known as grizzly bear <i>Arses Arctos. They are the same species. They can be brown, blond, very dark brown, black or any color in between</i>

Please disregard my post above.
Correction:

Brown bear is also known as grizzly bear. Latin name is Ursus Arctos. They are the same species. They can be brown, blond, black or any color in between.

Whew, Pat . . . you had me worried there. Thought you'd suddenly adopted a British accent and was calling someone names!!:-D Just kidding. You are one of the kindest souls on this board. :)

Best advice? Don't hike bare.:))

BayouGal, Jetset1, LOL! You both made me happy this morning

Pat2003~ I was walking yesterday and spied some lowbush cranberries and thought of you:)
Speaking of bears, now that they have closed sockeye fishing due to poor returns, maybe the bears wil eat more fish and leave us more berries for your visit!
Did you ever see Grizzly Man? While it stirred up lots of controversy here, it was an interesting look at their existance in the wild.
Have a good Monday, J.

J., I too think Grizzly Man was very interesting and I feel it's purpose was to be controversial. It also made me think how much I care for preserving Alaska's natural beauty. You know we have native friends in White Mountain who live there for generations and their lives include hunting for different land and marine animals. They pick berries too which suppose to be plentiful but we never had a chance to check it out. Maybe next year or one-two years later.