Autumn Hike

Jameson and I went for a short hike on the Turnagain Arm Trail. It was a gorgeous day. The yellow aspens were shining in the sun. 

Alaska State Fair Take Two

It was time for the cabbage and pumpkin showdown. Largest cabbage was 117.95#. 

At some point, gravity wins. 

Mom came to visit!

We ventured down to Portage Glacier, saw some spawning salmon and came back to a rainbow!

Alaska State Fair

Thursday, August 21st kicked off the 2014 Alaska State Fair

We went on Saturday to see the Lumberjack show, Cirque presentation and famous giant cabbages.

Pioneer Peak is a great backdrop for the Lumberjack show

The Three Little Pigs

The largest cabbage so far is 102# - the main competition for those 125# and larger will be at the end of the fair

Halibut Fishing in Homer

Last weekend, Dad, Brad and I went halibut hooking in Homer (nice alliteration huh?). It was a great day on the water and we all caught our limit (2 each with one having to be under 29")!

We stayed at a nice little cabin with a 200 yard path lined with fireweed past our shoulders. We made sure to have bear spray as there was no way to tell what was out there.

On a clear day you can see Augustine Volcano

Our fishing rigs - rope connects the line to the circle hooks

Halibut are typically rightys - meaning when their eyes move from either side of the head to one side so they can see above them, they typically move to the right - in the Halibut Derby, if you caught a lefty you won $100

Dad's first halibut

Brad's hooked a big one

Fishin' for silvers once he met his halibut limit

Dad's catch

My catch

Brad's catch minus his other halibut

One of my patients told me to take then lens out of a halibut eye and look through and the deck hand was nice enough to give me one

Hard to see, but if you click on the pic to make larger, you can tell the deckhand is upside down when looking through the lens

Salmon Fishing in Seward

Dad and I went silver salmon fishing out of Seward, AK a few weekends back.
Dad caught 3 while I only hooked 1. Total fish in the freezer: 15 pounds of salmon filets.

Dad reels one in

Bloody salmon, cold beer

Fileting masters on the boat

Seagulls follow every boat for the carcasses they toss overboard

The days catch

First visitors of the summer!

As summer comes to an end here in Alaska, I finally have a few moments to post the fun adventures I've been able to share with a few guests these past summer months.

First visitors of the summer were my Dad and Aunt Becky

We spent the 4th of July in Talkeetna and Denali National Park 

View of Mt. McKinley (aka Denali) from Princess Lodge right outside of Talkeetna

Our cabin the Snoozin Moose in Talkeetna

View of Mt. McKinley from the South Viewpoint

View of Mt. McKinley from the North Viewpoint

Our friendly moose at McKinley Chalet Resort - our accommodation for Denali

Nenana River raging past McKinley Chalet Resort

Closest point to Mt. McKinley inside the National Park

Caribou

Grizzly (aka Brown) Bear middle right

Moose - take note of the lake and compare to picture below - you will see how big this park really is

Can you find the same lake with the moose?

Grizzly on the hill

Baby moose outside our room

Then, we went on the National Park Tour of the Kenai Fjords National Park

My first puffin!

Pair of eagles

Sea lions

Three hole bluff - except one of the holes fell in

Holgate Glacier

Sea otters were everywhere

Sea otter raft

Aialik Glacier (pronounced Eye-al-ick)

Compare the kayakers size to the Aialik Glacier

Harbor seals stay warm with a layer of blubber and have evolved to arch up so only a small amount of their body is touching the ice

Lots of seals at the terminus of the Aialik Glacier

Tufted puffin

More sea lions

Lonely in the cove

Puffins and Murres - murres are known as the Penguin of the North - they stand and are colored like a penguin however they do fly - they "fly" underwater just as puffins do and can dive as deep as they can fly

Puffin in flight

Nested puffins

Humpback whale tale

Humpback whale back

Fox Island - where we had our Salmon and Prime Rib dinner after a cold, wet day of sightseeing