On our way home...

Quick update from the "Northern Rockies Lodge" in British Columbia. Another good day on the road, and we're getting home quickly (more quickly than expected). The Cassier highway was closed today due to forest fires, so we are forced to take the same roads South as we used to get North. And since we've seen everything once, we're just "making tracks".

We did get to see several herds of Bison in the Yukon today. One herd was about 50 head strong, another around 20. Gus and Jeff got some pictures, but due to a poor WIFI connection, we didn't get them uploaded tonight. Sorry.......

Based on the way we are moving, we should be home in our own beds by the end of the week!!!

Tim, Gus, and Jeff

7-30-10

Got up early today and spent the day on the Kenai River fishing Red Salmon (Sockeye). We found the fish to be tough to get into the boat. The fought hard and were tough to get into the net. We ended the day with 8 nice fish. Not our limit but plenty to bring home. We were joined by a few brown bears during the day looking for the same thing we were. They kept to their business and did not seem bothered by our presence. The rain stayed away while we were on the river which was a good thing as it was plenty cold just standing river water all day. We are planning to head back towards Minnesota in the morning. The time went by fast but we are all ready to get back to some real summer weather. We may have trouble updating the blog on a regular basis as we are heading down British Columbia and there are very few towns until we are almost back to Jasper.

Till the next update.

Tim, Gus and Jeff

Yesterday, we went gallery and museum sightseeing throughout the Homer area. Weather was cooperative, and the day turned out great. We spent most of our time at the Norman Lowell gallery, a local artist that has spent the last 50 years at his homestead near Homer. He was born in Iowa, and moved to Alaska shortly after getting married. The upper left is an inside shot of the homestead cabin he built. His wife and him raised 5 children here, burning their own wood for heat until only a few years ago, when his age preventing him from continuing to chop trees. Though the picture doesn't do the gallery justice, it's a wonderful building and presentation. It's not at all what you would expect to find on a hillside in the mountains. The gallery itself is probably close to a half-million dollar structure, with four large rooms and galleries. About 90% of the art is Norman Lowell's, with a smattering of other local artists. It was a wonderful find.

We also visited Ben Firth's gallery. Mr. Firth does some wonderful work on natural materials, including carvings on moose horns, and oils on birch bark. His work was so unique and wonderful, Jeff didn't make it out the door without making an investment.

And finally, we went to the Homer visitor's center, which was a great museum on the history and current scientific research going on in the area.

Today is Jeff's birthday (he's getting so old!!), so we'll have to take it a bit easy. Planning to move to Cooper's Landing in preparation for out guided Salmon fishing expedition tomorrow. We get to meet our guide at 4:30 A.M., so we won't be partying too late tonight.....sorry, Jeff!!

Tim, Jeff, & Gus

Hello from Homer, Alaska!! Had a great day of fishing today. Jeff slaughtered the fish....he caught the biggest halibut on the far left, and the cod laying across the top. Meanwhile, Tim made a meager contribution with a couple of small halibut. When the fish were cleaned and packed, we shipped over 100 pounds of fish back to our families. Who said we weren't great providers??

Gus stayed back today, and caught up on a number of chores. In addition, he made us a GREAT dinner again tonight.

Actually, I think he enjoyed the day of solitude with the two of us gone after several weeks of living together!

We were extremely lucky today. While the wind and rains have made fishing miserable over the last two weeks, we lucked out with a gorgeous day. The mountain and water picture above is the scene from our fishing boat today.......not a bad way to spend the day.

Tim, Jeff, & Gus

Hike - July 24

Had a great hike yesterday. I was to solo hiker with our guide, so we went off trail in search of remote places and unique scenery. And we found it in abundance. My guide's name was Kevin. He is a biology student at Colorado Springs, and has a unique knowledge of plants, fungus, and spores. In the 3 hours we hiked, I tried to learn as much as a could from him. Again, "beauty is in the eyes of the observer". Had I not had the guides experience to draw on, I would have missed much of the wonder of what we saw. It's been a rainy season in Alaska, and the mushrooms were in abundance. It was like walking through an "Alice in Wonderland" movie. I had never seen mushrooms in such variety and vibrant colors before. Wild!!

In addition, we ran across many trapper set-ups from the prior winter. The sticks making a small teepee in the attached picture are set-ups used by trappers to protect the meat and trap from the falling snow, and to "funnel" the animal to the trap area. The meat is hung on the inside of the teepee, and the trap placed in the doorway. Kevin tells me the trappers check their trap lines with dog sleds.....it's a tough go to make a living here in the winter. It's definitely for hardy folk!

We must of chased off a bear in one area of our hike. Kevin is in one of today's pictures next to a place a bear laid for the night. When we found it, it was still giving off steam from the animals body. Since it was about 45 degrees out, we must of startled the animal with our talk (maybe it's a good thing I talk loud).

We spent 3 hours investigating, searching, and scrambling over the rock ridges above the village of Denali. The weather was about 45 degrees (perfect for what we were doing)......another great day in the Northland.

We left Denali about noon yesterday, and came to Anchorage. We went to "Humpy's" for dinner last night. While the food was just OK (Humpy's has been featured on the Food Channel's "Man vs. Food"), the atmosphere was fun and the drinks great.

Today, we move to Homer and get ready for Halibut and Salmon fishing.

Tim

The Denali Bus Tour

Wonderful bus tour today through the Denali National Park. Denali does not allow private vehicles within the park, so our choices were a bus tour or walk.

Though the day was cloudy (too cloudy to see Mt. McKinley), we saw an abundance of wildlife. Attached are a few of the many photos we took. We saw a total of 11 grizzlies (3 in the photo above), a number of moose, some huge Caribou, one wolf, and many, many Dall sheep.

We got back around 4:30. It's getting cold, and we're planning to go to the villiage of Denali for pizza and a beer or two this evening.

Tim

7-22-10

Moved from Fairbanks to Denali Park this morning. The drive was short only about 130 miles. The weather was overcast but at least the rain stayed away until evening. We took an ATV ride this afternoon in an area right next to Denali National Park. We had a great time! We were lucky enough to be in a group with a family from Michigan who were all powersports riders. Our tour guides were 3 young bucks who were happy to take us further and faster then their typical tours would allow. They all agreed it was the most enjoyable tour they have had in years. We went up the mountain and down a creek for miles in the water. It was alot of fun and everyone got along great. We all got a bit muddy and wet but it was worth it. We take the bus into Denali in the morning. We are hoping the weather breaks long enough for us to see the top of McKinley. Stay tuned to find out if it does. Tim cooked steaks for dinner and we had a fire going to keep us warm. Life doesn't get much better then this.

Tim, Gus, Jeff