Salkow Travels in Alaska
Our trip took us on the Princess Dawn up the inland passage to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay then onto the port of Seward on the Kenai peninsula. From Seward we traveled up the great Alaskan Highway 1 to Coopers Landing. We stayed at the Princess Lodge for four days and visited surrounding ports, towns, glaciers, and floated (that is fished) 17 miles of the glacier fed Upper (no motor section) Kenai River down to Skilak Lake.The Cruise
Staff
The staff of the Princess get 100 percent in effort and satisfaction. Service was excellent. I recommend you get to know your waiters, steward, head waiter, and Maitre D by name as it will only make things more enjoyable.The Ship
The Dawn is a spanking new ship with three dining rooms and various restaurants offering Pizza or free Burger and Ice Cream. Rooms are larger and I think all outside rooms have balconies with a small table and two chairs often a good place to relax or take pictures. Pools, spa and Jacuzzi are top notch.The food
Venetian Dining offered open seating usually with no wait. Presentation and service we excellent but some dished often were a bit disappointing. However, if you wanted to change to something else, you need only order it. Desserts like dinner menus often we just good or very good but infrequently excellent. Cheesecake, Ice Cream or Cream Brulee we offered every night on the standard dessert menu. The wine list was modestly marked up but was rather narrow in its focus. Only the most expensive bottles were what I call good wines. Your unlikely to find your favorite winery on the list so I would advise bringing the special wines with you. If you a beer drinker and prefer dark beers I hope you like Guinness Stout as it was the only dark beer offering. I reverted to Budweiser as my default.Ports of call
Juneau was raining so we did not do much there.
KetchikanThe town was charming. We took the jet boat wildlife tour along the glass like shores around the port and at Salmon Falls Resort. Although the falls are right on the inlet's edge and the stream leading to the falls only 100 yards long, salmon do spawn here. The were two juvenile salmon in the trees along the creek. The tour was terrific and really a lot of fun running smoothly over the glass like water at 45 mile per hour. Large pane windows were We sneaked up on deer, a Martin (ferret like critter) , eagles, and fur sea-lions.Shoping in town had tax free jewelry and photographic supplies for the trip. In fact, there were numerous jewelry stores. A central cute shopping area supported by log stilts was join by bridges over the gin clear stream that ran right down their middle. (Photo below) A tram lead up to a resort/restaurant with a nice menu and a view of Ketchikan from a site a bit removed from the busy areas below. Alaska's specialties were available at Sam McGees ( A Taste of Alaska variety store. You can taste everything. We bought and shipped home Salmonberry jelly and Birch Syrup. |  |
|
|
|
|
SkagwayIt was July Forth and the parade was under way. (photos) We went up the White Pass via the White Pass Railway. This is the famed pass that led to the 1897 Gold Rush's Yukon territory. Soon, miners of all shapes and sizes, called "stampeders", were on their way to the gold fields. Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off for the Yukon. Only 30,000 completed the trip. Only Jackie, Vicki and I went into town. Joe had a gambling competition aboard ship. That afternoon we scouted the town. A big BBQ was underway up main street. We met the major who look like and dressed like Brett Maverick in black western affair sporting silver tipped cowboy boots. He looked very sharp. He inveighed us all to participate in the BBQ at 1:00 but we were starving and could not wait another hour. Near the dock, we had fresh local oysters, halibut and fresh grilled crab cakes complemented by the local clam chowder - delicious. |
|
|
|
|
 see www.whitepassrailroad.com |
Glacier BayThe first impression of this glassy inlet was how cold it was. The deeper into the inlet to colder it got. Wild Life staff boarded at the entrance via their own boat and transferred aboard to give a blow by blow description of the wildlife and the glacier histories. |
|
Land trips start here.
Seward and Exit Glacier
Where in Southcentral Alaska Is Seward ?We made landfall at Seward, a busy little port city over shadowed by the 3,022 feet towering MT. Marathon mountains behind it. Situated at the head of Resurrection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is one of Alaska’s oldest and most scenic communities. Known as the "Gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park" Seward is a picturesque town located 126 miles south of Anchorage.
A good place we dined was Rays on the waterfront (907) 224-5606. They have a extensive and affordable wine list and excellent seafood as would be expected. King Crab was $35.
Just 3.7 miles north of town is the right hand turn to the road to Exit Glacier about eight miles up the road to the Park Entrance. This is the most accessible of the Alaskan glaciers. (Pictures to come)
I lost my hand to the high cold winds running off the face of the glacier. I was pondering if I should wade the ice melt waters of Exit Creek to retrieve it. God knows, I must love that hat. Those waters of Exit Creek were painfully cold.
Hiking and camping are allowed on the ice field , which is a demanding 3-mile-long climb up from the valley.
Click on this picture below for interesting Link off http://www.sewardak.org/site_map.htm
Cooper's Landing and the Princess Lodge
Coopers Landing is without doubt the most beautiful place on the Kenai Peninsula. It is bisected by the milky blue waters of the famous salmon run Kenai river. The lodge is up on a bluff overlooking the valley and the view of the river's bend. The Princess Lodge restaurant dining room looks out of this same view. Here the food was excellent. The rack of lamb was a masterpiece. Even the wine list was substantially better that the ship's wine list. The black berry pie was the best I have ever had.Sterling
Sterling is in the flat area of the Kenai peninsula and is very unremarkable however, it may be a good place to eat or buy gas. If your headed toward Soldotna, a right hand turn onto road off to the right go to nearby Lakes.
Sterling, left from the last major Ice Age, that later was called Naptown. The population of Sterling in 1980 was approximately 913. The town lies on the Sterling Highway, between Cooper Landing and the city of Soldotna.
Soldotna
Located at the heart of the Kenai Peninsula, the City of Soldotna offers year round recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. This is a "big town" with more that three stop lights and for Alaska, is also a culture shock as it could be almost anywhere USA except for the salmon smokeries and for the fact that the glacier fed Kenai river runs right through town. It has car rentals, camping, lodging, fishing of all kinds guided trips and many restaurants.
Homer
Home of Halibut fishing and a port for cruise ships, it is still more quaint than Soldotna. It has a long stretch of a pebble beach with not a sole on it.
The terminus of the peninsula has a nice restaurant called the Lands End with a great view. They have a very decent clam chowder made from local clams.
Hope
Off the beaten path, this little quaint town has a number of historic site. Hope is along a interesting road often used as a bike trail. Hope looks out on the Turnagain arm of the Cooks Inlet.
Turnagain Arm, a narrow extension of the eponymous Cook Inlet, was given its unusual name by renowned explorer Captain Cook, when he was forced to "turn" his ship back "again" after failing to find a river. A low tide the inlet is a sheet of brown sand good for clams but "quicksand" to would be waders.
Hope,the first gold rush boom town on the Peninsula ended up with a name synonymous with every miner's driving force....Hope.
Trip HighlightsWildflowers.Summer means wildflowers. Fireweed is blossoming (photos to come). Big Bumblebees were "hard at it" considering the brevity of summer. IditarodThe 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog is the most significant annual event in Alaska. I was very lucky to learn of it directly from Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Alaskan Iditarod race. She gave a lecture on the race on board the Dawn Princess and later we got to meet her directly. She autographed two books form me. Libby Riddles made her own luck. On a Sunday night in 1985, she mushed 13 dogs out of Shaktoolik and into the teeth of a blizzard that pinned every other racer to the town. The daring move gave Riddles a lead that couldn't be overcome, and she reached Nome three days later as the first woman ever to win the Iditarod. After reading her books, I am now Gung-Ho to help sponsor a participant in this incredible act of commitment and courage. For more on Libby see http://www.adn.com/iditarod/guide/hall/story/764092p-817024c.htmland  Libby Riddles P.O. Box 15253 Fritz Creek, AK 9960 |
|
Portage GlacierHalf way between Anchorage and Seward is the valley of the Portage Glacier. The mountains here all have valleys with blue ice glacier. Two hanging glaciers – Explorer Glacier and Middle Glacier – can be seen at the right during the six-mile drive to the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center beside Portage Lake. Portage is Alaska’s most land accessible glacier and is located just 52 miles outside of Anchorage. The viewing station and visitors center on Portage Lake is a must stop for taking a frigid look at this massive ice field. Nearby Byron Glacier can be hiked to from a parking lot just off the road between the visitor center and the boat launch building. (TOP) |
|
Things I found Unique to Alaska
All things Red. There are just a predominance of red things from the color names of saloons (Red Dog Saloon, Juneau), taverns (Red Anchor Tavern), mines (Red Tape Mine, Red Dog Mine, Red Hat Mine), bars (Red Onion Bar) restaurants to one out of four cars. Uncommon in California, red semi-trucks seem to be abundant. Red must be a popular thing for Alaska.
Daylight Hours were novel. With the sun light only failing at after midnight, activities started to stretch out over a whole day that was crowded with increased activities. By the end of the trip, dinner was starting around 9 PM. The further north you go, the more daylight there is. In Anchorage, it's possible to read a book outside at midnight in late June. In Barrow, on Alaska's North Slope, it doesn't get dark at all for several months.
(TOP)
| Skunk Cabbage is a large leaf cabbage like plant that stinks but is eaten by bears as a natural laxative to over come winter blockage initiated by the bears as a means of preserving their den via constipation by the in gestation of gravel twigs and what not for this purpose. Growing in the wet ditches along the roads we found ourselves looking for this as we drove along.
|
 |
|
Salmon Berries use as a substitute for raspberries, this local berry is larger and also makes a fine pie or jelly. We brought back some of the jelly.
|
|
Birch Syrup the reduced sap of the birch tree is even better than maple syrup. 100 gallons of birch sap makes one gallon of Birch Syrup which makes it about $17 a pint but ahhh so good. see http://www.alaskabirchsyrup.com/products.asp
(TOP)
