Airplanes

Wednesday was the big day. It all came together as if by design. We woke to beautiful blue skies and the airplane trip I had been working on materialized. Rebekah, Connie and I headed for the Anchorage airport and it was up and away for me in a Piper Cub while the ladies shopped. I got a tour of the Triumvirate Glacier West of Anchorage. If you are following the SPOT you will see where we landed at the foot of the glacier. We also touched down on the tundra half way back. The weather was perfect! I have more than a few pictures to document the day and I am trying to put 8 on this post. The hardest part was to decide which ones!

Here Comes the Sun

It has been more overcast than not ever since we got here and the clouds have been hiding the beautiful mountains that make the state so photogenic. Needless to say, we have been waiting for a clear day to come along. Tuesday Mart was back at work so Connie and I used most of the day to catch up on odds and ends. As you can see that included coffee at the Purple Moose. Alaska exceeds Seattle in coffee shops per mile! After dinner the sun was gaining momentum and we went for a ride to glean a few shots out of the day.

Motorcycles

Monday Mart and I went motorcycle riding. He wasn't sure where the good trails were so we were just sort of exploring. We didn't come across any outstanding scenery and I only took my old camera and lens so not to much for pictures there. I'll add a few good pictures from previous days under these circumstances. The float planes are parked in a marina in a neighborhood that has a lake and and airport and every house has a hangar.

Trains and Boats

Saturday we all piled into the truck with trailer in tow and headed down Turnagain Arm to Portage where we found a nice campsite. Leaving the trailer there we drove to the port town of Whittier. We had lunch there, browsed around and headed back to Portage and the Wildlife Conservation Center. OK, the truth is that the bear and the caribou were not in the wild but behind fences. I wanted to come up with a good story for you but oh well.
Sunday morning we boarded a train in Girdwood near Portage and took a 3 hour train ride to Seward through some spectacular scenery. At Seward we had lunch and boarded a big boat for a 3 hour tour of Resurrection Bay where we saw lots of sea life, birds and more scenery. I couldn't get as close as I liked so shooting hand held with a 400mm lens from a boat didn't yield the sharpest pictures but you get the idea what was there. Then the return train ride and a drive back to Palmer getting home at 11 made for a long fun day.

The Camping Trip

Ok folks, I have multiple witnesses that I repaired all the broken picture link. It takes a long time to post pictures on this site and I am out of time this morning so you won't get a travel log today. I still have to do a post for Sunday also. I'll try and catch you up when I have time.

Tom

The Day Trip

Friday we did a day trip that was only 20 miles from the house. It was a mixed day of overcast and sun. There was an old mine and some cabins and a short hike to this beautiful green little lake. Then a short drive to another small lake. Beautiful scenery is in not short supply. The only two problems are deciding what to take pictures of and waiting on the sun. Today we're off for a weekend trip to Seward.

Tom

We Made It!

Today was rainy and cloudy most of the time but we saw the sun a little in the afternoon. Beautiful scenery and ruff roads made up the day but photo ops were not abundant. I was most happy with some of the pictures I got of these two swans on a small lake. We made it to Palmer in time to stop at a Fred Meyer's before arriving at Martin and Rebekah's around 6:30. Dinner, lots of visiting, a little bit of motorcycle riding and efforts to make some plans for the next few days rounded out the evening. Our trailer is now parked in front of their beautiful home in the lush green setting. The plan for Friday is to do some localized site seeing an pictures and to continue working on a plan for the next few days.

Tom