Ronni and I spent the last week of June in Alaska on a BackRoads trip with my sister Marilyn, her husband Wayne, and seventeen other BackRoads guests. The trip, weather, and our tour leaders, Rob and David, were fantastic.
The first day began in Homer, Alaska at the Lands End Resort, where we got acquainted with our BackRoads group. Homer is a quaint fishing, drinking village, and popular tourist destination on the Kenai Peninsula. Day 2 took us across Kachemak Bay to Captain Cook State Park for a 5 mile hike on Glacier Spit Trail to the scenic, iceberg filled, Glacier Lake.
Cooper’s Landing was day 3, where we saw some of the most beautiful scenery on the way to Russian Lake for a picnic. I took about 3000 photos over our eleven day vacation. Some are on my web site: http://www.gorback.com/. That, along with being a slow hiker, made me the last to finish every hike. Thank goodness David and Rob stayed back to keep me company.
After hiking, that night we stayed at the beautiful Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge near Seward for two days. Every stop was fun, with great food, drinks, and especially the freshly caught Alaskan fish. The next day at Carter Lake Trailhead we hiked along a salmon filled river, watching the fish make their way incredibly up stream fighting gushing rapids and fisherman.
Day 5, at Kenai Fjords National Park, was the most strenuous. There were a number of hiking options alongside Exit Glacier and the Harding Ice Fields. Ronni and some of our more adventurous hikers made a seven hour trip to the top of the glacier and snow covered mountain, with an elevation gain of about 3500 feet. I was content with 2 miles and a 1000 foot climb.
Our last day was a seven mile trek along Ptarmigan Creek to Ptarmigan Lake where we paused for a group photo. Ronni, exhausted from her previous climb, took the day off. After the hike we shuttled to Anchorage. Ronni caught the red-eye back to Florida, and Marilyn, Wayne and I stayed in Anchorage for three extra days.
The highlight of our time in Anchorage was a 26 glacier, 145 mile, Prince William Sound cruise aboard the Klondike Express. The ship, a 137 foot catamaran, carries up to 342 passengers. If you visit Alaska, this is a must do. Many other cruise ships also visit the bay. The glaciers and wildlife were spectacular.
On our last day, Marilyn and Wayne took a morning run along the Tony Knowles Trail, while I walked around Anchorage. We spent the afternoon at the marvelous Anchorage Museum. A final dinner together and we were on our ways home.
The first day began in Homer, Alaska at the Lands End Resort, where we got acquainted with our BackRoads group. Homer is a quaint fishing, drinking village, and popular tourist destination on the Kenai Peninsula. Day 2 took us across Kachemak Bay to Captain Cook State Park for a 5 mile hike on Glacier Spit Trail to the scenic, iceberg filled, Glacier Lake.
Cooper’s Landing was day 3, where we saw some of the most beautiful scenery on the way to Russian Lake for a picnic. I took about 3000 photos over our eleven day vacation. Some are on my web site: http://www.gorback.com/. That, along with being a slow hiker, made me the last to finish every hike. Thank goodness David and Rob stayed back to keep me company.
After hiking, that night we stayed at the beautiful Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge near Seward for two days. Every stop was fun, with great food, drinks, and especially the freshly caught Alaskan fish. The next day at Carter Lake Trailhead we hiked along a salmon filled river, watching the fish make their way incredibly up stream fighting gushing rapids and fisherman.
Day 5, at Kenai Fjords National Park, was the most strenuous. There were a number of hiking options alongside Exit Glacier and the Harding Ice Fields. Ronni and some of our more adventurous hikers made a seven hour trip to the top of the glacier and snow covered mountain, with an elevation gain of about 3500 feet. I was content with 2 miles and a 1000 foot climb.
Our last day was a seven mile trek along Ptarmigan Creek to Ptarmigan Lake where we paused for a group photo. Ronni, exhausted from her previous climb, took the day off. After the hike we shuttled to Anchorage. Ronni caught the red-eye back to Florida, and Marilyn, Wayne and I stayed in Anchorage for three extra days.
The highlight of our time in Anchorage was a 26 glacier, 145 mile, Prince William Sound cruise aboard the Klondike Express. The ship, a 137 foot catamaran, carries up to 342 passengers. If you visit Alaska, this is a must do. Many other cruise ships also visit the bay. The glaciers and wildlife were spectacular.
On our last day, Marilyn and Wayne took a morning run along the Tony Knowles Trail, while I walked around Anchorage. We spent the afternoon at the marvelous Anchorage Museum. A final dinner together and we were on our ways home.
