Alaska: Day 2--The Drive South

Thursday, August 7th we drove south from Anchorage down to the Kenai Peninsula. Our destination: Dolly Varden Lake near Sterling, AK (not too far from Soldotna). Actually, my parents nicknamed the campground "Loon Lake" because there are a flock of loons that make it such a special place with their enchanting calls. Their sounds are eerie but beautiful. We camped at this lake 2 years ago when Karcyn was a baby and the boys asked if we could go back again. We packed the camper and canoe and van and off we went. The big and little boys were in the truck and the girls and baby were following in the van.

I had told Jake and Cooper that I'd give them a quarter for every wild animal that they saw on the trip. Then I started thinking about my budget and revamped it to a nickel. I'm so glad I did. Shortly after announcing the new sighting value, we spotted some dall sheep (four of them--which only put me out 40 cents instead of $2) up on the mountainside to our left. It's amazing how those animals can climb the steep rocks. (Yes, the sheep is the small white dot in the middle of the picture).

Less than 5 minutes after seeing the sheep, we spotted a pod of beluga whales swimming up the Turnagain Arm eating salmon. Actually, when we saw 30 cars, trucks, campers and trailers pulled over on the side of the road and even more people on the embankment taking pictures, it didn't take a brain surgeon to know something big was in the water. We're not picky though. We don't care how we find the wildlife. My mom told us that a friend of theirs who has lived in Anchorage for 30 years has never seen a bear or beluga whales out in the wild, which made this even more special for our family. (Again...the whales are the white blobs, rolling in the water in the middle of the picture).

You know the spotting is a big deal when the Alaska Railroad totally stops the train to allow its passengers an opportunity to see the wildlife.


For as long as I live, I shall never tire of the unique beauty that is Alaska.

About an hour or so after we said farewell to the belugas, we crossed a bridge with a huge crowd. There was a bear walking along the edge of the Kenai River near Cooper Landing. So we pulled over, jumped out of our respective vehicles, jarred the boys awake, and ran over to see it. It was a big 'ol grizzly bear! I cannot believe our blessed circumstances. People who have lived in Alaska as long as I've been alive haven't seen the amazing wildlife that we did in a matter of 2 hours...just driving to our campsite. And it was another beautiful day!