Adventure - Grandview Tour on the Alaska Railroad.

Glacier View from the Grandview Tour

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                                   Time:  Half-day

Summary

Carol's parents visited us in Alaska in June.  Her father can't really walk much anymore so we went looking for cool activities that don't require much walking.  Not surprisingly, there aren't that many in Alaska, but we found a winner in the Grandview Tour on the Alaska Railroad.  The Grandview Tour is pure sightseeing into area of Alaska that cannot be reached in any way other than by train.

Opinion

This is a fun trip, even for those who have no trouble

Adventure - Sightseeing on the 26 Glacier Cruise

Blackstone Glacier

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                               Time:  5+ hours

Summary

If you want a day packed with glaciers, wildlife, and flat seas, Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier on the M/V Klondike Express is right up your alley.  The cruise includes the 26 glaciers including a nice close-up view of 2 of them; a good chance (but no guarantee) of seals, sea lions, otters, dolphins, and whales; and a kittiwake nesting area.

Opinion

This trip is good for tourists or locals, photographers, sightseers, kids and adults.  Over the course of the five-hour, we took over 3,000 pictures!  We were actually beginning to worry about maxing out our 64 GB camera memory cards.  The company does a good job of 

Adventure - Tutka Bay Cooking Class

Tutka Bay Lodge

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                                   Time:  Half-day

Summary

There is no shortage of activities available on the Kenai Peninsula.  One of the more unexpected is a cooking lesson at the Tutka Bay Cooking School.  This half-day trip starts with a ride from the Homer docks (unless you are already staying at the Tutka Bay Lodge).  For there you take a water taxi to Tutka Bay Lodge where you are met and escorted to the long house where the cooking lessons are taught.

Opinion

This was a blast.  Not only do you learn to cook a dish on the style for the weekend (Italian, French, Alaskan), you get a full multi-course meal and the all the recipes for the meal.  Not only that,

Adventure - Under the Dock Tour (a view of dock life)

At the docks

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                                        Time:  2 hrs

Summary

Every May, the Homer Chamber of Commerce hosts the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.  The festival celebrates the passage of huge numbers of migratory birds through Kachemak Bay.  It lasts 3 days and is jam-packed with bird-watching, hikes, talks, kayaking, and boat tours.  One of the activities we chose to do was "Under the Dock" a naturalist guided discussion of the life under the Homer docks.  This tour was sponsored and led by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies.  They offer a variety of guided tours throughout the year.

Opinion

This was a delightful tour.  At first is seemed like something only for children, but

Adventure - Kayaking with True North Kayak Tours

Kayaks on the beach

Stats

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate                                                                               Time:  half-day

Summary

Every May, the Homer Chamber of Commerce hosts the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.  The festival celebrates the passage of huge numbers of migratory birds through Kachemak Bay.  It lasts 3 days and is jam-packed with bird-watching, hikes, talks, kayaking, and boat tours.  One of the activities we chose to do was a kayaking trip with True North Kayak.

Opinion

This trip was a lot of fun.  The price is surprisingly reasonable and

Winter Adventure - Arctic Circle Tour with Ronn Murray Aurora Tours

Aurora around the moon

Stats

Difficulty: Moderate                                                                                   Time:  Full-Day

Summary

This is a “bucket list” trip of a lifetime!

Ronn Murray and his wife Marketa run Aurora Tours out of Fairbanks, AK.  We chose to go all out and took their Arctic Circle Tour on 10 Mar 2014; this was the next to last of these

Winter Hiking - Snowshoeing at Eveline State Recreation Site

Snowshoeing on Eveline Trail

Stats 

Distance:  1.4 miles         Difficulty: Easy           Time:  1 hr 10 min

Summary

On 17 Jan 2014 we finally got some much overdue snow and headed to the Eveline State Recreation Site for snowshoeing.  Eveline has trails that are used in both summer and winter.  We tried the trail in summer (Hiking at Eveline State Recreation Site outside Homer); it was time to check it out in winter.  We took the Alpine Meadows Loop. In summer, this loop has excellent views of the Portlock and Dixon Glaciers.  The views are even better in winter.  The Alaska Department of Resources web site for the recreation area is Eveline State Recreation Site.

Opinion

This is a very nice snowshoe. 

Winter Hiking - Snowshoeing at the Carl E. Wynn Nature Center or Walking With Moose

Shadows and light

Distance:  0.3 miles                    Difficulty: Easy                            Time:  Up to you

Summary

The Carl E. Wynn Nature Center is a popular area for both hiking and snowshoeing.  The snow was just deep enough for snowshoes on 10 Jan 2014 and we took a short walk.

Opinion

In winter, the Wynn Center offers fabulous views of snow-covered spruce and open meadows.  You also have a very real chance of seeing a moose.  This area is definitely worth a visit. 

Adventure - Fishing with Dan Donich Charter – Full-Day Halibut Trip

Chris' 35 lb halibut ready to break the surface.

Stats

Difficulty: Easy - Moderate                                                                      Time:  Full-Day

Summary

I love halibut, but we don’t own a boat.   We decided to go on a fishing charter on 11 Sep on the hope of filling the freezer.  This time we chose Dan Donich (Daniel's Personalized Guide Service).  He was recommended by an acquaintance.  This was our second charter in 2013.  We went out on the Irish in late Aug (see Halibut Fishing with North Country Charters) and came home with 15.8 lbs of halibut filets, but we wanted more.

Opinion

Great trip!  My husband and I caught our limit (so did everyone else on the boat) and came home with 54.1 lbs of halibut filets

Adventure - Halibut Fishing with North Country Charters

The Take

Stats

Difficulty: Easy - Moderate                                                                      Time:  Half-Day

Summary

I love halibut, but we don’t own a boat.   So we decided to try halibut fishing.  For our first trip, we decided to try North Country Charters.  They were offering a ½ day halibut-fishing trip on 20 Aug that suited our needs.

Opinion

Good trip!  WIth day old or worst halibut running $21 to $25 per pound we decided to fill

Adventure - 4-Wheeling with Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours in the Kenai Backcountry

Kachemak Bay Glaciers Seen from Kenai Backcountry

Stats

Difficulty: Easy - Moderate                          Distance: 15 mi                                 Time:  6 hrs+

Summary

Dan Eidem runs Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours, a tour on ATVs, for small to medium groups.  An earlier post described our trip with him in May down the beach from Bishop’s Beach in Homer (AW4WT - On the Beach).  This time we took his more usual route, into the Kenai Peninsula backcountry.  This area includes meadows filled with Fireweed, spruce forests, sweeping vistas and views of glaciers and volcanoes.

Opinion

This trip was a blast!  We went several miles

Adventure - Blueberry Picking at the Peterson Research Station

Sunset at Peterson Research Station

Stats

When: Early – Mid August                         Where: Peterson Research Station

Summary

Alaska seems to be the US capitol for berries.  More berries grow in this state than I’ve ever heard of anywhere else.  We’ve got blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, salmon berries, watermelon berries, elderberries, currant, marionberries, cranberries, lingonberries (low bush cranberry), nagoonberries, crow berries, serviceberries, and strawberries.  Most of these grow wild, but several cultivars are grown in home yards and farms as well.  Truly, I didn’t know half these berries existed until I moved here.

On 11 Aug 2013 our neighbors asked if we wanted to take a boat ride across Kachemak Bay to go blueberry picking at the Peterson Research Station.  The Peterson Research Station belongs to the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies based out of Homer.  The station is situated on 5 acres of wild land and coastline and their lower trails go through extensive blueberry fields, with a mix of currant and salmonberry randomly distributed throughout.  The berries are fair game to visitors, although they ask that you leave a few for the bears.

Opinion

This was a blast.  We picked berries for about 2 hours and came home with 7.5 lbs (22.5 cups)

Adventure - 4-Wheeling with Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours - Riding On the Beach at Homer

Sea and Sky on the Beach

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                       Time:  Half-Day +

Summary

Dan Eidem runs Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours, an tour on ATVs, for small to medium groups.  He usually tours the Homer backcountry, but when we joined him on 26 May 2013, the backcountry was still deep in snow and mud.  So he took us to his alternate site, the beach starting at Bishop’s Beach.

Opinion

This trip was a blast!  We were hoping to see