From Denali to Homer in Photos

As we departed Denali National Park, Mount McKinley once again emerged from the typical shroud of clouds to bid farewell. We headed south towards Anchorage.

We paused in Eagle River, just north of Anchorage. We camped near the Eagle River Nature Center.

An evening walk at our campsite was interrupted by a black bear making its way along the river bank. Fortunately he was not interested in us and he stayed on the opposite side of the river.

Bald Eagles are a common sight, but I still pause and watch each one when we see one soaring above.

The Eagle River Nature Center had some magnificent reflections of the surrounding mountains.

The Slippery Salmon Olympics at the Bear Paw Festival in Eagle River involved contestants shaking a can of Coke, opening it and placing it on a tray to be carried along with a salmon through an obstacle course. Even their state senator showed up and was first to compete.

A local rendition of the Ghost Busters participated in the Bear Paw Festival in Eagle River.

A huge bull moose with a substantial rack was feeding in Eagle River, eating vegetation from the bottom, while a little family of ducks floated around to quickly nab leftovers.

The float plane taking off from Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage.

We flew out of Anchorage on Trail Ridge Air for about an hour and a half across the mud flats, over mountains, through passes and onto the Twin Lakes at Lake Clark National Park.

We were fortunate to have great weather for the flight. We saw some Beluga whales as we crossed over Cook Inlet,

Mountains, lakes, volcanoes, rivers – it was like flying in, through and around a Bob Ross painting.

The destination – Dick Proenneke’s cabin on Twin Lakes in Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park. Here’s a link to One Man’s Wilderness, 50th Anniversary Edition: An Alaskan Odyssey

I could see Dick Proenneke standing there and could also hear his voice saying he was “glassing” the hills looking for bears.

Inside Dick Proenneke’s cabin on Twin Lakes in Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park, just the way he left it.

Dick Proenneke’s view from inside his cabin where he updated his daily journal.

Dick Proenneke’s cabin on Twin Lakes in Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park

Upon the suggestion of our pilot, we hiked up behind Dick Proenneke’s cabin and looked back over the Twin Lakes and surrounding mountains.

The wood shed and outhouse for guests.

Mountain, volcanoes and glaciers enroute to Lake Clark National Park.

Seeing the cabin and beauty of twin lakes was an absolutely amazing experience!

Trying to emulate the iconic photo of Dick Proenneke leaning on his door.

Richard Louis Proenneke (May 4, 1916 – April 20, 2003) was an American naturalist, conservationist, writer, and wildlife photographer who, from the age of 51, lived alone for nearly thirty years (1968–1998) in the mountains of Alaska in a log cabin that he constructed. -Wikipedia 

Drove south past Anchorage down the Kenai Peninsula. Near Soldotna, we cruised the Kenai River with a guide to put us on some salmon.

Fishing (and catching!) sockeye salmon in the Kenai River near Soldotna, Alaska. The technique was called flossing, and they put up quite a fight.

The salmon were no match for us! Of course there was no lack of salmon and with the expertise of our guide we were quickly fighting them in.

Caught our limit of sockeye salmon! Fun day on the river.

The guide made easy work of fileting the salmon we caught, and then we had them sealed and frozen for shipping by a local processor.

Bald eagles do not get their distinctive white head and tail feathers until they are four or five years old.

Near the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, we stopped in Homer for a few days. We camped on the Homer Spit – a coastal landform of sand and gravel.

Just above Homer overlooking the Kachemak Bay.

Winds picking up around Kachemak Bay.

Fireweed is a brilliant purple flower found in many places around Alaska.

A water taxi shuttled us out of Homer and across Kachemak Bay where we hiked to Grewingk Glacier Lake, located within Kachemak Bay State Park.

We took a water taxi across the Kachemak Bay to go hiking.

Hiking Kachemak Bay State Park, across the bay from Homer, Alaska. We hiked up to a glacier that terminates in a mountain lake.

Small icebergs calving off Grewingk Glacier float around the lake.

Although small, these mini-icebergs were fun to watch as they melted and pieces periodically splashed into the lake.