Kodiak Island, Alaska!

Kodiak Island is located 75 miles south of Homer surrounded by the Gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific Ocean.

We took our van on the MV Tustumena ferry, a part of the Alaska Marine Highway System, to and from Kodiak Island. We lined up awaiting the same ferry that has been serving this route for the last 60 years.

We drove the van onto the ferry, although we did not stay in the van once we parked, and they chained the van in so it would not move. It takes about 10 hours once underway to reach Kodiak Island.

A huge elevator then lowered us into the hull, and turned 90-degrees so we could drive off and park before raising for the next two cars. The same elevator process was repeated in reverse when we arrived at the dock.

From the deck of the ferry we saw several pods of Orcas, or killer whales.

Kodiak Island is known for the 3,000 Kodiak bears that call it home. The Kodiak bear is a type of brown bear exclusive to the island and is larger than grizzly bears and second in size only to polar bears.

The sparsely populated Kodiak Island and the plentiful fish offer a great habitat for bald eagles.

Often seen perched in trees or along the top of cliffs scanning the bays and inlets, bald eagles are a frequent part of the landscape.

Our camper van nestled in at the Buskin River State Park campground on Kodiak Island.

Our campsite at Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park on Kodiak Island.

Camping right along the coast in Pasagshak State Recreation Site on Kodiak, Alaska.

Deer on Kodiak Island.

This little fox apparently thought he was hiding, watched us for a few minutes then darted off into the woods.

The water is clear and starfish could be seen in shallow areas, especially at low tide.

Walmart has the Alaska Bush Program, and will ship orders anywhere in the state, most frequently by plane to the more isolated areas, such as several communities on Kodiak Island accessible only by boat in the summer and plane in the winter.

A layer of fossils in the middle of this rock shows what was deposited on the ocean floor millions of years ago.

In an isolated and very scenic area in the southern part of Kodiak Island is the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA), one of only four orbital vertical launch sites in the United States.

There are two launch pads, a mission control center that includes 64 workstations with high-speed communications and data links. There is also an enclosed 17-story-tall rocket assembly building.