Unfortunately, despite being exhausted, we could not get the room dark enough or cool enough or quiet enough last night and the midnight sun played havoc with our circadian rhythms, so we both slept like crap.
So today was our own version of a “land tour.” We rented a car with the intention of driving out to the Kenai Peninsula to do some hiking. Before heading out, however, we had to make a couple stops.
The first stop was to REI to pick up some bug “schmear” for the goliath Alaskan mosquitos and either bear spray or a bear bell since we would be hiking in “bear country” and since the salmon were starting to run increasing the likelihood of seeing one fishing. We wound up just getting a small bell that Angela could strap to her little daypack in the hopes that any bears we happened upon would be more interested in the just spawning salmon more than us instead of the spray .
Secondly, we stopped at Lake Hood by the airport to watch the floatplanes come and go. Apparently this particular floatplane “base” is the busiest in the world. There wasn't much activity, though, so we packed up after just a couple minutes. We saw a bald eagle gliding over the water on our way out, so that was cool. Our first official Alaskan wildlife sighting. W00t!
Our drive out to the Kenai took us down around the tip of the “Turnagain Arm” past Girdwood and towards the small fishing town of Cooper Landing. After trying to find a lunch place recommended by the hotel desk clerk (it was closed down and had been for some time), we settled on a BBQ place. I had brisket and Angela had ribs and they were very tasty. Good fuel to prepare us for our hike to Russian River Falls.
The hike was amazing. The weather was bordering on perfect and the trail was very well maintained. It was about 2.5 miles to the falls and they didn't disappoint. No bears, though, but we did see a king salmon trying to head up the falls the hard way, eschewing the fish ladder that had been built. He wasn't really doing that well and flopped around on a rock before being swept downstream. We pressed on down a small trail to where the fly fishermen congregate during salmon season and were able to see some fish working their way upstream. Still no bears. I am beginning to think that Alaska doesn't actually have any bears.
After our hike out to the car (which seemed much longer than the hike in, by the way), we headed back towards Anchorage and decided to have dinner in a small ski town called Girdwood. The scene driving back towards Anchorage was like the closing scene from “Field of Dreams,” with all the cars streaming out to the Kenai for the start of Sockeye season tomorrow. A friend of mine who lives in Anchorage recommended this place there called the “Double Musky.” On our way, though, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center since we had a voucher for it and since I knew that there would be bears there. I'm glad we stopped because we got a good laugh at a bear trying like mad to get at something that was buried deep inside a tree stump. He was trying sticking his head down there, each arm, back to his head, etc.
Unfortunately, the Double Musky was already packed with people by the time we got there, so we ate at a different place in Girdwood called Maxine's Bistro. I'm glad we found it, because our dinners were superb. Angela had broiled red salmon on a sweet potato croquette with a smoked salmon sauce and I had halibut on scalloped potatoes with a blood orange beurre blanc.
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