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Dear Friends
James and I arrived home this evening. What an amazing adventure we had. Thanks for following along with us. Let me know if you enjoyed the pictures and if you might plan a trip to Alaska in the future.
Steve


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Location:N Hartmoor St,Wichita,United States

In Seattle. Home Sunday.


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Location:Seattle's Space Needle

We arrived in Ketchikan last night after a long and difficult flight from Anchorage.   We had rain and low clouds all the way.  Not normally a problem but this is Alaska.  The minimum altitude because of high terrane was 7,000.  We encounter moderate icing about 1 hour south of Anchorage but ATC would not let us reduce our altitude because of concerns with ground clearance.  We had to cancel our IFR flight plan and descend over the ocean.  When the ice melted it came off in sheets.  We could hear the sheets hitting the tail of the plane.  I would estimate we were about 10 miles off shore at one point.  Water temps in the 40's.  The airport at Ketchikan sits in a bowl with mountains on both sides of the approach.  So when we arrived at Ketchikan we found a 500 foot ceiling and rain.  Made an ILS approach to rw 11.  Not perfect but it got us down safely.

Ketchikan's weather for the next several days is bad.  Work on Monday.  I am ready.

Some more pics from Glacier Cruise and Bear Watch

08/01/12 Bear Watching at Anchorage Alaska

07/27/12 Halibut Fishing at Homer

I have a new satellite tracking device that allows you to follow our flight across a map.  The website is:

http://share.delorme.com/?MapId=c3915c84efd94b59a9f3709daaf4c735

Weather delays

It's Wednesday morning in Anchorage.  As you may recall, our guide's plane crashed a few days ago so we are "leaderless."

The original itinerary called for leaving Anchorage today for Ketchikan. That's about 6 hours of traveling. Then Friday, it calls for another 6 hours of flying to Olympia, Wash. Then 6 more hours to Rock Springs, Wyo., and on home Sunday.

We woke to terrible weather. Low ceilings and rain. The freezing level is 6,000 feet. We must climb to 10,000 feet to clear the mountain passes, so here we sit likely until Saturday. There is a stalled low pressure area over this region.

Respect the bear

Alaskan female brown bear. Approximately 700 lbs.  We found her about 150 miles north of Anchorage fishing for salmon.  The brown bears are much larger than the Grizzlys and very aggressive. We viewed her from the safety of a boat.

07/26/12 Fairbanks to Homer

Meet up!

Kai arrived last night about 11:30pm in Anchorage. The sun was just setting. We are planning several days of sight seeing including a drive to the Matanuska Glacier about 50 miles away. She will leave for home on United Wednesday night. James and I leave for Ketchikan Wednesday morning.

07/24/12 Whitehorse to Fairbanks