Saturday, 27 August 2011 Silver Salmon Lodge - Glacier View

For our last morning we were keen to see the bears on the beach in the morning so at 06:30 we were up and out on the beach watching bears and eagles fishing and catching salmon. Here we got to see a slight confrontation over a catch but again the bears refused to fight and went back to fishing and eating. The seagulls all stood around the bear while it ate, it then buried the remains in the tidal area before going back to the fishing.

The sunrise through the clouds also provided some great viewing, but in the end it was time to return for breakfast. And wouldn't you know it another bear was heading down the beach to go fishing so we stopped to try and get some shots of the bear silhouetted against the sunrise. It was moving so fast that it caught us before we were really ready for the photos.

On our way back to the lodge for breakfast one of the eagles that had been fishing flew into the trees again this proved an almost impossible angle to photograph. So we continued back to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast we got all our gear together, said our goodbyes and then it was off to the plane. Well almost just out from the lodge we realised that we had left the salmon fillets behind so we turned back and collected them before catching our return flight to Soldotna.

The flight back followed a slightly different path and showed some of the islands in the area, at last we landed, dropped back at the entrance to where we had left Clancy those days before. We planned to stop in Soldotna grab some food, petrol and an ipad2 then drive like the wind to get the ferry to Valdez. As our flight was a little late back we were going to find this a very interesting drive.

To assist us in the journey the weather had decided to provide us with rain and intermittent deluges. Here again I was amazed that I was travelling at the speed limit and vehicles were zooming past me. But we progressed on our journey. Now in order to get to Whittier to catch the ferry you need to go through a single lane tunnel that is open each half hour in one direction.

So after driving the whole way there we realise that we are not going to make the ferry. So we decide to take the tunnel anyway and paid our $12 fee (to Transfield) and went through. The tunnel is not one for the claustaphobic but it was good to be out of the rain. On the otherside we came out back into rain, we drove around and I tried to see if there was going to be space on the ferry tomorrow. The office was now closed till 11 tomorrow so we decided to go back through the tunnel and drive to Valdez.

The drive back through portage and into Anchorage was done mainly in the rain, so we did not stop until in the city. Here we grabbed the McDonalds free WiFi to look for accommodation as the drive to Valdez would take six hours getting us there around midnight and so we felt that this was a little too much. Now the reviews for some of the places along the way left a lot to be desired and many with good reviews required you to ring them. So a little disheartened we headed off. Shoeleh in this time had managed to set up her ipad2 and was at ready to go.

We refuelled Clancy at Palmer and then headed past the Anchorage Fair towards Glenallen and Copper Crossing to see where we would stay. This drive turned into a visual feast as we were blessed with clear weather, autumn colours appearing and vistas of glaciers, gorges and mountains. Finally we made it to a place called Glacier View, now as the name suggests there is a view of a beautiful glacier

We found the Glacier View Café and RV Park which we decided to retire to as it was getting late and there was no accommodation with good reviews past here for at least a couple of hours driving.

So we booked in and decided to eat there as well, they had a great pizza meal that we dined on before setting up Clancy for our first sleep in the car for what seemed ages.

Animals Spotted: Bears on the beach, eagles fishing and in the trees.

Day Forty two