Alaska by Gary Throneberry and Wayne Schell

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this is of my gps showing sun rise and set on the summer solstice.

It takes to long to down load so I will post more when I get a better connection

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Here are a few more pictures.

Sorry no pictures of the orca's we will try again tomorrow

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I am getting a little behind in my posting just not enough hours in the day. I want to finish up with Homer. We went fishing twice. One was just Halibut and the other was a Halibut/ Salmon combo. The fishing rules are a little messed up in Alaska. With Halibut you can get two a day and one has to be under 29 inches and a total of 5 fish. I still haven't figured out was size the 5th fish is on the third day. Anyhow we limited out on Halibut on both trips and filled the freezer about half full. As for the Salmon we are in between runs and catching was slow. Both trips were a lot of fun and we seen wildlife as an extra bonus. While we were fishing the girls were in town trying to get even in the spending department to keep up with the fishing trips. I think they won. One day they were at lunch at the Cosmic sandwich shop and ran into Otto of Alaska the last frontier TV show. Well the heart throb that Otto is the girls had to get there picture with him. I will see if I can get the pictures off their phone and post them. All and all Homer was a beautiful place to spend a few days.

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Departing picture of Homer.

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From Homer we went to Valdez. This is by far the prettiest part of the trip. The drive down from Glennallen was the most scenic by far. We saw alpine glaciers, many water falls, and beautiful mountains. Just before Valdez we saw two waterfalls called the bridal veil and the horse tail falls. Once in Valdez you are surrounded by spectacular mountains. The terminal to the pipeline sets across the bay, it is a site in itself. We took a boat ride out on Prince Williams Sound to the Columbian Glacier. On the way out we saw Sea otters, Bald Eagles, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Dolphins, Sea Lions,and Puffins. The best part of the trip is at the foot of the Columbian Glacier. We were there for an hour to watch it calf. While we were there the ice that came off the day before moved and blocked our retreat. The captain of the LuLu Belle looked around for an escape and after finding none pushed his way through about a 1/2 mile of ice to get out. It was a little scary hearing the ice hit the side of the boat but all was OK. The captain said it happens a couple of times a year. On the way home we came across the boat The Northwestern. If you watch the show the Deadliest Catch you know that it is Sig Hanson's boat. From the looks of the gear on board and his proximity to the purse netters he was a tender to haul the salmon from the catch boats back to Valdes so the purse netters could keep fishing. It was explained to me that there is only a short time that you are allowed to net salmon. It must be off season and Sig will find any way to keep the boat busy. We are able to finish filling our freezer with salmon at the cannery at Valdez. If the truth be know it is cheaper than going on a charter the only thing it is not as much fun. If you go to Alaska don't miss Valdez.

Sorry I will have to wait until I get a better connection to post pictures

[gpzzdrm]

We enjoyed all the things and places we saw in Alaska (Eagle Rally 1999), but as you say, Valdez was the best. It sounds as though you guys did the things we did. Boat ride, Columbia Glacier, Pipeline Terminal, and incredible scenery.

Keep up the trip reports, very enjoyable,

Bill

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The Bridal Veil Falls

Horse tail falls

Around Valdez

Oil line terminal

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Pictures on the way to the glacier

Will post more later time to hit the road

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Some wildlife
The Dolphins were riding the bow wave and are hard to take a picture of

More humpback whales. The fin whales are shy and you only get a glimpse of them.

The locals do not like the Sea Lions say they eat to many Salmon.

Puffin

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At the Glacier

surrounded by ice

the power of the glacier has cut the rocks smooth with a few scars