Moose in Denali

Wonder Lake

Denali Brown Bears

Arctic Ground Squirrel

Dad in Denali National Park

Dall Sheep in Denali

The little white specks on the mountain are Dall Sheep.

Exit Glacier

Kenai Fjords National Park

Alaska Sea Life Center

Seward

Sorry no posts yesterday but we are on vacation and have 20+ hours of daylight so I have no desire to be inside. Homer was beautiful and the weather held out. Dad spent yesterday fishing (I bought him a day of charter fishing for his Birthday) He was able to catch his limit of Halibut as well as most of the boats limit (5 keepers in total) as well as cod and groupers (bait fish). Mom and I spent the day touring the cute little artsy shops throughout Homer and walking the beach.

Today we left Homer and arrived in Seward early this afternoon. We took a six hour cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours where we captures glimpses of Dall porpoises (they move to quick to get a picture), humpbacks (including a mom and calf) orcas, eagles, puffins, and otters. We also got up close and personal with a glacier and watched in calve. We're a little windburned and sunburned but it was definitely worth it. Mom had a few moments of motion sickness but it eventually passed and she was able to enjoy the sights with the rest of us.

Glaciers

Puffins

Lounging in the sun

Territorial dispute

Stellar Sea Lion

Orcas

Humpback Whale Tail

Humpback Whale Tail

Homer, AK

Bear near Kenai River

Portage Glacier

Alaska Vacation 2009

So our vacation started off a little rocky. I received a phone call from my mom when they landed at Anchorage International that Dad wasn't feeling to hot and they we're taking him via squad to Providence Hospital. After picking up their bags I met them at the ER. After labs and a chest x-ray the doc let him go as long as he does a follow up with a cardiologist when he gets back in OH. We suspect he had a run of SVT or Supra Ventricular Tachycardia where your heart beats a little to fast. It can be caused by little things such as dehydration or too much caffeine. We got back to the hotel about one this morning and left about nine.

We drove from Anchorage down to homer making a few stops along the way. We had a small bear encounter just outside of Cooper Landing. I was driving and Dad and I were checking out all the fisherman on the river that runs parallel to the road when I hear mom yell bear. About 30 feet in front of us on the road in a full grown brown bear. We took a few pictures and left the poor guy alone.

We also stopped at to see the Portage Glacier and caught a glimpse of a few floating ice chunks. Pictures to follow.

Brown Bears Cont.

Brown Bears Cont.

Brown Bears along the shore south of Anchorage