Our 6-month adventure continues as we transition to Kodiak Island Alaska for a week of exploring the island and parts of the lower Kenai Peninsula.
This blog post will cover this area of Alaska:
Day 1: Transition to Homer to Catch the Ferry to Kodiak (day 114 of the overall trip)
We are heading to Kodiak Island for a few days and that requires another ferry ride. First, we have to drive from Girdwood to Homer where we will catch the ferry. We are at the mercy of the ferry schedule and in this case, it means being at the ferry dock at 8:30pm for a 10:30pm departure. If one drives straight from Girdwood to Homer, it is a 4-hour drive (at best) which means we have a LOT of time to kill between leaving Girdwood at the check-out time of 11:00am and getting to the ferry staging area at 8:30pm. It is primarily cloudy with the sun poking out every so often and spitting rain just once in a while as we leave Girdwood but soon the weather inproves.
Girdwood to Kenai
Kenai
Fortunately for us, there is an area of the Kenai Peninsula that we haven’t yet driven to – Kenai. We drive AK-1, the Seward Highway, that changes to the name of the Sterling Highway when the road officially gets to the Kenai Peninsula. This gives us our last look at the gorgeous Turnagain Arm area with ocean framed by tall Alaskan snow-capped mountains. From there we once again travel through the fishing region of Cooper Landing and then to Soldotna. Once in Soldotna, we take the Kenai Spur Highway west through the fairly large city of Kenai (population just over 7000).
Kenai Visitors Center
We stop at the Visitors Center and are surprised to learn how much oil drilling is done in this region.
Russian Orthodox Church
We hop in the truck and head to the Russian Orthodox Church on the outskirts of Kenai. Nancy starts to walk into the church itself and sees the priest in full garb. He’s very friendly and informs her that a funeral is about to take place (just as the hearse pulls up). He tells her he is very proud of his church and welcomes her to come in and take pictures – but she only has about a minute and a half until they will bring the casket in. Nancy gets Harrison’s attention so he can get photos. Notice there are no seats inside this church. If you count, we’ve run into 3 weddings and a funeral!
The Kenai Road
The road winds northward through the town of Niniski, that turns out to be much larger than we expected – because it has oil refineries. It wasn’t until we reached this area and stopped at a roadside placard that we realized how many oil drilling areas and refineries there are in the Kenai area. We then take the road all the way to its terminus at Captain Cook Recreational Area, another 26 miles. There really wasn’t much for us to do here at the park, so we just stopped to briefly stretch our legs and then hopped back in the truck to backtrack back to Soldotna.
Lunch at Buckets Sports Grill
It’s lunch time and we return to the restaurant in Soldotna where we ate a few weeks ago when transitioning from Homer north to Seward. The bar stools are all full at Buckets Sports Grill, so we opt for a high-top table with a view of the TVs. We hope to kill some time eating and watching some sporting event. The food was as good as we remembered, the baseball game keeps us entertained and soon we’re back on the road to Homer.
The Homer Spit and the Search for Dinner
The ferry dock is located at the end of the 5-mile Homer Spit, so we park our truck near the ferry area and check-in to get our boarding passes. We can’t get our truck in line for boarding because you aren’t allowed to leave it unattended in line. We still have 3 hours to fill and we’ve been here before so we know restaurant options are limited. The first large restaurant we check isn’t open. We walk across the street to one of the more well-known places, Capt Patties. Not only is there a waiting line, but we check the menu and the prices are way above what we want to spend. This is truly a high-end seafood place and we’re basically looking for a “bite” to eat.
We hear from a gift shop clerk that there is a pizza place down the boardwalk, so we head there. As we walk, we watch “today’s catch” being cleaned for the fishermen that were out today and spot a 120 pound halibut! We headed the wrong direction and find the pizza place that is closed, but head back the other direction and find the other place that is open. There are a few picnic tables and a small upstairs area (which must be reserved ahead of time). Then menu implies small or large pizzas only and we know we aren’t hungry enough to eat an entire $32 twelve-inch small pizza. We just order 2 beers and when the order clerk asks us which pizza we’d like, Nancy says we’re just going to have beer because we aren’t hungry enough for an entire pizza. We later learn they sell pizza by the slice and are bewildered why the order clerk failed to present that to us as an option. We drink our beers a few feet away from someone cleaning fish for their customers.
As we continue walking, we pass a vehicle covered with sticky notes and then wrapped in plastic wrap. Each sticky note bears a “happy birthday” message. Someone is in for a big surprise when they come back to their car!
The Salty Dawg Saloon
We decide to see how busy The Salty Dawg Saloon is. When we last came to the Homer Spit, this place was packed to the gills by 11:30am (and it opens at 11:00am). To our surprise, the place has only a handful of patrons and we are able to get two seats at the bar. We finally get to walk around the place, another “dive bar” covered in $1 bills and other assorted trinkets left behind by tourists. Nancy is delighted to learn they serve hotdogs for $4 and that’s perfect!
Meanwhile, we meet our bar buddy, Krystal, a travelling nurse currently working Anchorage. She’s just starting her 3-month rotation in Anchorage and has 3 days to explore before starting work. She came down to Homer and is camping in her car for the night. She’s trying to decide whether to go to Seward or Whittier next – and with rain in the forecast, we recommend Seward where she can enjoy the Alaska SeaLife Center, an indoor venue.
A guy elbows between us and asks for some help moving dollar bills so he can read a phone number on one. His name is Brian and he just HAS to follow the instructions on this $1 bill that says: CALL ME and has a phone number. After 2 rings, a man answers and Brian explains why he’s calling. The caller is amused and lets us know he’s in the process of reeling in a Silver Salmon, so he can’t talk long.
Meeting the Alaska Rodeo Group
It’s finally time to head to the ferry loading zone where we’ll wait to load the truck onto the Tustamena. Parked next to us are two animal trailers being pulled by pick-up trucks bearing the words: Rodeo Alaska. We hop out of the truck to chat with these folks and meet Gilberto, who seems to be the one in charge. They are headed to Kodiak for this weekend’s Kodiak Fair & Rodeo. They travel to 7 or 8 different fairs across Alaska each summer and have just finished at the Alaska State Fair. They have one trailer with horses and one with bulls. We’re delighted to realize we’ll be able to enjoy this event on our last day in Kodiak (several days from now).
The Tustamena Ferry
While there aren’t too many vehicles, it seems to take a very long time. As we pay more attention, we realize this vessel has an elevator for loading vehicles. The elevator platform holds 2 vehicles (or one large one) which then lowers vehicles into the belly of the ship. Once at car deck level, the platform rotates 90 degrees so the vehicle can be driven along the ship to its resting place. They load the Rodeo Alaska folks first since those long trailers are the trickiest to get on board. The pick-up backs a trailer onto the elevator then unhitched so the long trailer can go down first. Then the pick-up is lowered down and re-hitched to the trailer so it can be backed into its space. The process is repeated with the second trailer. Next, two-by-two, vehicles get loaded onto the elevator and we are the last two vehicles loaded. At least it means we will be first off when we reach Kodiak tomorrow morning.
We opted for a cabin with a lower and upper bunk. The cabins on this ship do not offer private bathrooms. It is only one night so it will suffice. A lot of people just opt to sleep in the chairs on the heated solarium. It is dark out and we see stars for the first time since we landed in Alaska on June 5th. When we landed, days were so long that it never got dark. And once the daytime light started to shorten, the cloudy/rainy weather pattern set in and it was never clear enough to see stars or the moon. We watch as the boat leaves the harbor and head off to our room to fall asleep to the rocking motion of the vessel.
Day 2: Kodiak (day 115 of the overall trip)
Kodiak Island is twice the size of the state of Delaware, encompassing 3,595 square miles, making it the 2nd largest island in the US. One can only reach the island via boat or plane. Only one small section of the island is inhabited by man and the rest is owed by the Federal and State governments. Kodiak is home to the Kodiak Bears, the largest of the brown/grizzly bear species at 20% larger. These bears have been sheltered on the island so long, with a rich diet of salmon that has allowed them to grow to their massive size. Kodiak Island is mountainous and heavily forested in the north and east, but fairly treeless in the south.
We enjoy watching the ferry dock at the harbor and eagerly await getting off and exploring the island. As we’re getting into our truck, we spot the Rodeo Alaska crew once again. We arrived in Kodiak at 8:00am and are indeed, one of the first two vehicles off the boat. The weather calls for light rain most of the day. Our first priority is breakfast, and we head out to find the King’s Diner that has excellent reviews for their breakfasts. Much to our disappointment, it is closed so we just head back to the McDonald’s we passed about a mile back.
Kodiak History Museum
We have several hours to kill before we can check into our hotel. We drive around for a bit to see what’s in the main harbor area of town. We park the truck and walk to the Kodiak History Museum that opens at 10:00am. We arrive at 9:50am and wait under the covered porch watching light rain fall. Once inside we are delighted at the quality of the museum. The hostess is delighted to have guests and is a wealth of information. Built in 1808, it serves as a reminder that Kodiak was established in 1793 as Pavlovsk, the first permanent Russian settlement in North America. Back when it was built, the island lacked trees that could be used for building, so all the wood was imported by boat from the mainland. The only trees on the island at this time were willows and some low growing bushes. A great deal of the wood in the building is original with the original moss chinking exposed!
The first exhibits are focused on the impact to Kodiak of the 1912 Volcanic eruption of the Novarupta Volcano in Katmai National Park. The winds blew ash for days and it accumulated to over 2-feet in many places. We read first-hand accounts of people needing to stay indoors because the air was too harsh to breathe. They say if you dig down into the soil today, you will still find that large layer of ash. The force of the volcanic winds also blew over seeds from spruce and cottonwood. As you look at Kodiak today, 110 years later, these trees have done well and cover much of the landscape.
We see many artifacts from the time when the Russians occupied this territory. We also see artifacts from the Native Americans that lived here. We see displays that discuss the impact the 1964 earthquake had on Kodiak. This building is one of the few that were unaffected by the tsunamis that caused massive destruction to the harbor area. The final display is about the impact the Covid pandemic had and still has on Kodiak. As a rather isolated island, they tried very hard to keep the virus at bay. Only 100 people are known to have caught it.
Haircut @ Twisted Whisker
After 4 months of travel, Harrison is ready for his second haircut. The Twisted Whisker is right in the downtown area and we only briefly wait while the two female barbers cut clients’ hair. Back home, the person that usually cuts Harrison’s hair has been doing it so long, that she takes 8-10 minutes. This barber takes twice that long and enjoys hearing about our trip while she trims his hair.
As we walk around town, we notice a lot of bars in the downtown area. We see Tony’s, Bernie’s Bar and The Mecca – alcohol only establishments that open at 8:00pm, each with pool tables and/or darts.
American Legion
Just a block from the barber we find the American Legion. Every Post has its own personality. From our limited experience, few serve lunch and most serve dinner. To our delight, they are serving lunch today which means we’ve found a place to hang out in until we can check into the hotel. Interesting enough, they don’t serve dinner. We order today’s special, a club sandwich that we’ll share. Our bartender Helen is a sweetie. Soon we’re chatting with bar-mates Glenda and Debbie) who do not want their photo taken although Harrison has one at a distance from walking around the legion.). Glenda was born and raised on Kodiak, and you can tell it is a special place to her. Debbie came here 43 years ago and also loves Kodiak. Glenda was here during the 1964 earthquake. She was 16 at the time and the experience is burned into her memory. She tells us a little about her experience but soon stops and tells us it is just too painful to talk more about it.
Best Western Kodiak Inn
We’ve opted for the Best Western Kodiak Inn experience so we could stay in town, near the action. Little did we realize what a sleepy little town this is, and “action” is as generous to describing the culture, as “highway” is to describing the Alaska road system. We have a room with an ocean/harbor view and it suits us fine. The hotel restaurant is The Chart Room and after a long day of killing time, we decide to just have dinner right here. We have 2 seats at the bar. After a mediocre meal, we head to the room for a very early evening. Neither of us slept well on the ferry, and we fall asleep quickly.
Day 3: Kodiak (day 116 of the overall trip)
The North End Of Kodiak
There aren’t that many roads (about 100 miles of main road) on Kodiak and today we plan to explore a significant portion of them. The forecast for today is one of the best we’ve seen in over a month! We first head north toward an old fort.
Fort Abercrombie
Our first destination is the historic Fort Abercrombie built during WWII in 1941. It never saw action and was abandoned after the war. There are a few buildings and remnants of the old fort and we only walk through the woods to see a few, especially with all the bear warning signs around. The fort is located on a bluff high above a rocky section of the bay – perfect for defending this area.
Kodiak Waterfront
We head back into the main area of town and enjoy exploring the waterfront harbor area.
Kodiak
We drive through Kodiak to see what it has to offer its residents.
Kodiak Overlook
We stop at an overlook right out of town and watch a large container ship on its way to harbor.
Exploring the South End of Kodiak
There are several scenic drives in the Kodiak area, and two of them are near each other and start from the same road.
Coast Guard Base
The first 30 miles are along the shore and we pass by the US Coast Guard facilities. Kodiak is home to the largest US Coast Guard facility in the world. This one location provides all air support for sea rescues throughout Alaska.
Continuing to Explore the South End of Kodiak
We pass by the Kodiak Fairgrounds. The road comes to a “T” with a scenic drive along both choices at an area where drivers are warned to watch for loose cows and horses. We see a farm with those animals safely behind fences.
Pasagshak Bay Drive – Stopping at the First Beach
We randomly decide to turn right and drive first on the Pasagshak Bay Drive. There are signs warning us that the road is closed today at mile 15.2. We are curious why just today. The drive is stunning with views that honestly rival those along the Pacific Coast Highway in California. We make numerous stops along the way including this little beach where we see sea stars (aka starfish) in the wild.
Pasagshak Bay Drive – Continued
There are steep cliff overlooks with magnificent beaches where large waves crash along the shore and the sun is high in the sky and bouncing in the waves. We’ve read this is an area often frequented by surfers in Alaska!
Pacific Spaceport Complex
As we near the 15.2-mile marker, where the road is closed today, we realize that is the entrance point to the Pacific Spaceport Complex which is located here on Kodiak Island. It is a dual use commercial and military facility. We wonder if it is closed today because of a scheduled launch, but a quick internet search shows none until later in the month. Unfortunately, with the road closed here, it means we can’t go to Fossil Beach today.
Pasagshak Bay Drive – Stopping at the Second Beach
We turn around and head back toward the “T”. We stop to stretch our legs at another beach, this one with loud waves crashing along the shore.
Lunch While Watching Salmon Fishing
We decide to stop at an overlook for lunch. There is a group of fishermen casting their lines into an area where the waters of the Gulf of Alaska meet a stream, a place where silver salmon will leave the ocean to try to return to their spawning grounds to spawn and die. The tide is coming in and for the first hour, no one is having any luck. Then, like someone flipped a switch, they start catching fish one after another. A few jump off the line, smaller ones are let go and the big ones get tied to a line they keep in the water (out of the sun).
Ranches along the Roads
After lunch we drive and reach the “T” – and there’s a beautiful horse and cattle ranch at the intersection.
Chiniak Highway Drive
At the “T”, we drive in the other direction on the Chiniak Highway. The drive isn’t as spectacular, but we’re still glad we explore the area. We then start heading back down the 30 mile road to town. As we cross 2 different rivers, we can see a plethora of salmon swimming upstream in less than knee deep water. They are so plentiful, Nancy comments you could probably just catch them with your bare hands.
The End of Chiniak Highway
Sometimes when a road ends, it really ends!
Dinner at The Rendezvous
On our way out to these drives we had passed by one of the top-rated restaurants, The Rendezvous. It is about 12 miles outside of town so as long as we have to drive by it on the way back, it makes sense to check it out for dinner. Like most places in the unforgiving weather of Alaska, it doesn’t look like much from the outside. Once inside, we immediately like the atmosphere as we settle into our 2 bar seats. The menu proudly states that all food on the menu is home cooked, including their family secret clam chowder. Harrison opts for the salmon jalapeno burger and since they are out of fries, he gets a side cup of clam chowder. We both agree it is probably one of the best clam chowders we’ve ever tasted. Nancy orders a delicious salad with grilled marinated chicken and a few minutes later she hears the waitress tell another customer that they are out of lettuce. We read all the time about supply chain issues that began during the pandemic and worsened with the Russian invasion into Ukraine – but here on an island, it is even more of an issue. So many remote Alaska locations get supply shipments only once per week.
Day 4: Kodiak (day 117 of the overall trip)
Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Our stay in Kodiak wouldn’t be complete with stopping at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. The center contains information about the various species that inhabit the area. It includes a complete skeleton of a 36-foot gray whale. The whale died on a beach in Kodiak. It was buried for 4 years to let nature decompose all but the bones. It took 4 years to carefully dig up the bones and reconstruct the skeleton in the Visitor Center.
Anton Larson Bay Drive
The weather forecast isn’t as good as yesterday, but it is still better than what we’ve had for the past 6 weeks. We decide today we will complete our driving on the main roads of Kodiak and head out toward Anton Larson Bay. The drive is unassuming but as we near the end of the road, the bay comes into view, and we descend down into the valley and the water’s edge. We park the truck to walk and stretch our legs. The size of this area surprises us, larger than we expected. There are at least 100 boats parked on trailers along the road, many of which have seen better days. As we walk, we check to see when their tags expired and clearly about 10% haven’t moved in years. Not only have some trailers collapsed under the boats, but brush has grown around and into some of the boats.
Pillar Mountain Drive
Sometimes the most spectacular drives are nothing more than a footnote in a guidebook. Pillar Mountain Drive is one such drive that gets a 2-sentence write-up in the Milepost bringing no special attention to this amazing destination. Nancy reads about it and sets the coordinates on the GPS. The road is not the worst we’ve been on in Alaska, but it is definitely not well-maintained and is riddled with potholes. The main purpose for the road today is access to the 6 wind turbines at the top, but a few folks brave the drive for the views of Kodiak up here at 1204 feet above the bay. The sun can’t decide if it wants to hide behind the clouds or shine brightly. We stay up at the top for a while embracing each time it lights the views around us so we can get photos to remember it by. Views from the top show the city of Kodiak below on one side and another beautiful bay on the other.
Henry’s Great Alaskan Seafood Restaurant
We’d scouted out Henry’s Great Alaskan Seafood Restaurant in downtown the other day and decide to head to dinner early to beat the crowds we anticipate on a Friday night. Our bartender, Keonee, is a delight and we enjoy sharing our travel stories with him. We arrive around 5:00pm and not-so-easily grab 2 seats at the bar. The place fills up quickly and soon there’s a waiting line out the door. We manage to hang out here for over 2.5 hours and enjoy great food. When Keonee’s shift is over, Joliene happily takes over taking care of us.
Day 5: Kodiak Fair & Rodeo (day 118 of the overall trip)
Today is our last day in Kodiak. Similar to our arrival, we have to check out of our hotel by 11am and then kill time until the ferry back to Homer leaves late in the evening. Since we don’t have to be at the ferry loading docks until 9:15pm, we have to fill in 10 hours. Luckily, we know the Kodiak Fair & Rodeo is from noon until 6:00pm so that will really help to pass the time.
Another Russian Orthodox Church
Before heading to lunch and the fair/rodeo, we want to make sure we get photographs of the Russian Orthodox Church near the harbor. We see yet another small, historic building like so many others we’ve seen with its classic blue dome topped with a gold cross.
Near Island
Next up is a drive over the bridge to Near Island. We thought we’d read that it was a residential island, but we both must have gotten that wrong. We don’t see a single home on the small island but do see a second large harbor area. Within 10 minutes we’ve driven the two roads and head out to find lunch. The little Mexican place we’d spotted yesterday isn’t open. The American Legion doesn’t serve lunch on the weekends. We decide to have lunch at the Rendezvous since it is on the way to the fairgrounds, however, a sign on the door says the kitchen will be closed during the fair. And so, we head for the fair.
The Kodiak Fair & Rodeo
We arrive 10 minutes after the gates opened at noon and a crowd is already inside. Someone had mentioned they were expecting somewhere between 1500 and 2000 people at this fair and somehow the small number hadn’t quite sunk in to indicate the size of the fair itself. People don’t come to this fair from other parts of Alaska – this is all Kodiak! There is just one row of vendors with about 8 on each side. Most of the vendors are folks selling their goods including honey, dog treats, jewelry and cupcakes. There are also politicians with booths as well as a Coast Guard booth and a Police booth promoting safe driving.
The Pig Auction
We walk through the first exhibition building that has all the entries for the various fair competitions. As with any county or state fair, we see sewing, knitting, drawing, painting, photography, baked goods, etc. We hear cheers coming from the other exhibition building and head over to find they are auctioning off the pigs raised by the 4-H kids. We’ve missed the first 3 pigs but head into the small metal bleachers to watch the rest. We watch as mostly girls aged 8 to 16 lead their pigs around the arena. The bidding is fierce and the first one we see goes for $2300. The pigs get larger as the auction progresses and the final 289 lb pig sells for $5000. After each auction ends, there is this round of “add-ons” where bidders can just donate money to the kid in increments of either $25, $50 or $100. These add-ons help the kids and most say they will use it toward college someday.
Pie Eating Contest
Next, we get to witness the kid’s pie eating contest.
Mullet Contest
What fair would be complete without a mullet contest? They have 3 age groups: up to 5-years-old, 6-years-old to 17-years-old and age 18 and up. The little group has 2 contestants, and they declare it a tie. There are 5 kids competing and the winner, in our opinion, is not the best, but the one with the loudest friends in the audience. The adults know how to put on a show, really strut their stuff on stage!
The Rodeo – Outdoor Arena
Finally, 3pm rolls around and the rodeo begins. Neither of us has ever been to a rodeo, so we’re super excited and don’t really know what to expect. The crowd is first introduced to this year’s Lil’ Miss and Fair Princess winners. Then we have a flag ceremony that starts with one flag for each branch of the military, then the Alaska state flag, then the Rodeo Alaska flag and finally the US flag. Each flag is carried by someone on horseback, and they ride around the arena one at a time.
Then we go through a series of events, each with 5 – 8 competitors. Some were horse riding agility courses around poles or around barrels. There was cow roping and tying. There was goat roping and tying. We saw team events with one lassoing the horns of a cow and the second getting one leg. Nancy chats with a 20-something woman next to her who, among other things, mentions that she went salmon fishing with her hands in the river by fairgrounds. She did catch several, but just let them go.
The Rodeo – Indoor Arena
Two hours fly by and soon the events move into the indoor arena. This is where the rodeo gets into more dangerous events. The first event is kids doing bareback bull riding with 1 hand. The lone female participant hurts her leg and is carried off by one of the rodeo clowns. The guy sitting behind us remarks to his son that he’s never going to let him do that and the kid remarks back not to worry. Next, we move on to cow wrestling where a guy comes out of the gate with both hands on the bull’s horns and he must wrestle the bull to the ground on its side. The final event is the adult bull riding where the $10,000 prize goes to whoever can stay on over 8 seconds. The longest ride barely reaches 7 seconds, in fact most fall off within 2 to 3 seconds.
One of the contestants takes a serious toss off the bull and is knocked unconscious right at the spot where the bulls normally exit the arena. The rodeo clowns go into full rescue mode with 2 dragging the guy into that exit area and snapping the gate shut while the other rodeo clowns “entertain” the bull who has free run of the arena. They eventually corral the bull back into the holding pen where the riders mount them. About 10 minutes go by and finally the cowboy walks across the arena with a rodeo clown on each side helping to hold him up. There was one more contestant after that – and I’m sure he was extra nervous after what just happened.
Last Dinner at Henry’s Great Alaskan Seafood Restaurant
The fair ends at 6pm and we head back to the ferry dock area to get our boarding passes and have dinner. We decide to eat for a second night at Henry’s Great Alaskan Seafood Restaurant and Joliene is working the bar again tonight. We sit at the bar and meet bar buddy Kevin, a pharmacist from Kalispel that came to Kodiak for silver salmon fishing. The fish are 2 weeks late coming in this year, so he’s disappointed he hit the very beginning of the salmon run and not the middle. In walks our rodeo leader, Gilberto, and he stops by to say hello. We buy him a beer and chat with him and he tells us the cowboy that got knocked unconscious is in the hospital right now. He broke a few ribs and had a concussion from hitting head so hard on the ground.
The Ferry Back
We will ride the Tustamena again and that means loading vehicles with the elevator again. We ask what lane to get in and the guy says: “we don’t need lanes here in Kodiak – too small”. Meanwhile, we see a group of teens arriving at the boat dock by van. Then we see a group arrive by school bus. Eventually there are about 100 teens and we ask about their story. They are all from one of five high schools that came to Kodiak for either a swim meet or a cross-country meet. They tell us some school’s teams are small enough that they fly in, but it would have been too expensive to fly in these larger teams. They all board the boat first and since most don’t have cabins, they will sleep where they can.
There are about 12 vehicles to load, and it seems to take forever. Once we get on, the solariums, lounges and rear viewing area are scattered with gear, sleeping bags and pillows. The tables in the cafeteria and forward viewing lounge are filled with kids playing card and board games as well as those playing games on their phones. As we walk the outside of the ship to see the harbor all lit up, we catch couples quietly talking in secluded areas. What a high school experience that surely differs from anything we did as teens.
There is a rumor circulating that we might see the Aurora tonight, but a quick check of the “aurora notification app” says otherwise. The viewing zone has shifted east and in fact won’t be visible anywhere in all of Alaska tonight. The boat is really rocking in the Gulf of Alaska tonight. The motion rocks Harrison to sleep and gives Nancy a mild case of seasickness.
Summary
We are SO glad we had time to visit Kodiak Island. While the Rodeo was a highlight that only happens once a year, the beauty of the island was worth the trip.
Up Next
We have to get to Whittier to catch the 5-day ferry ride back to the lower 48. These will be our very last days in Alaska on the 6-month adventure as we will start to drift down the west coast before heading slowly east over the next couple months.
Prior Legs of the Journey
Part 1 – The Trip to Key West is located here.
Part 2 – Cross Country to Bellingham Washington is located here.
Part 3 – The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Juneau is located here.
Part 4- The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Haines & Skagway is located here.
Part 5 – Haines to Fairbanks Alaska is located here.
Part 6 – Three weeks in Fairbanks is located here
Part 7 – Fairbanks to the Arctic Ocean is located here.
Part 8 – Denali National Park is located here.
Part 9 – Denali & Richardson Highways (Central Alasks) is located here.
Part 10 – Wasilla Alaska Area is located here
Part 11 – Homer Alaska Area is located here
Part 12 – Seward Alaska Area is located here
Part 13 – Girdwood Alaska Area is located here
[…] an hour before we dock the ferry back in Homer at 9am. The teens who we talked about in the last post are mostly all still asleep but are starting to […]