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A 3 week Vacation in ALASKA - by Vandana Rajagopalan
Anchorage - Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center, Portage Glacier.
Floatplane flight over Kodiak.
Bear Watching in Kodiak Island
Alaska Marine Highway - Weeklong Cruise to Aleutian Islands on MV Tustumena - Cold Bay, Sand Point, Chignik, Akutan, Unalaska.
Bald Eagle viewing in Unalaska
Chiniak Bay in Kodiak
Anchorage & Palmer - Independence Mine, Hatcher Pass, Lazy Mountain.
Alaska Railroad train to Whittier and a Prince William Sound Cruise
Talkeetna, Camping in Fairbanks
Drive to the North Pole along the 414 mile gravel Dalton Highway - Arctic Circle, Coldfoot, Wiseman, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay.
Dip in the Arctic Ocean.
Grizzlies at Denali National Park, Drive to Wonder Lake
Anchorage - Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center, Portage Glacier.
Floatplane flight over Kodiak.
Bear Watching in Kodiak Island
Alaska Marine Highway - Weeklong Cruise to Aleutian Islands on MV Tustumena - Cold Bay, Sand Point, Chignik, Akutan, Unalaska.
Bald Eagle viewing in Unalaska
Chiniak Bay in Kodiak
Anchorage & Palmer - Independence Mine, Hatcher Pass, Lazy Mountain.
Alaska Railroad train to Whittier and a Prince William Sound Cruise
Talkeetna, Camping in Fairbanks
Drive to the North Pole along the 414 mile gravel Dalton Highway - Arctic Circle, Coldfoot, Wiseman, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay.
Dip in the Arctic Ocean.
Grizzlies at Denali National Park, Drive to Wonder Lake
July 25, 2007 - Spend the morning driving around Kodiak, this time the opposite direction of Monashka Bay. Reach the Kodiak National Park Visitor Center, located in the Bushkin River Recreation Site. Bushkin is clearly flooded. Lots of rain today as well.
Decide to cut the trip short as the weather's really un-cooperative. Still foggy & washed out. Note the preferred method of drainage along Kodiak roads - road-side waterfalls :)
So then, this is Kodiak. At the bottom of that road is Russian Heritage Inn, on Yukon St, next to a McDees & a gas station. Kodiak also boasts a WalMart and a Pizza Hut, and Kingfisher Airlines & a Mongolian takeout and a sports shop, all along the very same Mill Bay Road A very convenient location, if you are planning to take the ferry to the Aleutians, as the dock is just 2 blocks away.
At around 2pm, I drop the family at the Alaska Marine Terminal, just two blocks from Russian Heritage Inn. I then drive to Kodiak Airport, drop off the van & take a cab back to the terminal.
That room with the blue "Welcome to Kodiak" signboard is the waiting area, which also serves as the ticket counter and a luggage stowaway. Free coffee! When its rainy, as is often the case, it can get quite crowded in there.
That room with the blue "Welcome to Kodiak" signboard is the waiting area, which also serves as the ticket counter and a luggage stowaway. Free coffee! When its rainy, as is often the case, it can get quite crowded in there.
The Motor Vessel Tustumena arrives!
We excitedly board MV Tustumena ( trusty Tusty) in Kodiak for a weeklong cruise to Aleutian Islands.
My plan is to set up two tents in the solarium and house the family in there. The first tent is supposed to be where that tripod is perched, and the second one next to that.
So where are the tents ? Well, we tried real hard. The rain came pouring down and it was so windy, the tent rods snapped like a twig, I kid you not!
I was so frustrated I threw the brand-new tents into the garbage can :)
We excitedly board MV Tustumena ( trusty Tusty) in Kodiak for a weeklong cruise to Aleutian Islands.
My plan is to set up two tents in the solarium and house the family in there. The first tent is supposed to be where that tripod is perched, and the second one next to that.
So where are the tents ? Well, we tried real hard. The rain came pouring down and it was so windy, the tent rods snapped like a twig, I kid you not!
I was so frustrated I threw the brand-new tents into the garbage can :)
Vandana & Swami look out towards Kodiak as Tustumena sets sail. We still haven't figured out where we're going to stay on tusty, as we don't have a stateroom ( cabin ) reservation.
We find some very comfortable seats and sofas with large tables on the "Observation lounge", two floors below the solarium. This is where all those passengers with no stateroom reservations choose to sit/sleep. We shall join them.
But for now, passengers excitedly watch through the windows as we head off into Shelikof Straits. Goodbye, Kodiak!
But for now, passengers excitedly watch through the windows as we head off into Shelikof Straits. Goodbye, Kodiak!
Dramamine to the rescue as Tusty passes thru a rough shelikof's strait.
1st whale spotted on Tusty ! - a finback whale.
We shall see dozens of these on the voyage, but at this moment, we have no idea, so everybody runs around clicking pictures :)
1st whale spotted on Tusty ! - a finback whale.
We shall see dozens of these on the voyage, but at this moment, we have no idea, so everybody runs around clicking pictures :)
July 26, 2007. Thursday. Our first morning on the Tusty. The night didn't go too well. We slept in our sleeping bags spread out on the Observation Lounge, but it being a public area was quite crowded and busy. I remember getting sick when the ship pased thru Shelikof, throwing up etc.
But all that's a distant memory now. Yesterday was cloudy, rainy and windy. Today's the exact opposite.
So here's a panoramic view of the Sun Deck of the Tustumena on this bright and sunny Thursday morning. Don't look too close, else you'll catch the 7 slices that make up this pano, 6 too many I figure :)
But all that's a distant memory now. Yesterday was cloudy, rainy and windy. Today's the exact opposite.
So here's a panoramic view of the Sun Deck of the Tustumena on this bright and sunny Thursday morning. Don't look too close, else you'll catch the 7 slices that make up this pano, 6 too many I figure :)
The Sun Deck is one floor below the Solarium, which is the topmost floor. You get to the sun deck by climbing down a rung of stairs like this person in yellow.
