Day 12-14 -- Kodiak -- July 22-24, 2014

Day 12 (Tuesday) Healy to Kodiak (scroll down for Days 13, 14)

When I think of Kodiak, I think of the huge, brown, Kodiak bear. The island of Kodiak has approximately one bear for every square mile.

From Healy, we left early again to make it to Anchorage for our flight. On the drive south, we were able to view Mt. McKinley at the Veteran's Memorial stop. It was out from under the clouds for just a a short while. 

After landing into Kodiak on Alaska Airlines, we checked out our old, Chevy Astro rental van. It served it's purpose in transporting us around the island. From the airport, we drove by the U.S. Coast Guard's largest base. It is also considered Alaska's largest fishing port and is ranked one of the nation's top three commercial fishing centers. Driving on the Anton Larsen Bay Road in the evening, we were hoping to see a Kodiak bear. No bears, but a small Sitka dear was spotted.

Blue highlight -- Day 1

Orange highlight -- Day 2

Beautiful sunrise when leaving Healy for Anchorage

We stopped at a location where we could possibly view Mt. McKinley

Mt. McKinley in the distance

Bridge

Alaska Veteran's Memorial

Welcome sign at Kodiak city limits

Drove by one of the observation towers at Ft. Abercrombie

Our VRBO house that we stayed in while in Kodiak

Fish made by students out of trash from the ocean displayed
in the downtown mall area.

U.S. Coast Guard

Anton Larsen Bay

Sitka deer alongside the road

Day 13 (Wednesday) Touring Kodiak Island

Kodiak does not have many roads, so we were able to drive them all but for one 12.5-mile stretch of the Chiniak Highway. We took the Pasagshak Bay Road at the T-junction instead towards Fossil Beach. Surfer's Beach lived up to it's name with the tide bringing in waves towards shore. We saw the black sand beaches and the high tide coming in. We stopped at the Kodiak Launch Complex to take a few pictures. Later, we were disappointed to find out that the one stretch of the Chiniak Highway that we didn't drive was one of the most scenic. 

We celebrated my brother-in-law, Wayne's, birthday at the restaurant, Henry's on the 23rd. After eating, Arlen, Justin and I drove to the edge of town to view Ft. Abercrombie. Many remnants from WW II were visible. We saw gun turrets, observation towers, and ammunition bunkers. We gathered some Alaskan sea glass on Mission Beach. Sea glass is glass that has been littered by man and smoothed over by the ocean with a frosted or etched surface.

Arlen and I hiked at Ft. Abercrombie

Miller Point

Hiking Trail

Miller Point

Justin, Arlen and I search for sea glass

Sea Glass that we found

Surfer's Beach

Justin with carved bear in front of Olds River Inn

Group ate lunch at Olds River Inn

Day 14 (Thursday) The Kodiak Bear at Frazer Lake

We had the morning free, so we wanted to see some of the tourist sites in Kodiak. Arlen and I went through the Baranov Museum. The building is the oldest Russian structure in the U.S. It survived the 1964 tsunami on Kodiak. All of us went through the Kodiak National Wildlife Research Center and viewed the aquarium. We wanted to tour the Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church, but it wasn't open. So, we just took pictures of the outside.

Justin arranged a bear-viewing trip on a float plane to Frazer Lake, 70 miles southwest of Kodiak, for late afternoon. Jay, from the Vertigo Flyer company, was our pilot. It was a 45-minute flight to the lake. We saw more of the island from the air. When we got close to the lake, we saw one bear below from the plane. After landing on the water, we had a 3/4-mile hike to the lake on basically flat terrain. I'm not sure if it made me feel more or less safe in the fact that Jay carried a high-powered rifle with him on our hike. Salmon were visible in the water. When we got to the hill above the weir on the lake, we were told to sit on the grass to make ourselves appear smaller and more non-threatening to any bears in the area. One sow bear was fishing for salmon. The gulls ate what she didn't. A fox and her two kits came down the hill. 

After watching for an hour, we loaded the plane. Instead of flying over the mountains, we flew along the shoreline due to dense fog.

Baranov Museum

Inside the Baranov Museum

Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church

John and Linda admire the large aquarium in the Fisheries Research Center

Salmon types

We flew on float plane from Kodiak to Frazer Lake for Bear Viewing.

Group sat on the hillside above the lake

Mother fox and her kits came down to feed

The float plane dock at Kodiak