The Milepost Travel Guide

I’m really excited to have the cover of the The Milepost for the third consecutive year!  As I have written before – I grew up in the small town of Glennallen Alaska, and it seemed like evey visitor through town was carrying this guide, so for me, this is like the ultimate cover!  We really appreciate the relationship we have with all the folks at the Milepost over the last decade or so – thanks!

I captured this photo last summer at Lake Clark National Park - here were my Lake Clark blog posts from that awesome trip.

Horned Puffin.

We have finished our updates to our website and have a new section of Puffin photos.  Puffin rock!  We have also updated our section of bear photos.  Come to think of it, bears rock too!

In addition, we were able to migrate our all 4,970 pages of our website from the obsolete FrontPage to a more more appropriate program, Dreamweaver.  What a huge relief!

Bears aren’t the only ones to hit Silver Salmon Creek for fish – its just that the bears have the right of way!  When the bears approach, the fishermen back out of the river and bunch up for safety.  If you hook a fish and a bear shows up, you have to cut it loose. 

This little cub seemed as intrigued by the people, as the people in the bear.

We now new sections on our website for Lake Clark National Park, And Halibut Cove, Alaska.

Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

If you have followed this photo blog much, you know I have spent a fair amount of time working the bears around Seward with a remote camera setup.  Well, I thought that might provide some unique opportunities while at Lake Clark National Park, so I brought all my gear over there for my remote setup. 

Wouldn’t you know it, this was the first bear we photographed, on the very first night, and he decided to beat the heck out of this perfectly innocent boat for really no apparent reason.  It was right then and there I decided I wouldn’t be using my remote setup – I could see my camera and tripod turning into a really fun bear toy! 

Brown Bears, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

I didn’t get a chance to finish writing about our Lake Clark trip, so I thought I would follow up today. 

To be honest, we have always traveled on our own in Alaska, with either our camper or tent, so I had mixed feelings on visiting a lodge geared just towards bear viewing, working with guides, etc.  My other reservation was the cost - an all inclusive trip that includes flights, lodging, meals, boats and guides isn’t going to be cheap, especially given our short summer season.  I do get that, but what I struggled with -  for what a four day bear viewing trip cost, we could do a two month trip to the Lower 48 and probably come away with far more marketable material.  But hey, having fun is more important than return on investment!  Plus, if I could photograph puffins without the considerable expensive of flying to St. Paul, that would be a huge bonus.  So now the question, where to go.

As I like to do, I spent a ton of time researching all the possible options.  Yeah, I’m an over-researcher.  As I read about the options for coastal bear viewing, along either the Katmai or Lake Clark National Park coast, one place kept coming out on top, and that was Silver Salmon Creek Lodge.  In hindsight, it turned out to be a great choice, I couldn’t have been happier for a number of reasons in which I will elaborate.

People

Like most all organizations, it is the people who make or break it, and that usually starts at the top.  Well Dave, Joanne and Oliver couldn’t have been nicer.  I’m not talking about the fake, I’m supposed to smile and act this way kind of nice.  No, they are just good, down to earth people who Janine and I really enjoyed getting to know.  Not surprisingly, their staff was all cut from the same thread.

Location

I was very excited about the location, as I had hoped to concentrate on bear in the landscape type images, and the surrounding mountains would have made a perfect backdrop.  Unfortunately, because of low clouds and stormy weather, we never did see much of the surrounding countryside while we were there – but it is there.

Cost

The cost really was reasonable when you looked at the high level of service, and all you received – especially when you compare it to what a hotel alone goes for in Anchorage this time of year.  There weren’t any add-on charges, everything was included, and that even went for your flights, boat rides along the coast, kayak and canoe use, you name it.  It also included the food, and that was delicious!  We are talking fresh fish, prime rib…  you get the idea.  If you have special needs – no problem, they even ask about that right up front.

Wildlife

Really all that other stuff wouldn’t matter without the wildlife, but wow!  There were 3 sows with spring cubs, a couple with year old cubs, there were large boars, you name it, and they were everywhere.  It wasn’t uncommon to have bears meander right through the lodge grounds, in fact it usually happened a number of times each day. 

The bonus for me was the puffin.  I get lots of requests for this colorful bird, and have very little coverage.  I have considered flying to St. Paul in past years, but that is an expensive proposition.  So to be up-close to these wonderful birds was a real treat and bonus!

 All and all I must say, Silver Salmon Creek Lodge was a wonderful experience, and one I look forward to repeating one day. 

This is the dinning room.  From the windows, you could almost always see bears feeding off the sedges.

The outside of the main lodge building.  This building is surrounded by individual cabins.

Here are more bear photos.

Snow patterns from the air, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

We are heading to Halibut Cove for a few days so we won’t have web contact.  If it doesn’t rain too hard, maybe I will have some photos to share next week.

Hey, today this photo blog is now two years old!  And to think, I was afraid I would run out of material to post about after the first month!  Today I have a bigger back log of ideas then ever before.  Now if I could just create more time. 

More Horned Puffin from Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Brown Bear cub, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

These guys are really cute!  This is a different cub from the last post – they are really fun to watch.

Brown Bears, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

This cute little cub seemed to really enjoy playing with a empty clam shell!

Here are more bear photos.

Horned Puffin, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

I understand that puffin have the unique ability to catch and hold fish in their beaks, allowing them to continue to fish and capture more.  Every puffin I saw with fish seemed to have at least 5!

Horned Puffin, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

We just got home and are still beaming from an awesome trip! 

Although I loved spending time with the bears, puffin were actually at the top of my wish list.  You see I often get requests for this beautiful bird, and live next to a very large population, but have never been able to photograph them up close until this trip.  Now I can put an end to that frustration.

I have joked in the past that puffin really don’t exist – that they are just a cartoon character like Bugs Bunny.  Having seen them up close and personal, I can attest that they are real, and they are spectacular!

Here are more Puffin photos.

Brown bear sow and cub, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

This sow was able to repeatedly dig up clams with incredible effectiveness.  On the other hand, the poor cub dug and dug, but was never able to find a single clam – at least while I watched.  I don’t think it had learned exactly where to dig just yet.  After awhile, the cub went over and began watching his mom very, very closely – it was really fascinating to watch.  I don’t know if he was a very attentive student, or just really hungry!

Since we have some brief internet access, I thought I would post a quick update.  As you can probably tell, we are having an awesome trip!

Here are more brown bear photos.

We made it to Lake Clark National Park, Alaska and it didn’t take long to find bears.  Lots of bears!  And as you can see, we are even picking up internet.

Lake Clark National Park photos.