More Alaska

Here are some fun facts about Alaska:
There are 7 caribou for every Alaska citizen.
Every Alaskan citizen can use a dipnet (think of a long handled landing net) to harvest 25 salmon every year.
If you would put a map of Alaska on top of a map of the "Lower 48," it would stretch from the East Coast to West Coast.
During the summer solstice in Fairbanks the sun never sets, it just approaches the horizon, gets a little dusky, but not dark, so golfers tee off at midnight, because they can! The nickname "Land of the Midnight Sun" is quite apt.These are harbor seals by the Aialik Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. So cute! We took a day glacier cruise into the park and saw all kinds of wildlife, along with some incredible glaciers.
On our way to Aialik Glacier, we saw these two humpback whales, a mother with her calf! Boat captains are not allowed to maneuver the boat within 100 yards of whales. We cut the engine and drifted as the whales swam right towards the boat! This was absolutely incredible, and VERY rare. I will never forget hearing them exhale through their blowholes as they surface, witnessing their quiet and majestic swim, and standing with our mouths open as we saw their smooth dive into the waters below.
On our drive across the Kenai Peninsula from Seward to Soldotna, we passed by Tern Lake. It was such a clear, beautiful morning. We stopped by this lake, admiring the almost perfect reflection and the birds flying about and calling to each other. This was one of the most serene and gorgeous sights of the trip.
This "fence" of rods was on our halibut boat out of Homer. The mountains set against the water were beautiful. And the seas were not as rough as we had expected, which was very nice. If you look closely at the roads, you can see the large two pound weights and the oversized hooks baited with hunks of herring. The fishing grounds were 19 miles out, and the waters were 250 feet deep. The simple act of hauling up the line to check the bait was a chore, but luckily most of the time we would have a halibut on the other end! Halibut are probably among the most ugly fish on the earth, but they sure taste good!
Across the peninsula from Homer was this beautiful mountain range, including several volcanoes. We believe that this one is Mt. Redoubt. We loved seeing so many snow-capped peaks every day, especially against dense evergreens and deep blue waters.