Alaska Life
Do you have any fish that needs cooking? We've got an Alaskan Halibut Recipes Cookbook, or if salmon is your style, try the Salmon Recipe Cookbook.
Anchorage Weather
High 48°f, Low 35°f
11 Hours, 17 Mins. Daylight
We have been saying for several years now 
that we would like to go to Kodiak but had never quite made it there. Most of our adventures don’t really have to be that well planned out. We can usually just pack some food, clothing and camera equipment into the van and head whichever direction the weather looks best – but Kodiak is a little more complicated.
Kodiak, Alaska’s Emerald Island, can be accessed by air and water. In order to have both transportation to explore the approximately 100 miles of road around Kodiak city and accommodations during our stay on the island, we planned to drive from Anchorage to Homer and put our ’69 VW van on the Alaska Marine Highway, Alaska’s State ferry system. Unfortunately, on our way up Turnagain Pass the fuel line blew and we had a fire in the engine compartment. Thanks to the fast action of some helpful Alaskans behind us with a fire extinguisher the blaze was quickly contained. We were not ready to give up our Kodiak dream. So, after the 50+ mile ride back to town in the tow truck we moved on to plan B, loaded everything into our car and started down the highway again.
We arrived at the end of the Homer Spit where the Tustumena was docked at the ferry terminal with a half hour to spare. The vehicle loading process was an eye opening experience requiring precision backing-up skills I never knew I possessed.
Once on the Trusty Tusty, as the 45 year old vessel is affectionately known, we breathed a sigh of relief and began to believe we really were going to finally make it to Kodiak. 
The seas were calm as we pulled away from the spit and remained that way during the entire 9 hour trip. We saw a variety of seabirds, including puffins, both on the water and in the air.
It was evening when we arrived in Kodiak and since we had never been there and had no idea which way to go. We just picked a road (which turned out to be the Monashka Bay Road) and ended up 12 miles northwest of Kodiak city in the dark listening to the splashing of spawning salmon in a stream. We were hoping to encounter some of the infamous coastal brown bears, commonly known as "Kodiaks", that inhabit the island so we figured this would be a good area to call home for the night.
In the pre-dawn light we began our quest, checking the salmon stream we had found the night before for signs of bear activity. All we saw was a couple of fishermen and a lot of gulls so we quickly moved on down the road in search of adventure and a few hundred photos. 
It wasn't long before we stumbled upon this breathtakingly beautiful view of the sunrise from a promontory overlooking Monashka Bay. Along the road back to town we stopped at Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park and explored the remnants of a WWII military installation.
The next order of business was of course our morning latte so off we went to find the local coffee shop. Mill Bay Coffee was conveniently just down the road and we got a great latte and advice from a local fellow on where to find puffins. 
With our coffee and hand-drawn map of the nesting cliffs in hand we drove through town and continued along the coast to find the rookeries. These birds that nest on the rugged cliffs do so for reason - it is almost impossible for anyone or anything to gain access to them, including us! Climbing over the slippery, barnacle encrusted rocks in the tidal zone was arduous and with the clock ticking toward high tide we moved as quickly as we could to get around to the rock face that might hold the puffin nests. As we came around the corner we were shocked to to find the little wiskered faces of these otters looking back at us as they munched on fish among the rocks. Looking up to the rock cliffs we saw hundreds of gulls but not a single puffin. Fearing that the tide might catch us we turned and scurried back to the safety of higher ground without a single puffin photo.
We had a lot more miles to cover and bears to find before the ferry would leave the next evening. The Chiniak Highway winds along Women's Bay, Middle Bay, and Kalsin Bay and ends at Cape Chiniak. We found these bear tracks on a sand bar in Salonie Creek on Women's Bay and were encouraged that a Kodiak sighting might be in our near future. Driving along in a area that according to our keen perception and knowledge of wildlife habitat (haha) was not a "bear area" - THIS bear appeared in front of us. 
Not exactly the picture I had in my mind of a Kodiak Grizzly Bear snatching a salmon from a picturesque stream, but unfortunately this is the image that ended up on my memory card and the other remains only in my wishful thinking.
We drove the Pasagshak Road to the Kodiak Launch Complex operated by 
Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation where satellites are launched into polar orbits. The Anton Larsen Bay Road took us past the USCG Bear Valley Golf Course and the Buskin Valley Winter Recreation Area. The Coast Guard Station on Kodiak is the largest in the U.S. We met several members of the Coast Guard during our trip and found them to be very friendly and helpful along with all the folks we encountered on the island.
When it was time to head to the ferry dock our heads were spinning from all of the new place names we had learned and experiences we had enjoyed during our 48 hours on Kodiak Island. As the Tustumena pulled away from the dock and we settled into our chairs to sleep during the overnight voyage, our conversation quickly turned to planning our next trip to Kodiak.
Where in the World is Alces Browser?
(On tour with Diane in downtown Anchorage)
I'm at Westchester Lagoon watching the salmon swim in from Cook Inlet.
This is low tide at Cook Inlet. If you walk out there, the mud will stick to your hoof. 
The Coastal Trail is a blast for walking, biking and jogging. It runs from downtown to Kincaid Park , a total of 11 miles.
I'm at the base of the Sun, getting ready to go on the Planet Walk.
Men are from Mars and women are from here.
I'm looking for Alaska on our planet.Are you going on an exciting adventure? Pick up your own Alces Browser, Blue Moose, take him with you, and send in your pictures. Maybe your adventure with Alces will be featured in an upcoming Alaska Life on our new feature "Where in the world is Alces Browser!?"