Oh my gosh, did I forget something important here? My first sight as we were taxiing on the runway in Anchorage was a cruise train at the Ted Stevens Int'l Airport Depot. I had left my camera in the overhead bin and missed great views of Yosemite Valley, Mono Lake, Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada Mountains and some of the Cascade Mountains. Later we had lots of clouds under us and I came back to life to view the Alaskan coastline and who knows what. Mountains with sawtooth peaks and glaciers, the ocean and islands. As we approached Anchorage on the final descent, I was able to point out Prince William Sound and Denali Peak (Mt. McKinley) to the unaniatiated. WTF, I whipped out my camera after getting into the terminal and photographed the 75 Anniversary Alaska Airlines 737 with its retro paint job. Of course, the train had left the depot before we drove by and caught up to it out Tudor Road. Steve had some business downtown and drove me over the C Street Viaduct and I got some grab shots of The Alaska Railroad yard and shops. Today (Saturday June 25) I got to see the northbound Denali Star train as I was buying a gift for a close friend.

As far as ice cold water goes, I had ok warmth while standing in the rivers, but my hands were cold a lot of the time. I was cold on both drift boats. Last Wednesday on the Cook Inlet whilst halibut fishing, it was mostly sunny with rough seas. I froze in Captain Bligh's cabin and was prepared for the adventure of fishing out on deck. After pulling a few halibut up from 220 feet below, I warmed up and shredded the funny Elmer Fudd hat and long sleeve shirt. So yeah, the view of several distant volcanoes and too many glaciers was nearly equal to hanging out in the Feather River Canyon or Santa Ana Canyon as well.

One important difference, all my friends and family love the Alaskan fish treats that I bring back. Few of them could give a flying frizbee about the train pix, but I get a double fix by the experience of procuring the fish and serving it to all who visit my home or boat.