Elmira College - Alaska 2022

  Hello all! Bob and Mo here (aka Robbin and Maura). We had a long, incredible day of hiking today and reveling in the beautiful landscapes that Alaska has to offer. To begin, we rode water taxis which dropped us on rocky shores all the way across the glacier spit. From there we hiked to a turquoise glacier river and had a picnic lunch along its banks. There we enjoyed the picturesque backdrop of snowy mountains and trees in the distance (and a nice break from hiking). After that, we trudged back into the forest to come upon the scenic glacier lake. We rested our legs and took lots of pictures, taking care to watch out for the recently spotted black bears in the area, and savoring the view of the icy waters. Along the way our guides taught us about the glacial history of the area, and the impact of natural disasters including earthquakes and landslides. By the conclusion of the hike, everyone’s legs were aching (although no one was tired of the views of Kachemak Bay). We enjoyed a ...

  Starting the day off with an exciting moose sighting at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, we participated in a day filled with learning about the wild plants of Alaska. We learned about forestry, forest fires, the different types of trees, as well as the harm done to the spruce forests by bark beetles. Following this educational road trip around the forests of Alaska, we once again made our way to our guided raft tour. Since it was too windy during our first attempt at the tour, we had to reschedule our 8 mile trip down the Kenai River for today. While we were on our excursion, our guide informed us about the effects of numerous organisms on the environment. For example, beavers have a negative effect on the Kenai River because they can erode the river bank while building dams. At the end of our river rafting journey, we had an unexpected visit from a 1 year-old black bear. Then, on our way back to Bear Paw cabins, we made two quick pit-stops to get a view of the volcanoes (Ili...

  Today our other group was supposed to go fishing but unfortunately it was rescheduled due to weather. This meant the agenda for today included going to the Norman Lowell Art Gallery and the Homer Spit for some shopping. We all really enjoyed going to the gallery to see Lowell’s paintings. Our tour also included seeing their original home on the homestead and Lowell’s studio. Lowell started going blind after he started painting and as his vision decreased he had to work more based on memory. It was interesting to see how his paintings changed with his vision. The next stop for the day was the Homer Spit. There were lots of neat shops and we even got to see the famous Salty Dawg and hang a dollar on the wall. After our shopping we got some coffee and smoothies and raced back for some intense volleyball games. Our tournament started today and we have already played through the first round. Although it was not the Saturday we pictured, it was a lot of fun and we are resting up for ou...

  Today the class split into two separate groups. One group stayed at cabins to gold sluice with John (the owner of bear paw) and adventured down to the beach to enjoy some views and wildlife. Our group went to the Cook Inlet to go fishing for halibut and salmon. We left to go fishing around 6:30am and finished around 2pm. First we went to an area near anchor point and fished about 250 feet down for halibut. About halfway through we went to shallower waters to troll for salmon. We were successful in catching halibut but unfortunately we didn’t catch any salmon. We also spotted some animals on our fishing excursion including sea otters and killer whales, and multiple bald eagles along the shore. After fishing, we took some of the halibut back to the cabins and John prepared the halibut in many different styles including frying, broiling, and baking the fillets in different styles. It was all very delicious! Kennedi and Jenna

  What was supposed to be a relaxing day-in turned into some true adventures! With a quiet morning, a pair of the crew went off to see the volcanoes (Iliamna and Redoubt) across our cabin and came across a man basking in the morning sun and smell of Moose poop. The day continued with an educational talk on Cook Inlet Beluga whales and the important part humans play in making sure they repopulate and stay in the area. Then it was off to the grocery store, making a pit stop to see the beautiful view... pictures attached can never do it justice. We picked up snacks and more to feed our adventurous bellies. Then for dinner we all joined together to have a true in fashion cookout, with hot dogs on the grill, potato salad and baked beans. We ended with competitive volleyball rounds (Dr. Stilts was the real MVP) to prepare for the games ahead of us, smores, campfire and lots of laughter. Annabelle and Casey