Alaska 2015 - Bears, Bears, Bears, More Bears, and a Mountain - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Alaska 2015 - Bears, Bears, Bears, More Bears, and a Mountain
Hello All,
We did a fun trip this summer, and I thought you might enjoy seeing the photos. For those of you not familiar with my past reports, we are a retired couple who tries to take at least one trip a year to concentrate on photography. I'm Sharon, and my husband is Lou. Neither of us are serious photographers, we just enjoy the chance to get out and see nature and hopefully some wildlife.
We first went to Alaska in the summer of 2013 ... that report can be found here. This first trip was mostly on the water, as we cruised the Inside Passages for 3 weeks, with a short visit to Denali National Park at the end. One of the things we missed was bear viewing up close. We saw several, but always at a distance.
The plan for this trip came about on a whim. Back in June of 2014 we were contemplating a summer trip for 2015. We happened to be looking at a brochure from Van Os Photo Safaris - a company we've traveled with before. They just happened to have two trips - back to backs - that would take us bear viewing and into Denali to see fall colors. Sold!
We flew from Maine to Anchorage on August 22nd - a very long day as we were stuck in planes and airports for over 20 hours. But we arrived safely into Anchorage and a quick ride put us into our hotel for a few days - the Lake Front Anchorage Hotel (previously known as the Millenium).
The hotel is located on Lake Hood, home to the largest sea plane base in the world. A couple early morning shots of the lake, with the Anchorage Int'l Airport in the background:
The hotel is nothing fancy, but is very close to the airport, and has the benefit of a large open deck that looks out over the lake, where the sea planes are continuously taking off an landing. We enjoyed an afternoon snack on the deck:
We arrived in Anchorage two days early in order to give ourselves time to adjust to the jet lag. I know many of you would have been out and about, but we just took it easy as we prepared for our upcoming two week's of photo tours.
We met up with our first week's Tour Group at the Hotel on Saturday evening for dinner and introductions. It was a small group with 8 members and our leader. The plan was to fly out early on Sunday morning to Lake Clark National Park. We were going to be staying at the Alaska Homestead Lodge in Silver Salmon Creek.
This first map gives an idea of where Lake Clark National Park is located.
Lake Clark National Park is one of three very large National Parks in the Southern half of Alaska (Denali and Katmai being the other two). Lake Clark NP was established in 1980 and includes over 4 million square miles of wilderness – including glaciers, volcanoes, forests, lakes, and coastal wetlands. It is twice the size of Yellowstone but is one of our least-visited National Parks because you can only get there by small plane or by boat, and there aren't many places to stay if you aren't a backpacker or camper.
We will be staying at a small lodge on the coast called The Alaska Homestead Lodge. The reason most people come here is to see and photograph Coastal Brown Bears in their natural habitat. Salmon fishing also draws people to Silver Salmon Creek and Lake Clarke NP. More about how that works out once we get there. Coastal Brown Bears are technically not Grizzly Bears. but the terminology is pretty loose. Grizzlies are a type of Brown Bear, but typically they live inland. When we think of a big bear, we probably think of a Grizzly Bear. But, Coastal Brown Bears are usually larger than Grizzlies and can weigh 1,000 lbs. Coastal Bears have access to more protein, especially salmon – so they tend to outgrow their cousins, the Grizzlies.
The first part of this trip will be all about seeing bears. The second week's tour took us to Denali National Park. It was with an all-new group of people and a new leader, but was conveniently scheduled just one day after we returned from the bear viewing adventure.
I was so excited to see that we'd get to follow along on your return to Alaskan. I love bears as much as giraffes so I can't wait for the photos to begin.
Great start! We did our second Alaskan cruise with Disney this year and we want to go back and do a third and perhaps see a bit more of the state, so your trip report will be really helpful as I start to think about that trip, even if it is probably about three years away.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Oh boy! A Shazza report! Thanks so much for posting this. Looking forward to the photos of the bears and of Denali, too! Sounds like a fantastic trip.
Thanks, Laurie - I'm hoping the process of sharing will motivate me to go through these way-too-many photos!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Woo hoo! Excited to see another of your TR's! And how cool to go on a trip to see/photograph bears!
Thanks, Pam!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Signing on! We just did an inside passage cruise this summer and it's made me want to see much more of Alaska at some point.
That's exactly what got us interested in seeing more of Alaska - it's a wonderful state.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I was so excited to see that we'd get to follow along on your return to Alaskan. I love bears as much as giraffes so I can't wait for the photos to begin.
Well, I do believe you might be tired of bears by the end of this report
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great start! We did our second Alaskan cruise with Disney this year and we want to go back and do a third and perhaps see a bit more of the state, so your trip report will be really helpful as I start to think about that trip, even if it is probably about three years away.
I imagine our time in Alaska overlapped, but we never saw any cruise ships. You definitely need to save some time for land touring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntermom
I am so excited about your report and to see more of your stunning photography.
Thanks! Hopefully you'll find the subjects of the photography interesting
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start Sharon! Can't wait to hear (and see) all about it!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Our First Day with the Bears at Silver Salmon Creek
Let me get this out front - there will be a lot of photos in this report. And, I've culled many more than I am showing. So, do feel free to do a quick skim when/if it gets repetitious.
We were up early Monday morning (I may have been off a day in my first post) to take a short ride to the airport where we were catching up with Alaska Air Taxi for our 1hr 10min flight over Cook Inlet to Lake Clark National Park.
Seriously, I thought we were taking this old DeHavilland. Nope, apparently it's used mostly for freight hauls. We were in an eleven passenger Otter - and it wasn't a sea plane. How were we landing??? Oh ... we were landing ON THE BEACH
The flight was uneventful and we had some nice views as we flew over Cook Inlet. We had good views of Mount Redoubt, the volcano that occasionally drops ash on Anchorage:
Coming into the Silver Salmon Creek Area, we could see the Coastal Area where we would be searching for bears, as well as miles of beach:
We landed safely (and quickly - the Otter drops fast and can take off fast due to its large engines). As soon as we unloaded, another group hopped on for their ride back to Anchorage.
We hopped into these carts - pulled by a 4-Wheeled ATV - for the journey to The Alaska Homestead Lodge. These carts would be our best friends in the coming week, as they were used to haul us and our gear around the area as we chased the bears.
Some of our friendly group members - the fellow in red is our leader (Perry Conway - an experienced wildlife photographer), and the rest are a Canadian family - the nicest folks! Dad, son, and Mom. Mom was not a photographer, but was along to see the bears. We had another father/son duo, and a gentleman from North Carolina. Couldn't have asked for a more compatible group.
Our first view of the Lodge, our home for the next 5 nights. Our group were the only occupants. They did have a couple of day tours where people flew in for the day, and they served lunch - but it never impacted us. I'll have more photos of the interior later in the report.
After a quick visit to our rooms, we met up again for our first venture out into the wilderness. We had the same guide the entire time - Chris was a sweetheart who went out of his way to help us see as much as possible.
Lou has apparently entered story-telling mode and it's only Day 1 ...
Looking back towards the Lodge; there are two main lodges here that take in clients for bear viewing (and fishing). There is another lodge near the beach that also hosts fishing clients. And then, there are a number of flights that come in for day tours, but it was never crowded.
We drove up and down the beach, and all around the creek, but didn't see a single bear. Hmmmphhh ... what's this about practically being run over by bears when you get off the plane??? We did see an eagle as we headed back for lunch:
Here we are, scanning for bears. Actually, I think the guys were checking out the abundant salmon in the creek. We had to ford this stream several times a day, and often the guys would have to get out of the carts and walk. Lou grumbled so much about it, we named it "Lou's Crossing." (and laughed hysterically by the end of the week, every time we came to the creek).
Disappointed, but still filled with anticipation for the rest of the day, we arrived back at the Lodge for lunch. And, what a treat. Chef Michael had created a lunch menu with bar-b-que'd pork with freshly made rolls, several salads, and COOKIES !!! This young man was super talented, and did wonders with limited ingredients. (We had no vegetarians in our group, but were told it was no problem to accommodate most dietary requests).
So there we have it ... the first part of Day 1. Wait, no bears ???!!!! What kind of a bear trip report is this? Hold on, I need a brief break, then we'll be back to see what the afternoon brings.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
We did our second Alaskan cruise with Disney this year and we want to go back and do a third and perhaps see a bit more of the state, so your trip report will be really helpful as I start to think about that trip, even if it is probably about three years away. 
Linear Mode
