Some pictures?

[jimnyc]

:) Some may be repeats, if you see a repeat from before, tough! :)

http://i.imgur.com/ma2lT9Q.jpg

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[jimnyc]

And best for last, an Albino Pug!!

http://i.imgur.com/ELgkwpj.jpg

[Abbey Marie]

Is that an otter sleeping?

[jimnyc]

Is that an otter sleeping?

Yep! A baby sea otter, and they say they actually make pretty good pets!

[CSM]

That is NOT an albino pug .... that is Don Rickels.

[namvet]

http://i57.tinypic.com/29vih09.jpg

[NightTrain]

Yep! A baby sea otter, and they say they actually make pretty good pets!


They make pretty good pelts, too.

Sharon made me a headband made out of sea otter fur, it's incredibly soft, insanely warm and very comfy. I never get chilled when I'm outside with it on, no matter how cold & windy it is.

[jimnyc]

They make pretty good pelts, too.

Sharon made me a headband made out of sea otter fur, it's incredibly soft, insanely warm and very comfy. I never get chilled when I'm outside with it on, no matter how cold & windy it is.

That's messed up, you're wearing my little friends! LOL So long as you aren't wearing Pug or Chihuahua, we're cool. :thumb:

[fj1200]

They make pretty good pelts, too.

Does going clubbing have a whole different meaning up there?

:laugh:

Hey, where's a good place to catch the ferry back to Seattle from up there?

[NightTrain]

That's messed up, you're wearing my little friends! LOL So long as you aren't wearing Pug or Chihuahua, we're cool. :thumb:


Yeah, the Otters are extremely cute, I guess they're one of the few animals that I personally would be reluctant to kill... and they're so damn playful in the ocean & fun to watch floating on their backs eating a clam. I've always had an affinity for them. Luckily it was a gift so I wasn't involved in acquiring the fur in the first place.

No, haven't got any clothing made of any kind of dog as far as I know.... :coffee:

[NightTrain]

Does going clubbing have a whole different meaning up there?

:laugh:

Hey, where's a good place to catch the ferry back to Seattle from up there?


Funny you should ask... it's always been an inside joke with my family & circle of friends to ask our visitor from the Lower 48 if they want to go clubbing, and after they say yes, start planning out the Baby Seal Clubbing Assault. The shocked & horrified expressions are priceless. No one does that, of course, but generally flatlanders are gullible for the first week or so.

The only place that I'm aware of to hop on the Ferry to AK is in Bellingham, WA. I just got done doing a big Southeast AK tour fixing cell sites, hitting Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, Metlakatla, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Gravina, Hoonah, Skagway, Haines and Juneau.

What areas are you looking to explore?

Here's the link you want for the Alaska Marine Highway System : http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

A word of advice, though... don't take that website for gospel. Make sure you call them and verify the info on the site is up-to-date and correct before you plan your trip around dates & times the site specifies. We were unpleasantly surprised a few times on that trip over inconsistencies.

[NightTrain]

Oops, I misread what you were asking. From the Anchorage area you'd catch the Ferry either from Valdez or Whittier to get back down to Seattle... probably change ships in Juneau, I'd imagine.

[fj1200]

Oops, I misread what you were asking. From the Anchorage area you'd catch the Ferry either from Valdez or Whittier to get back down to Seattle... probably change ships in Juneau, I'd imagine.

Yup, my plan for my Alaska 2019 trip, so I have plenty of planning time, is to ride my motorcycle up to AK and take the ferry back to Seattle. From my looking at Google maps there's like one major road up there and then it's just a matter of where to head to the coast and catch the ferry. I'm not sure if I'll see something new every day so it's worth it to go farther or a week of pretty mountains gets old. I also don't know how much exploring that I'll get to do as far as getting off the beaten trail, that has to do with how much time I'll have and who might be going with me. But like I said, lots of planning time. Thanks. :)


Funny you should ask... it's always been an inside joke with my family & circle of friends to ask our visitor from the Lower 48 if they want to go clubbing, and after they say yes, start planning out the Baby Seal Clubbing Assault. The shocked & horrified expressions are priceless. No one does that, of course, but generally flatlanders are gullible for the first week or so.

The only place that I'm aware of to hop on the Ferry to AK is in Bellingham, WA. I just got done doing a big Southeast AK tour fixing cell sites, hitting Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, Metlakatla, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Gravina, Hoonah, Skagway, Haines and Juneau.

What areas are you looking to explore?

Here's the link you want for the Alaska Marine Highway System : http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

A word of advice, though... don't take that website for gospel. Make sure you call them and verify the info on the site is up-to-date and correct before you plan your trip around dates & times the site specifies. We were unpleasantly surprised a few times on that trip over inconsistencies.

Awesome story. Hey it's Alaska, it's what we do. :laugh:

[NightTrain]

If it were me, I'd cross the AK / Canadian border and head to Fairbanks, then down to Anchorage, then Kenai & Homer, return to Anchorage and then drive to Valdez and catch the ferry there. You'll see a lot of beautiful country and lots of cool little towns on that route.

Hit me up when you do, if the timing works out I can take you up the Talkeetna River to the cabin for a fishing trip & a little class IV whitewater jetboat run.

I invited Jim about 15 years ago and the bastard still hasn't made the trip.

[fj1200]

Well, you know that Jim. :gay:

Interesting, I figured Fairbanks was too far inland but it looks like I'd almost be that far anyway with not too much detour, relatively speaking. Out to Homer and then to Valdez looks like quite a bit of backtracking but that all depends on how much time I would have. I suppose we can ride a long way with those extra hours of sunlight in the summer. What's the best month to make that sort of trip? Figuring rain, sun, and being carried away by mosquitoes? :eek:

[jimnyc]

I invited Jim about 15 years ago and the bastard still hasn't made the trip.

I so wish I could, and maybe will eventually. I have a hard enough time trying to get away for visits to NJ to see family, and much, much harder if I head south to see Dad or Jeff in SC/GA. And hell, I don't even like any of them! LOL I would LOVE to visit, meet ya'll and let you take me on some serious fishing ventures!! I'm used to local ponds and streams, and maybe largemouth bass, so anything over 5lbs or so would be awesome.

Now, if we start a page on "gofundme" and you guys can collect the necessary funding for my trip, I'll be out there in a NY minute! :)


Well, you know that Jim. :gay:

Filthy, no good, heathen, muslim supporting, subhuman mongrel liberal you are!! :poke: :beer:

[NightTrain]

Well, you know that Jim. :gay:

Interesting, I figured Fairbanks was too far inland but it looks like I'd almost be that far anyway with not too much detour, relatively speaking. Out to Homer and then to Valdez looks like quite a bit of backtracking but that all depends on how much time I would have. I suppose we can ride a long way with those extra hours of sunlight in the summer. What's the best month to make that sort of trip? Figuring rain, sun, and being carried away by mosquitoes? :eek:

It's probably about 250 miles from the border to Fairbanks, 356 miles Fairbanks / Anchorage (and you'd drive right past Mt. McKinley on that leg), 280 miles from Anchorage to Homer that you'd have to backtrack, and about 300 miles from Anchorage to Valdez.

Solstice hits Jun 21st, of course, and we've got about 21 hours of sunshine at that time and it never gets dark... the sun just goes below the horizon at 2:30 AM or so and it's still twilight enough to easily drive without headlights.

The salmon fishing is best in the Talkeetna during the last week of July / first week of August... but August tends to be rainy.

A motorcycle tour of AK would probably be best in July for weather reasons.

[NightTrain]

I'm used to local ponds and streams, and maybe largemouth bass, so anything over 5lbs or so would be awesome.


So an 80 pound King or a 300 pound Halibut would probably get your attention!

We're going to be taking a lot of ocean fishing trips with the new boat, gotta start mapping out the hotspots!

[jimnyc]

Solstice hits Jun 21st, of course, and we've got about 21 hours of sunshine at that time and it never gets dark...

I saw "Insomnia" with Al Pacino and Robin Williams - I would kill myself if it was sunny during the evening hours!


So an 80 pound King or a 300 pound Halibut would probably get your attention!

We're going to be taking a lot of ocean fishing trips with the new boat, gotta start mapping out the hotspots!

If I hooked a 300lb fish I am liable to have an orgasm on the spot! LOL I think the largest fish I ever caught was a tuna while in Atlantic City. No, change that, I forgot I caught a rather large sized sand shark while on a fishing boat in North Carolina, but even he was only 15 pounds or so if I had to guess. My friend goes for stripers all the time in NJ and is always posting pictures of them in the 30-50lb range, and I thought those suckers were huge.

[fj1200]

It's probably about 250 miles from the border to Fairbanks, 356 miles Fairbanks / Anchorage (and you'd drive right past Mt. McKinley on that leg), 280 miles from Anchorage to Homer that you'd have to backtrack, and about 300 miles from Anchorage to Valdez.

Solstice hits Jun 21st, of course, and we've got about 21 hours of sunshine at that time and it never gets dark... the sun just goes below the horizon at 2:30 AM or so and it's still twilight enough to easily drive without headlights.

The salmon fishing is best in the Talkeetna during the last week of July / first week of August... but August tends to be rainy.

A motorcycle tour of AK would probably be best in July for weather reasons.

July seems best for me too but if I ride all the way there I'll have to leave early June. :laugh: I checked the ferry from Valdez and it looks like you switch in Whittier so I would just plan on going from there I would think. Still around $500+ which is sticker shock but shouldn't be surprising for a four day trip going that far. Kind of a once in a lifetime trip though, by motorcycle at least.

Oh, and how big of a gun do I need if a bear starts to get frisky? :eek:

[NightTrain]

I saw "Insomnia" with Al Pacino and Robin Williams - I would kill myself if it was sunny during the evening hours!

It does screw some people up, it doesn't bother me at all. Just takes some getting used to if you don't have dark curtains.




If I hooked a 300lb fish I am liable to have an orgasm on the spot! LOL I think the largest fish I ever caught was a tuna while in Atlantic City. No, change that, I forgot I caught a rather large sized sand shark while on a fishing boat in North Carolina, but even he was only 15 pounds or so if I had to guess. My friend goes for stripers all the time in NJ and is always posting pictures of them in the 30-50lb range, and I thought those suckers were huge.

50 and 60 pound King Salmon are pretty common, and in all honesty you don't really want to catch a 300 pound Halibut because it's the 80 to 100 pounders that are the good eating. Reds and Silvers get up to 15 pounds or so, and they're a lot of fun to fight... but nothing matches a big King for sheer brute power, a big one will take you an hour to land. It's a ton of fun!

[NightTrain]

July seems best for me too but if I ride all the way there I'll have to leave early June. :laugh: I checked the ferry from Valdez and it looks like you switch in Whittier so I would just plan on going from there I would think. Still around $500+ which is sticker shock but shouldn't be surprising for a four day trip going that far. Kind of a once in a lifetime trip though, by motorcycle at least.

Oh, I thought the ferry sailed from Valdez south to Juneau.. my bad. Whittier is only an hour south of Anchorage (on the way to Kenai / Seward / Homer) so that's convenient. Whittier is where I plan on playing out in the ocean with the new boat, there's lots of shrimp, halibut, lingcod, rockfish and maybe even some crab that I want to start getting out of there... and it's only 2 hours from my house.

Still, I really REALLY recommend you make the drive from Anchorage to Valdez. It's a very beautiful trip through a couple of mountain ranges with glaciers and a few spectacular waterfalls right beside the highway. It's my favorite drive and I enjoy it every time even after hundreds of trips.

The only problem with the ferry is that you dock in each town for one hour and the ferry pulls out and heads to the next destination, so if you wanted to explore Wrangell or Sitka or Ketchikan you'd be there for a few days. Not to say it wouldn't be cool to view from the boat, but on a trip like that I'd think you'd want to cruise around and check out the museums and scenery on your bike. I guess you'd have about 20 to 30 minutes to do a quick power-tour but no one likes being rushed like that.

If you have clear weather, Southeast Alaska is absolutely breathtaking... I'm amazed every time.


Oh, and how big of a gun do I need if a bear starts to get frisky? :eek:

A minimum of a .44 mag. A .50 Desert Eagle would be ideal!

Don't even think about trying to bring any kind of firearm OR ammo with you through Canada. Seriously, don't. You'll have a major hassle at the very minimum, and the odds are you'll be turned around (or worse). The horror stories I've heard about the Canadian border guards even suspecting a firearm in a vehicle are appalling. They are EXTREMELY anti-gun. Don't even tell them you own one - and they will ask.

I would mail your piece to yourself and pick it up at your first Alaskan town of any size, which I imagine would be Tok, right on this side of the border. Fairbanks would probably be easier, since Tok is a very small town.

Having a firearm on the ferry shouldn't be a problem though, I think you have to check it in with them since it's a TSA controlled operation. But I'd check with them, for sure.