Hikes in Seward, AK, Kenai and Russian Rivers

On the way home from Seward we took a detour to the Kenai and Russian Rivers. Beautiful drive viewing God's creation all the way home. Hiked to the Russian River waterfalls (6 miles RT hike up the mountain) and saw salmon jumping the rapids.

Saturday morning sky



Entry to Kenai & Russian River



Unusual mushroom on the hike



Fish jumping the rapids


Russian River Waterfalls



Kenai River


Yes we made it to the Russian River Falls


Seward, AK Harbor



Hike in Seward, AK



A Resting in a odd shaped tree



Gpa and J on our Seward hike



Dutch hotel for our Dutch friends

Salmon fishing in Alaska

Early Wednesday morning found some of our campers out on a boat fishing for Salmon. Around 2:00 they came in with a catch of 11 beautiful salmon. Then out again, so we will see how many more are caught before sundown.

The harbor



Salmon catch of the day



Spraying them before the filleting begins



Filleting the Salmon



Continuing the filleting process

Alaska Adventures Continued

Tuesday evening we left Anchorage and drove 2+ hours to Seward, AK where camping is relaxing and the salmon fishing is good. Early in the morning Marc, Andrew and Jessica went out salmon fishing while the rest of us hiked up to Exit Glacier. What a fun adventure in the beautiful mountains of Alaska.

Traveling on Tuesday to Seward, AK



Wednesday hike up to the Glacier


Walking to the Glacier



Almost there!



River flowing from the Glacier



Glacier up close



Warning as we got closer to the Glacier



At the Glacier



That is NOT N & J walking down the Glacier!!



Fire Flower - the first flower to bloom after a fire!

Sunday and Monday Events

Sunday we drove to Palmer, AK to visit a classmate of Norm's that he had not seen since graduation, 1954. A delightful time with them and then a drive to a couple of sites along the mountain range. Monday we went downtown Anchorage for a brief time and on the street met a couple (the man had on an Iowa sweat shirt) and of course we had to talk to them. They were on a cruise ship in Anchorage for the day and from Davenport, IA. What a small world!

Palmer, AK



Beautiful farm land in the valley, Palmer AK



The powerful Su River



Rushing water where salmon swim by




Watching the Mighty Su rush by




Snow on the mountain in Palmer, AK



Marc overlooking the runway from his airport office





Norm and I had a reindeer sausage for lunch today!


Downtown Anchorage where the cruise ships folks shop


Historic City Hall


A great Norwegian Sweater Shop!

Arrival in Anchorage, AK

Friday we drove to Wasilla (looking for Sarah Palin! HA) A beautiful drive even in the rain. Today (Saturday is "work around the house). Stay tuned for more "Luiken" adventures.

Where we are staying in Anchorage



Wasilla Lake



Welcome to Wasilla, AK



Kids on the Salmon - had to stop for a coffee!



More mountains - Do you think I like the mts?!?

Travels through Montana and down the Columbia River

Traveling through Montana on Tuesday was absolutely beautiful. The mountains are awesome! Tuesday evening we stayed in Yakima, WA and Wednesday had breakfast with Norm's cousin Debbie R. Wednesday we left Yakima, WA and traveled down the Columbia River to Vancouver, WA where we stayed with Norm's cousin Paul R. Thursday evening we then flew to Anchorage, AK where we are visiting our son and family.

Montana mountains


More mountains


Leaving Yakima, WA



Bridge we had to cross to get to the other side of the Columbia River



Horsetail Falls



Horsetail Falls


Multnomah Falls



Bradford Dam


Very windy at the Dam