Day 15-Wednesday, July 20, 2011 We had breakfast at Sheila’s and caught the 11:15 flight. We arrived in Minneapolis at 7:30 PM so it was less than 5 hours. It was a great trip with stunning scenery and great friends. Happy Trails, Jim Collins ... read more

Day 13-Monday, July 18, 2011 We drove back to Anchorage. On the way we had a wonderful visit at the Musk Ox farm outside of Palmer. They had the bulls, cows, young and newborn. They use the hair to weave ouvite in small native villages. It is eight times warmer than wool, very lightweight and will not shrink in any temperature water. We watched two bulls in a head-butting contest while one frustrated bull was trying to destroy the fence. Got back to Anchorage and had a restful evening. ... read more

Day 11-Saturday, July 16, 2011 We stayed at Upper Skilak Lake campground. It had a nice view and excellent facilities. On the way out we checked out Deep Creek Lake Campgrounds on the Skilak Loop. It has great campgrounds and beautiful Deep Creek Lake. We then drove through the tunnel to beautiful Whitter. The ferry was in and a large cruise ship. We stopped at the Portage Glacier Visitors Center on the way back to Anchorage. ... read more

Day 9- Thursday, July 14, 2011 It is my birthday, so Happy Birthday to Jim. We definitely had a full day. Went to the Homer Spit (5 miles long) and checked out the tourist shops and Halibut fishing. We got the weather for tomorrow from the Harbor Master Office and decided that 20-knot winds and 4’ swells was not the ideal Halibut Fishing weather. We visited the famous Salty Dog watering hole on the spit. Money and messages hung on the walls. We talked to a local and decided to go to Fritz Creek General Store. What a great and inexpensive meal. Bob had the best pizza he ever had, I had a brisket sandwich, Jane had a salmon bisque soup and Donna had a veggie sandwich. All of it was great. We then went to ... read more

Day 6-Monday, July 11, 2011 We decided to stay in Seward for the day. We went shopping and of course, with this being the first day on the road, we had to learn how to run everything in the motor home. This included, leveling the RV, running the TV, water, heat etc. We actually resorted to reading the instruction manual, very unmanly. No Collins would ever do it until they had thoroughly screwed things up. A big treat was going to the Alaskan Sealife Center in Seward. What a great facility for learning and viewing the sea life of Alaska. We loved the Seller Sea Lions. Donna and I bought some nice jackets. Also, they have a mountain race on July 4th. The course up and down the mountain is unbelievable. See the picture. ... read more