Sunday, July 21, 2013

Day 24 - Talkeetna to Homer, Alaska. 334 miles today. 5,904 miles from Indianapolis, Indiana.


A beautiful blue sky, a shining sun, a cool crispness to the air, what a way to start the day!  The guys departed Talkeetna heading for Homer, Alaska.  They were able to take advantage of some road side scenic pull offs to see Mt. McKinley and the Denali Peaks.  At this point they estimated being 40 miles away from Mt. McKinley.  The way the sun was hitting the face of the mountain, and playing off of the snow, the views didn't seem real.  The guys said this was, "incredible."





Denali Peaks 





Joe, David, Fred, Mike and Ron tried to schedule lunch with Sarah, she was busy.

In Wasilla at the re-start area for the Iditarod Dog Sled Race.  The race actually begins in Anchorage.  Participants then stop in Wasilla, which is 46 miles from the start of the race.  The finish line is in Gnome, Alaska.  The total distance of the Iditarod is 1,000 miles, all by dog sled!





The five zoomed through Anchorage.
























The Chugach National Forest is America's most northerly national forest.  The Chugach stretches across south-central Alaska from the salty waters and snow covered peaks of Prince William Sound to the fishing (trout and salmon) streams of the Kenai Peninsula.  The Chugach is about the size of the state of New Hampshire.  I bet that made Joe feel right at home.  Believe it or not this is one of the few places in the world where valleys are still being ground out of the hard rock of the earth by glacier activity.












Time for a seat break, and Joe's afternoon snack.






Must be time for Mike's snack time too.  Dots, his favorite candy!   He says it gives him a boost of energy.






These two mountains are contained within the Lake Clark National Park.
These two mountains are actually active volcanoes.  
Both volcanoes slightly exceed 10,000 feet.
Something, something, something, burning ring of fire....how does that song go?





Mt. Iliamna- Gases are frequently seen venting near the summit of this volcano.






Mt. Redoubt-on the other hand is more active.  What is the recent activity from this volcano?
On December 14, 1989 Mt. Redoubt experienced an awakening.  Large volumes of ash were dumped on the surrounding areas ruining the holiday and nearly causing a crash of a jet liner.

In March of 2009 the thing erupted again sending hot ash, pyroclastic flows (dry, hot rocks) and mud flows everywhere.  The eruption ceased in April when a lava dome plugged the vent of the volcano.  Seismic activity is monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory.





Fred and David, "you can't make this stuff up, it's real!"  And, they are not holding hands.

The fellas remarked, "this was a great day of riding."  The weather was nearly perfect.  The mountains, ocean and waterways combined to make for spectacular scenery that entertained the group at every turn and stop.







They arrived in Homer, Alaska where they will be spending the night. 

In case you didn't know, or were wondering, Homer is the Halibut Capital of the World.  It is well known in fishing circles as the place to go for great Halibut fishing.  In order to celebrate that, the guys were planning on Halibut for dinner.  Just for the hell of it.