Mark and Lisa in Alaska - Day 7

We woke up early and relaxed until our next adventure. One really has to slow down in Alaska. It's nothing like traveling to a big city or to Europe. The roads are nice and wide, even though they are mostly two lane highways, nothing like the roads in Ireland.

Our journey today is with Alaska Wildland Adventures River Rafting. We did a 7 hour river rafting tour down the Kenai River. Our guide is Chad, who we prefer to call Captain Chad. Why is that? Nobody knows.

They suited us up with rain boots - I should have worn an extra pair of socks, but it wasn't that cold. Since we had brought our own rain gear, we didn't need to use theirs, which was big and restrictive.

All suited up and ready to go!

With us today was a family of four from southern California. They were a nice group. We floated on a raft made for six people and our guide. If was comfortable enough for a long trip, and we stayed dry most of the time. The only time we got wet was when Captain Chad intentionally splashed us. After getting water down our pants, we quickly learned to cover up.  The water temperature was about 39 degrees.

Floating down the Kenai River

Along our route, we saw about 10 bald eagles. See if you can find them in the pictures. Look for the little spot of white

Bald Eagle Pictures

About half way we stopped for lunch. Captain Chad first set up a beverage bar, which included hot coffee, cocoa, and lemonade. For lunch, we had a great layout. It included smoked halibut, smoked salmon, smoked reindeer sausage, smoked salmon spread, oranges, apples, turkey, bagels, and all the "fixins".  Captain Chad had gold fish (the edible kind) and homemade chocolate chip cookies for us. Pretty darn good!

Lunch

As we floated down the river, we saw tons and tons of fishermen trying to catch salmon.  Captain Chad calls this combat fishing.

Salmon Fishing

The whole trip down the river was beautiful. Captain Chad provided us with a lot of information about the fauna and wildlife. Before we got to Skilak Lake, we stopped at Safety Island to check the waves on the lake and for a beautiful view.

Safety Island

Once we got to Skilak Lake, Captain Chad started up the outboard motor, and we cruised around the lake until we got to the landing point.  The landing point is called Upper Skilak Lake Campground.

Skilak Lake

After landing, we took off home on a very bumpy road, but we were fortunate enough to see a black bear cub and a moose. We also stopped at an overlook of the lake.

Overlook

I would recommend the river rafting trip. We had a wonderful time. Today was another great day in Alaska!