The Great Alaska Vacation for Randy and Allen

Allen had a great time in Alaska, he reports,

"Randy and I spent a week in Alaska in early August. Randy was hired to judge the Fairbanks Fair, so we decided to make a vacation out of his judging assignment.

I had just spent a week in Connecticut; I flew from Hartford to Alaska, and met up with Randy in Anchorage. After arriving late, we spent the night at a friend's house in Wasilla. The next day, we drove to Whittier, a small, isolated town in the Prince William Sound. In fact, you have to travel through a 3 mile tunnel to get into the town.

We ate delicious Alaska Halibut for lunch on the bay, and then headed to Seward. In Seward, we went on a Halibut fishing charter. I have never fished seriously before, so this was new frontier. Of the 18 people on ship, I caught the biggest Halibut, weighing in at 40 pounds! Randy and I both caught two (the limit), and Randy also caught 2 Silver Salmon.

After fishing in Seward, we drove south to the Kenai River for intense Red Salmon fishing. Randy Cler, ARBA Judge, joined us for two extreme days on the Kenai. Red Salmon were swimming up river to protected spawning areas, and these few weeks in the summer make excellent Red Salmon fishing. For a "non-fisherman", I caught 4 huge Salmon on Day 1 and 6 on Day 2! In fact, I caught my limit of 6 Salmon over an hour before my expert counterparts (Randy and Randy) caught theirs! So, I sat on the bank and admired my catch.

After fishing in the Kenai, we drove north to Fairbanks. The fair hosted three judges, and hired the Butlers from Ohio to judge as well. Working on my license, I jumped at the opportunity to work with veteran Judge #401, Al Butler. Being a Fair, a lot of time was available for slow judging and teaching. It was a great experience, and I got to work with a Belgian Hare with Mr. Belgian Hare, Al Butler!

The remaining days of our trip included a 12 hour tour of Denali National Park. We traveled deep into the Tundra on a! bus, an d saw huge moose, brown bears, black bears, and countless small wildlife. At the end of the tour, we visited Fannie Quigley's cottage. Fannie was a gold pioneer in the early 1900's, and was the first woman pioneer in the Alaska territory. On the last day, before our flight, Randy and I slipped one last fishing experience in at the mouth of the Knik Glacier. It was a gorgeous morning, and Randy caught 2 Silver Salmon.

In all, Randy and I brought home 14 Salmon, 4 Halibut, and 1 Rock Fish. We love seafood, and will be living off our "catch" for years! Not to mention, I have added "fishing" as a new hobby!"