I again headed to Pennsylvania but this time via Yosemite National Park and Alaska where, for the first time I crossed the Arctic Circle heading for the small Inuit village of Kotzebue. We flew between the North and South Peaks of Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America - a fantastically beautiful sight. I enjoyed the demonstration of Eskimo dances and culture, including "blanket tossing" then wandered along the sea shore watching the fishermen bring in their nets - at 11 pm in bright daylight! In Anchorage I was able to operate Portable KL7 on VHF and HF from the QTH of John, KL7AMH - it was great fun and I checked into the 222 Net.

Two other short trips took me to Denali National Park to see the wildlife, and to Glacier Bay to see icebergs, glaciers and whales. I then took off on a 4-day cruise down the wonderful Inside Passage from Juneau to Ketchikan. This was an informal trip on a small boat carrying only 90 passengers and the Captain obligingly stopped each time we spotted a whale. My fondest memory is of sitting, sipping champagne, at the foot of the Le Conte Glacier, hemmed in by little icebergs with seals lying on them, watching the glacier "calve" new icebergs and glimpsing through the mist the high, steep-sided mountains. For me this was the Alaska I had come so far to see.

Yosemite	Mt. McKinley	Blanket Tossing
Fishing boats, Kotzebue	Brown bear cubs at Denali Park	Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau
Inside Passage	DYL and Ice Floes	Le Conte Glacier