Cartegena, Colombia South America!!!!! Oh Yeah!

Ahhhhh.....Colombia!
It is truly beautiful here!
I flew to Cartegena to meet an old friend , visit with him and talk about some wonderful up coming business that Alaska Bush Safari Co. has an opportunity to partake in.
He seems excited too....
Both of us will leave tomorrow (Monday), to sail the Carribean stopping along the way in the San Blas of Panama on little remote island beaches to explore and snorkel, ...etc....
The area here is absolutely beautiful....this is just a small sample of what we are seeing, and this being the first for both of us to Cartegena!
The city is the heart of the old 'Spanish Main' with tales of Pirates...plunder...huge sea battles.








The city is surrounded by an old fort with walls completely surrounding the 'Old City'. It was impenetrable...as to why the city is still standing today.








The people are friendly , but English is truly a barrier! I always believe that we are visitors THERE and should take the time to learn as much as we can of the culture, language and customs of the local area.....maybe that is why I get along wherever I go! My Spanish does get better and better everyday! Thank God!



We have had wonderful food...company...and history! We were even' escorted' around by the local Policia! I asked for a architect to make large copies of a nautical chart....we got to talking...and the next thing you know...two of them are walking all over with me showing me the sights and helping me look for an architect! We took advantage to learn from each other differences in out countries, states and the language. Truly something I will never forget!

I will post more the next time I have internet access...most likely Colon Panama. As that will be a stopping point for us to enter the Panama Canal!
Keep checking back as we update our trip!
Joe

NYC! Taking a bite out of the Big Apple!

Got invited to NYC and ....WOW!
Sme wonderful folks from Northern Lights Post invited me to New York, and really showed me some great East Coast hospitality!
We did one day of filming an interview, and then they showed me around the city..and of course , we couldn't cover even a tiny piece of it!
Went to NBC....and looked out from the famous Rainbow Room there....rode the Subway train....saw the Empire State Building...Times Square .....Broadway....walked across the Brooklyn Bridge....the skaters at Rockefeller Square along with the famous tree......etc..etc...
Not to mention the great people that I met there too! But....I seem to make friends where ever I go! Leaving now for a 'new adventure'....this one will be a good one......





We will let you all know ...as soon as we do....the 'secret' as to the trip to New York...as well as the one I am leaving for right now!

The North trip! 'Professional ' Halibut fisherman!

We'll start our updates with Dr. James North, and his father who came to us from North Carolina.

Fisherman....YES!
It was a great trip! I truly enjoyed meeting them booth, and had wonderful conversation and company with them .

We spent one day viewing bears on the Alaska peninsula, and as usual, the bears were very cooperative!
We then spent a day Halibut fishing , and as you can see, it was a good day! James is standing next to his 55# halibut!!



We hope to see them again on another trip!
Joe

Bad Bloggers....Bad!

We have had a lot happen lately, and will catch up on the blogs and the latest news from us.
We have had a lot of good news...and some tragic news.

SO, keep looking in on us as we catch you up on the latest with posts, pics, new adventures we are working on, new trip ideas and even some new videos.

We will update on this years Iditarod Dog Sled Race! The 'Last Great Race' , so look for that as well.
Joe

New Iditarod Trips!

We've got new Iditarod Trips planned and open for booking! Here is the information for these new trips:

Iditarod Race tours

Our tours of the 'Last Great Race' include a 4 day 3 nights 'starter’s tour'.
-You would be at the ceremonial start in Anchorage, and we encourage our guest to become 'volunteers' and help with the behind the scenes of the race, to truly make this the trip of a lifetime! See the start of the race, ride the trail on a snow machine, fly-out on a ski equipped bush plane to check points to watch the racers, learn about the racers and the dogs, try your hand and mush a real team for yourself! These are just a few of the highlights of the trip. This tour is 4 days and begins and ends in Anchorage. Available the first Saturday of each March at $3,760.00 per person.


The adventure race tour that lasts 10 to 12 days (depending on time it takes to finish).Same as start, but continue on staying at inns and wilderness lodges , the best Alaska has to offer!
Helping out at check points, touring villages, keeping pace with the racers, stopping along the way at the checkpoints. You will see a side of Alaska seldom seen. Tour Mt. McKinley, mush a dog team, drive a snow machine, soak in saunas and hot tubs and enjoy the Northern Lights, learn about the winter subsistence lifestyle of remote Alaskans, watch as the winners cross the finish line in Nome, have fresh ‘off the boat' King Crab, see some of the villages around Nome and talk to the elders and see the crafts and native artwork they are famous for (even purchase some to take home!) and then fly back to Anchorage on Alaska Airlines to finish your trip! Plus many, many more things as well!
This tour is 12 days/12 nights beginning in Anchorage.
Available starting the first Saturday of each March, for the start of the Iditarod race!
$9,350.00 per person.

The winner's circle tour is just that. (space dependent on other tours)
Fly Alaska Airlines to Nome for this 3 day tour and meet us there, for the finish of the race, fly-out to check points to see the progress of the musher’s, fly to surrounding villages and drive a snow machine, mush a team, eat fresh King Crab, etc.
This tour is 3 days/2nights beginning in Anchorage.
Available mid – March, at $3,359.00 per person.

New Videos!

We've recently added some new videos to the website including these 3, to give people a sense of where we go and the things we see on our adventures. These 3 movies were filmed last fall around the state, including a trip to the western arctic herd of caribou to see their annual migration northwest of Kotzebue towards the Seward Penninsula. There's nothing like the sight of tens of thousands of caribou travelling in one direction for as far as the eye can see, you really have to travel their corridor in an airplane to appreciate the amazing number of animals making the migration.

Moose in the Yard!

Well, it seems when I get some free time to get a few things done around the house, the animals miss us and then come looking for us!

We just pulled up from an errand, and who's there to greet us? A Mother and her twin babies!

They really do a great job on the hedges, but I wish they would concentrate on the lawn just a little more.......so we don't have to!

The Mom also did a fine job on the hanging basket in the background, too....as well as the trees......and flowers....and....

Maybe this whole Moose as a gardener thing isn't such a great idea after all. Besides, the hanging basket cost almost as much as any real work that they have done!

Kelli sure likes to see them around though.

We are going to go Salmon fishing this afternoon, and Bear viewing for the next few days.

We will post these trips as soon as we can.

Keep watching for all the great stuff coming!

Joe

Happy Birthday Deb!!

Mike contacted us for a 'surprise' trip for his wife's 29th birthday.......What a great trip it was!

Mike had been to Alaska before, but this was Deb's first trip, and boy did she see Alaska!

We left Lake Hood and flew through the Chugach Range on our way to McCarthy and the famed Kennicott Copper Mine. We landed on a 'road', (I'm sure this still makes Deb laugh!) and talked to some nice folks about their fish wheels and how they work.

After exploring the mine and surrounding area, the next morning we headed for Prince William Sound and our next stop of Seldovia. We were joined for the rest of the trip by the amazing Kelli, and her bag of tricks...er, uh....wine. Seldovia was another hit as we drove ATV's into the mountains. A lot of fun sampling the town's hospitality and all of the sudden a game of Leap Frog breaks out by obviously some of the town's professional leap frog team practicing for some up coming event, I'm sure.

We then flew across Homer and Cook Inlet headed for Katmai National Park, where we flew past Mt. Augustine volcano that was very active last summer. We toured the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, and landed to get a closer view of this devastated terrain, that both Deb and Mike referred to as " Landing on the Moon". We landed at one of our 'secret' area to walk and see the coastal Brown Bears, where we saw lots of bears.....males, females, cubs...lots of bears.

Next we were off to Lake Clark, where we stayed at an exclusive wilderness fishing lodge, 'roughing it', with wake up coffee brought to our rooms, cheese trays waiting for us at the end of the day in our cabins while we get ready for an amazing dinner, of New York steak, or all you can eat King Crab! We flew out for a day of salmon fishing where Kelli and Deb caught fish 'til their arms fell off! Mike, well....let's just say we are lucky there are no salmon in the green house business, as he caught his fair share as well....even lassoing one by the tail! I guess anyone can catch them with a hook....but try it without one! We saw more bears. A mother with her three cubs were trying to catch fish in front of us across the creek and was exciting to watch them.

We ended the trip flying back to Anchorage through Lake Clark Pass, with a few scattered clouds inside the pass and spectacular scenery around every corner!

We look forward to seeing them again. Both are are awesome people!

Happy Birthday , Deb!

Joe

P.S. I will try to post more photos on the next one, and re-post some of this trip as I get them loaded.

New Bear and Fishing Videos!

Check this out, we just got these new bear and fishing videos and posted them to our video gallery! We've got some other photos and videos we'll be putting up in the next few days so check back soon. We filmed these bears at one of our favorite bear viewing locations, what a beautiful day it was! The little angler you see was catching Kings as big as she was in Seldovia with her specially rigged blue and pink rod.
Click on the images to view the movies.

First Post!

Hello and welcome to the Alaska Bush Safari Company's blog. We will use this to share our past, current, and future adventures in the Last Frontier. Our first adventure to share is with Austin and his dad Shawn, who flew up from East Lansing, Michigan last week. We started the afternoon off with a sightseeing flight that included over 30 moose, a dozen bears, seals, eagles, and even a few beavers! We then landed at one of our secret fishing holes and caught silvers, pink, rainbow trout, and Austin made the catch of the day after reeling in a monster king salmon! Above is a picture of Austin with his big King and below you'll see the father and son team working the fish hard.

In the future, you can expect photos and stories about the lands we fly through and the people we encounter. Check back soon as we will be constantly updating our site with the latest trips!

-The Alaska Bush Safari Team