Into Alaska - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 112

We checked out the Salty Dawg Saloon, famous for its unique architecture and because
people write their names on $1 bills and tack them to the walls. We've no idea why they do
it, but Steve felt moved to join the crowd. Look for ours on the life ring by the back door.
Had a walk through the souvenir shops - these ranged from high end galleries with the
exquisite pieces I would buy if I won the lotto, to the tacky t-shirt shops with their fridge
magnets and key chains. Fish and chip shops everywhere.
We carried on to the Pratt Museum. This is an exceptional museum with authentic exhibits
and artefacts about the early settlers. There is a humbling presentation about men lost at sea
and exhibits and movies that explained the different kinds of boats and methods used in the
fishing industry. We saw another movie about the Valdez oil spill.
Yet another movie captured the fishing activity of the bears at McNeil River in the Katmai
National Park and Preserve across the inlet. McNeil River is the world renowned area
where grizzly bears basically stand shoulder to shoulder, batting humongous salmon out of
the river. People pay a fortune to go over by float plane to watch from viewing platforms.
Only 13 visitor permits are issued per day, granted by lottery through the Alaska Depart-
ment of Fisheries and Game: http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov
Maybe someday. In the meantime, they have a webcam at the Pratt Museum and if that is
“off” as it was when we were there, the movie is exceptional.
We decided one night in the parking lot of a hotel was enough for us so headed north after
a late lunch. First stop was Ninilchik, just 70 km (44 mi) north of Homer. This 19 th century
town was founded by the Russian fur trading company as a retirement village for the staff