15

I was just telling someone yesterday that Beijing reminds me of my growing up in the Los Angeles smog, where I could not see the mountains that were looming 10 miles away!

16

#14, the skies will not be very dark in July.

17

I honestly hadn't thought about the daylight hours. No biggie, should give me a ton of chances to shoot!

18

RE: The bear viewing trip....
Brooks is still your best bet for seeing lots of bears as well as getting quality pics of them. It will be crowded yes... but nowhere near as crowded as 90% of the rest of your planned itinerary. I'd consider taking a flight to King Salmon out of Anchorage before you start your RV road trip. For four people @ $850 ea. you can fly commercial to King Salmon, take a floatplane to Brooks, see lots of bears at the falls and spend the night in a nice lodge. It sure beats slogging around in the mud on the west side of the Cook Inlet! I've been there done that,.... many times!

PS.. the local part 135 carriers out of Homer will want to take you to the nearest spots, it's all about time in the air and gas consumption.

Check http://www.katmailand.com/bear-viewing/packages.html#specials

and for Hallo Bay:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31009-d1159589-Reviews-Hallo_Bay_Lodge_Bear_VIewing-Homer_Alaska.html

19

80% of the campgrounds booked, well the big important ones -- Willawaw, Near Seward, Near Copper Creek, and Homer Spit. Waiting on a couple others but short term so not too stressed. Really excited now, particularly since the 3 weeks before Alaska will be spent travelling around with my wife in South China (we live in Beijing, so not far but still new) and still enough time left in the summer to visit friends and family in and around Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Have to admit sometimes this whole being a teacher thing is pretty awesome!

Thanks for all the help.

K