Visiting Anchorage, Alaska, and then on to Brooks Camp and Lodge

The Captain Cook Monument in Anchorage is situated with a wide view of Cook’s Inlet and a distant Mt. McKinley (on a clear day).  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Old and new are contrasted as a pedestrian strolls past a giant poster of a much earlier downtown Anchorage on 4th Avenue.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A giant grizzly bear statue looms over the doorway of Grizzly’s Unique Alaskan Gift Shop in downtown Anchorage at 4th Avenue and E Street.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Reindeer dogs are a big seller in downtown Anchorage, with carts positioned on almost every corner.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The vintage neon sign at Club Paris is still in use in downtown Anchorage, where the place has been serving steak and seafood since the late 1950s.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors stop to gaze at Alaska Native heritage objects from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History that are on display at the Anchorage Museum.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Balls, toys and games are provided for the young-at-heart on the lawn in front of the Anchorage Museum.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The Muse beckons for hungry and thirsty visitors at the museum.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The lobby of the Historic Anchorage Hotel still has the charm of 1916 Alaska while providing visitors with modern rooms and boutique accommodations.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The seaplane is like an outback version of the all-purpose utility vehicle in Alaska, with an entire area at Lake Hood in Anchorage dedicated to the aircraft.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A closer look at one of the planes.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Seaplanes docked in King Salmon wait to fly visitors to Brooks Camp, about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage in Katmai National Park & Preserve.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The planes are the only form of transportation in and out of Brooks Camp, where Naknek Lake provides the taxiways and landing strips.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The crescent-shaped shoreline surrounded by the turquoise waters of Naknek Lake provides safe harbor for a dozen or more seaplanes carrying visitors to Brooks Camp and the adjacent Lower Brooks River.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A fresh batch of visitors arrives at Brooks Camp, where 120 people lucky enough to have a reservation can stay in sparse cabins and bunkhouses at the remote Alaska spot.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

National Park Service ranger Nicole Collier teaches her daily bear etiquette class to a new group of visitors at Brooks Camp.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors stroll past Brooks Lodge.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The housing accommodations at Brooks Lodge are rustic and sparse.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors to Brooks Camp stand beside the mouth of Lower Brooks River while snapping photos of a resident bear.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

After a long day of fishing and bear watching, a warm fire takes the place of televisions at Brooks Lodge.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The cafeteria line beckons for diners.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A rack holding waders of all sizes awaits visitors to the lodge.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Dwarf fireweed grows near Brooks Lodge. Even though Brooks Camp is known mostly for bear watching and fishing, wildflowers are also abundant in the spring and summer.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Antlers mark the spot where seaplanes usually tie up on the shore of Naknek Lake at Brooks Camp.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Pilots and crew get their seaplanes ready on the shore of Naknek Lake.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A seaplane lifts off from Naknek Lake, departing from Brooks Camp and Lodge.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Flying over the Katmai National Park & Preserve while heading back to Anchorage from Brooks Camp, passengers aboard the many seaplanes are treated to amazing views of the Alaskan wilderness.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)