I am back from my trip to the beautiful state of Alaska. (yes, we made the plane - they were waiting for us and knew our names - they tell me that is not good...) My mom and I had a great time exploring in our royal blue Ford Fusion. We logged almost 1500 miles viewing the sites and attractions around the area we visited. Our first stop was in Palmer, where my high school friend and her family live. They have a beautiful log cabin in a secluded and wooded area at the base of Government peak, which is near Hatcher Pass. We ventured to a town called Talkeetna, which is a quaint little tourist attraction. Sturdy sorts who wish to climb Mt. McKinley are flown to the trailhead at the base of Denali from Talkeetna. There were several planes offering flightseeing, as well. We had some outstanding halibut while we were there. The next day we headed toward Denali National Park where we took a bus to Eilson Nature Center. What a ride!! Did I mention there were no guard rails on the road? Did I mention that we were weaving our way up rocky mountains which dropped off sharply along the roadside? Yikes! Denali was beautiful! We saw several animals and gorgeous scenery on our ride. For the second day in a row, we got a clear view of Mt. McKinley, or Denali. I took tons of photos, as you might have guessed. We got to watch a mamma griz and her two cubs play for a long time in some water. They were so cute! We learned that if you encounter a grizzly you should simply step aside and let him pass, however, if you encounter a black bear you should be ready to fight! They said not to run...yeah, right! The next day was a trip to a town called Willow. We also headed up to Hatcher Pass and climbed the mountain. There is an old mining town (abanoned) there and we got to poke around that as well. We visited some quilt shops and other places in town. Another day we walked to Thunderbird Falls and another little falls that I can't remember the name of and then went to a few lakes and other trails. We visited a little "town" called Eklutna which had a strange cemetery that looked like a bunch of miniature houses. That was the largest part of the town! We also saw some caribou and a small, flat-topped mountain, called "The Butte" where locals go to climb. One day we headed to Wasilla - Sarah Palin's town - no we didn't visit her - where we went to WalMart!! I know, crazy. Then we visited some relatives of people we know here in Michigan and she treated us to lunch. Never order a burger with a wild name - it was so big I couldn't eat it all! She then took us to see the other side of Hatcher Pass. Not sure how you actually "pass" through those passes - they look pretty un-passable to me!!
We left Palmer and headed south to Seward, where we visited the Sea Life Center and saw some exhibits of animals we hadn't yet seen. Then we worked our way back to Whittier, which is only accessible by a 2.5 mile tunnel which doubles as a train track!! We took a "boat" ride in Whittier to see the glaciers. That was a great trip. The icy blue glaciers put on quite a show for us. Calving is when part of the glacier drops off into the sea (making icebergs) and we got to see a lot of calving. They served us salmon onboard and it was incredible! The cheesecake wasn't bad either! From Whittier we kept heading back toward Anchorage. We visited a wildlife preserve in Portage, home of the Portage glacier that you used to be able to walk to, but which has receded so that you can only get to the edge of the glacier by plane now. (Portage Lake is right near where you go through the tunnel to Whittier.) We saw several animals at the preserve, but Patrone, a brown bear, was by far the most memorable. She did tricks and ate dog food that had been soaked in Mountain Dew to keep her "peppy". We saw a bald eagle right outside our cabin door one morning and just as I took a picture, it pooped! Yep, got it! On the way back to Anchorage we passed the Potter's Marsh boardwalk where we stopped on the way south. There were some birds there. The blue swallows were very willing to pose for a picture! We kicked around Eagle River - another quilt shop and a yarn shop - and then headed to Anchorage. The last day in AK we visited the Anchorage Botanical Gardens and got to experience the REAL state bird - the mosquito! We left our Cutter wipes in the car and they knew it immediately!!
June 18, 2009 - we know what time the flight boards - 7:20 Alaska time...We checked our bags, returned the car and headed for the plane which would take us back to the good old mitten state. They let me bring my stick!!
June 19, 2009...
Now we are back in another beautiful state and adjusting to the "real" time.
Good trip...
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