Alaska photo-summary

The bad thing about not having my own computer on vacations is that I do not upload pictures as I go which leads to chaos upon return. Alaska was documented on three different cameras and it is quite convoluted. Therefore I will present a small summary of the amazing trip through a couple selected pictures in no particular order.

Jumping on Matanuska Glacier. Amazing glacier that, though the access to it is on private property, you can walk right up to and even on as far as you like after you sign your life away. As a result we walked as far as we could that there was silt or rocks to step on. Amazing exploring a glacier without any guides and well... cramp ons. Maybe not as safe but wonderful. Really recommend that glacier especially since it is maybe 1.5 hours drive from Anchorage?

Moose on the turn to McCarthy road from Richardson Highway. Right by the road and didn't walk away as we sat there and took pictures of it. Maybe a young one? There are so many animals in Alaska but the forests are so think it is hard to see them.

Kennicott. Abandoned copper mining town since 1938. Very inaccessible-either get there by small plane or by extremely difficult road built over old railroad tracks that incredible amounts of cars get flat tires on. But wonderful as the color is well preserved and the 10+ story mill stands over the glaciers. Truly a beautiful ghost town, and also right in the middle of Wrangell and St.Elias National Park. Many people have never heard of it but this was probobly my favorite place from the trip.

We drove up the Dalton Highway on a day trip from Fairbanks up to the Arctic Circle. 400+ miles round trip. Mostly on gravel road constantly passing very heavy industrial traffic headed from the oil fields. Amazing scenery though-love the tundra. Also saw the infamous Yukon River and a wilfire right on the side of the road.

Many people say that the Alaska Pipeline is ugly and damanged the country or is bad for migrating heards or whatever... but I think it is incredibly picturesque. Winding often times through rather bland surroundings (I mean... tundra just goes on and on and on). Also amazing to watch the engineering effort to have the thing survive the summers, winters, wildfires, gunshots and earthquakes. Incredible.

Denali National Park. People all talk about it when they mention Alaska though I will not. It is very visited, yet hard to get to. Only way to get around (save hiking, which not all people can do) is by bus where you are crammed in stopping to see animals like on a tour from windows. Not the best method. We spent the night there (meant to spend two nights but the wildfire burning nearby brought so much smoke into the park it was hard to see much and breathing was problematic so we left). But the clouds were magnificent the first evening we drove in. The size of everything in Alaska is amazing... and Denali has the great perk of having great open spaces with few trees allowing easier spotting of animals.

Fishing in Sewart. Silver Salmon. Once the boat picked a spot it caught almost immediately after dropping in the hook. Quota per person is six fish. We caught 14 or 15 for the family and shipped most of it home. Had delicious salmon for dinner tonight as a matter a fact... caught by us. That is me with one of the smaller fish. I also caught a shark. My dad caught two sharks, a flounder and some other fish (sorry forgot the name in english!). All let go either because of size or poison (shark).

Ice Climbing by Kennicott. My first time. I think I am more of a fan of regular climbing - you actually touch the wall rather than mainly figuring out how to bang your pick and crampons into the ice the best. That is not me climbing, but I climbed there about 10 minutes before the picture was taken. The overhang gave me problems as I couldnt get the pick in properly and well... overhangs are not my friends. But an amazing experience.

Santa!!! North Pole is a city just south-east of Fairbanks. It houses Santa's house and his reindeer and all that jazz. Loved the Santa-amazing real beard and all. Had everyone of any age sit on his lap and have delightful conversations.

Flying to Alaska. Either over Alaska or Canada... but just hours and hours of flying over mountains and glaciers. Magnificent.

Matanuska glacier again. Love the 'veins'.

We saw two cases where simple yards had huge planes parked in them. I mean houses where people live. Wings taken off and somewhere nearby. Why? Please somebody explain this to me.

Fireweed grows absolutely everywhere in Alaska. Many fires happen as it is great for the trees and animals. Just fields and fields of it. Love.

Caribou in Denali. We saw so many caribou that the bus drivers stopped stopping for them unless they were blocking traffic or doing something 'extremely exciting'. I adore their antlers.

Puffins are incredibly adorable. On the sight-seeing boat ride from Sewart.

Sea otters may have become my favorite animal. Incredibly cute, fuzzy and active. Constantly moving around and floating in extremely picturesque locations.

Sea lions are cute... but incredibly lazy. Mainly just laying around warming up. We did see one amazing one playing around in the water but I did not get any pictures of it that were good.

So here is the small collection of photos. We saw quite a bit more during the two and some weeks out there... but just an overview. Love the state. Would not live there, but I really want to visit more of it. A bit hard to get around, but maybe 'island hopping' from the south?

For now I will attempt to sleep a little as this is my last night at home before plane flight out west. Going through a serious case of denial that this is happening. But here's to new adventures!

Alaska's heartland

To begin with... I love the outdoors, but I could not live in Alaska. Have increasing respect for those who can. Brutal winters, and summers which are not always so nice. Even the cities seem quite remote from civilization.

Yet the outdoors realm is amazing. Fishing, berry-picking, mushroom-picking, hunting. All-natural food.

First stop in Alaska was Sewart. About 3 hours south-ish from Anchorage on the water. Went on two day trips on the water which were magnificent. First one just on a boat along the shoreline. Saw sea-lions, sea otters, seals, bald eagles, puffins, humpback whals, killer whales and much much more. Magnificent. I was most excited though by the amazing scenery and the glaciers. Their magnitude is just... astranomical. I will post pictures later but the pieces falling off of one of them into the ocean take quite a while to fall and create giant waves. This is the strength of mother-nature. The magnitude. Everything in Alaska is about magnitude.

The next leg took us over to Denali National Park. This is what everyone says is the 'must-do' in Alaska. McKinley is indeed amazing. The mountain stands above all others. I can't stay this is one of my favorite parks at all... but it is impressive. The greatest thing about it is that so few people can get there - the road to get there is long and then private cars cannot be driven in the park. This makes the land be very untouched. On the other hand... you are dependent on being around people when going long distances on the bus which is not pleasant when trying to have more of a one-on-one relationship with nature. But then they are great for the most part on stopping for wildlife sightings. Moose, caribou, bears, swans. I really want to see some mountain goats though! Hope to catch some later.

The one thing that we were no prepared for is fire. There are many forest fires burning in the area. This is normal and great for the forest... but quite a few now. The smoke has gone across a massive area. Our trip to Denali was cut short as we came to our campground and found it to be in a giant cloud of smoke. The nose got used to it by the middle of the night, but it makes wildlife and mountains hard to see. So headed out of the park a day early and are now in Fairbanks... where the smoke is still present. Hoping for some rain in the next couple of days so the smoke goes away, but for now will try some close-range-seeing activities.

Where the sun doesn't set

Ever since I went to St.Petersburg I have wanted to see the white nights again. Where the sun barely sets at all, and most of the night is spent in a beautiful state of dusk. The summer equinox has already passed more than a month ago, but the white nights are still blooming here in Alaska. It is odd to see most stores closed at 11pm when the sun is barely setting. And also the odd feeling of dozing out of sleep in the morning around 7am and feeling like it is noon from the way the sun shines.

Another amazing thing about Alaska is the amount of mountains. It is incredible that for hours-HOURS, flying from St.Paul to Anchorage you are flying over snow capped mountains. Non-stop. I was amazed enough flying over the south island of New Zealand where the mountains cover the west coast, but this is something more. It really does make sense why there are so few roads into northern Canada and how one has to take such a go-around route in order to get from Vancouver into Alaska.

Sadly I will not see much of Anchorage as we will be driving out to Seward today, but it rests beautifully in on the edge of the mountains. Hopefully the weather holds and I am extremely excited to see what Alaska has to offer. Internet will be of an unknown status until in Fairbanks on Thursday.

Counting the states

I love when I am going to a place I've never been. I love putting that check mark on the map. 'Ha! I've been there!' It is such an amazing feeling. Also I never really realize that I am going somewhere until I touch down there and see some landmark associated with the place. So I'll realize I'm in Alaska when I see some whales, salmon, mountains, bears....?

Keep browsing various websites looking for a map to buy for my apartment. We have amazing maps of the US, Europe and the world at my parents house marking all the places we have traveled, but I want one for myself to track where I've been and also where I want to go. I find that most of my goals in life are related to traveling.

For now-on to state #40 on my US list. Alaska! Be there by night.... not that the sun sets much there this time of year?