Alaska

I have been craving Alaska for a couple of years; we finally made it up there.  We went to Alaska during labor day week with our friends Candice and Dave.  Despite the rainy conditions, it was a great trip.  After flight delays and cancellations we had to change our itinerary a bit.  Our trip went a little something like this:

Day 1:  Anchorage

Oliver and I flew into Anchorage in the afternoon and hung out downtown while waiting for Candice & Dave arrive.  First item of business was purchasing wolf tee shirts, second priority was eating fresh salmon.

We didn't take any pictures because Anchorage wasn't the most beautiful city (think Evanston, WY).

Day 2:  Anchorage - Seward

We took the Old Seward Highway from Anchorage-Seward.  It was breathtaking.  Once we got to Seward we hiked up to Exit Glacier in Kenai National Fjords Park.  I didn't really understand glaciers until this trip... what we consider glaciers in Utah aren't really glaciers.  Glaciers are unbelievable.  That night we camped on the beach next to the Iditarod course.

Day 3:  Seward

Our second day in Seward we took a boat tour out to the Aialik Glacier.  We got to see the glacier calving and hear the sounds it made.  There was also a ton of wildlife sitings on the cruise.  We saw humpback whales, bald eagles, puffins, porpouses, sea lions, otters, and lots of other things.  After our boat tour Candice talked me into hiking in the rain up around Exit Glacier.  I'm glad I let her talk me into it, because the views were incredible.

Day 4:  Seward - Whittier - Girdwood - Anchorage

We drove from Seward to Whittier and it was torrential rain.  Whittier was one of my main reasons for wanting to go to Alaska, because I was really looking forward to a sea kayaking in Prince William Sound.  Unfortunately after driving through the 2.5 mile tunnel the weather was crazy and everything in the town was shut down.  Whittier was an eerie town that would be perfect for a horror movie.  We couldn't get over all of the amazing waterfalls.

Since Whittier was a bust, we decided to start heading North.  We went and checked out Girdwood Ski Resort and the Hotel Alyeska.

After that we headed into Anchorage for the best Halibut of my life and to sleep in a hotel.

Day 5: Anchorage - Talkeetna

We woke up early to hike to the top of Flat Top Mountain.  About half way up a monsoon hit.  Candice and I decided to head back while Dave and Oliver ran to the top.  We saw a huge bull moose and her calf.  It was bigger than any that I have ever seen in Utah.

After our hike we headed to Talkeetna.  Talkeetna was one of my favorite towns.  It was quaint with a lot of history and great food.  The highlight of the trip happened in Talkeetna - we took a flight seeing tour.  We took a small plane tour out of Talkeetna and into Denali.  We were supposed to land on a glacier, but it was too foggy so we just flew around and didn't land.  It was unreal.  I honestly felt like I was on an episode of Planet Earth.  It was life changing... one of those experiences where it is so beautiful that it is a spiritual experience (a spiritual experience with a side of motion sickness).  

That night we camped right outside of Denali National Park.

Day 6, 7, 8:  Denali National Park

He finally headed into the park.  I have a hard time believing that there is a more beautiful time to go to Denali than in the fall.  The colors were off the hook.  We spent most of our time hiking & staying up late to try and see the Northern Lights (which we weren't able to see until we took off in the plane on the way home - they were amazing).  We saw moose, bears, dall sheep, fox, and Mt. Mckinley.  It was beautiful.