Very early morning arrival so a quiet day planned. Woke to stunning views out over Lameroo Beach. It’s warm! Got to 34.
All Good Things Come To An End (until next time)
Highlights
- Stunning Alaskan scenery with literally at times, a glacier around every corner. The fjords are beautiful as the mountains plunge into the sea. Yes, we have a little bit of this in NZ but not on the same scale! The easy access in Alaska is great too, particularly to the tidewater glaciers.
- Float plane ride -standing on the float in the middle of a cold deep fjord, stunning view and staying upright!
- Going backcountry and appreciating the remoteness of some communities ( and there was still internet!)
- Alaska Rail -yeah for great trains and views.
- Sea life. Whales, porpoises, orcas, otters, jellyfish, sealions – a delight to spot and watch especially in the inlets and bays.
- Expanded minds and greater understandings of history and culture, colonisation and struggles to retain traditional old ways and native languages. Reflecting on the changes in our lifetime and similarities the world over. Dinnertime discussions.
- The weather. We did have rain but only when we were either in a train, bus or boat and it always stopped when we needed it to. Cold at the glaciers but otherwise mild and we were generally overpacked for the cold we experienced… it could have been so different. Some bluebird days and tee shirt times and a very warm finish.
- People. Met some wonderful new friends, one of the joys of travel. Some fabulous people out there.
- The extensive first aid kit and medical insurance not needed.
- A few good coffees ..be pleased to be home for more!
Hot here. Redondo Beach.
Good flight from Anchorage to LA with nice views of glaciers as we left and a distant view of San Francisco from the air (look hard in the cloudy photo in link below and you will just see the tall buildings and the Bay Bridge).
Chilling this time in LA in the South Bay area, with a lot of warm before back to NZ and the wet and cold being enjoyed there!
Lake Hood Seaplane Base
Nice walk this morning around part of the 4.2 mile track around Lake Hood before our flight to LA.
Anchorage
Enjoyed a visit to the Anchorage Museum today. Great space and especially enjoyed exhibits showcasing Russian/Alaskan links and history and also the Native Peoples exhibition, excellent. There are 20 different languages and many are still actively spoken today. The displays of the various peoples focussed around Living from the Sea, Land and Rivers; Ceremony and Celebrations and Community and Family. Clothing, accessories, instruments, art, culture and rituals gave great insight into their lives and experiences then and now. Interesting parallels to NZ with retaining language and culture. I was especially taken with the rainwear exhibit made of gut and of course the furskin parkas.
Back to Anchorage
Left Denali at 6am-only us on the bus so “personal tour”. More good viewings of moose, large herd of caribou, Dall sheep, a Daylight White Owl, several bear including mum and two cute little cubs, snowshoe hare, various birds and numerous ground squirrels. No wolves/ fox seen by us. We did see the remains of a caribou been finally cleaned up by the ravens. Apparently a wolf had killed it yesterday and had then been driven off by a mother bear and cubs who capitalised on the kill. Many of the tourist buses accessing the Park had been able to observe the proceedings at various stages. Such is wild life. 92 mile drive out took 5 hours today.
Denali Plus
Truly awesome today. Denali showed itself completely in all its glory. First time in 2 weeks. So the top we saw yesterday was just the prelude.
The weather is amazing. Sunblock on. Sun on Alaska Range and snow truly magnificent and photos don’t do it justice.
30% Club
In Denali National Park
Anchorage to Denali Transit
A very early start this morning to bus to Denali ready for our trip into the Denali National Park and Preserve. Trip pretty good with lots of green scenery on both sides largely through Denali State Park- on the opposite side of the mountain range to the National Park. and Preserve. The spruce and hemlock are quite dramatic in the meadows and on mountain sides. Surprisingly, much less ice in the hills as we go inland. Rivers are braided from glacier debris left behind and water is grey from silt. Large numbers of 5th wheelers, campervans and the like on the road and at campsites. Salmon fishing very popular right now as salmon are running.