May 25, 2013 - We planned a one week trip to Alaska with Bob, Deb, Chuck & Casey. We flew into Anchorage from NJ and they flew from St. Louis. We got into Anchorage late afternoon on the 24th and Bob's crew got in the evening of the 25th. We picked up our rental car, bought groceries in Anchorage for the week and drove 45 minutes to Girdwood, where we had rented an AirBnB for the week. From Girdwood it looked like we were going to be able to find plenty of adventures for the week.
While we were eating breakfast, we noticed a moose across the street
After walking through the neighbors yard, he wandered down the street
There was a bike shop in Girdwood, so we decided to rent bikes and ride on the trail that runs next to the Seward Highway.
lunch out with a lot of dead animals watching us
Kevin got mauled by a bear, but seemed to be OK
Next we decided to try a hike
There was a trail within walking distance of our apartment (the Virgin Creek Falls Trail)
There is still quite a bit of snow in Alaska in late May!
Nice bench for a family photo
The historic Iditarod Trail crossed the trail we were on.
We saw moose pretty often around Girdwood
more pretty views
May 26, 2013 - Yay, the Missouri crew made it to Girdwood last night. We started the day, with a short drive to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Then after lunch Elaine, Meg, Casey and I took a helicopter ride to Punch Bowl glacier for a sled dog tour (Seavey's Ididaride).
Nice views at the Conservation Center
an elevated walkway to get a better view of the animals
a quick rest
here's a pic of some bears, in case we don't see any while we're here
We took a helicopter ride to get to Punch Bowl Glacier for our tour of the Summer sled dog camp. Since there isn't enough snow to train the dogs for the Iditarod in the Summer, they train at 3200 ft where there is snow.
The view of the dog kennels as we were landing on the glacier
It took 2 helicopters to get us here, but we all made it
practicing our sledding skills
I think Meg's got it
And so does Casey
Elaine and Casey are headed out on the mushing trail
View from the sled
Meg's driving
We could see Casey and Elaine ahead of us
We stopped to give the dogs a break
Once we got back to camp they showed us how to take each of the dogs off the line
Next it was time to play with the Husky puppies
Even i like the puppies
I think Meg can get this one into her suitcase
beautiful flight back to Girdwood from the glacier
these guys look like they know what they're doing
Fun time!
May 27, 2013 - Today we're taking the Aleyska Tram to the top of Mt Aleyska. The Aleyska Ski Resort is in Girdwood, so it was a nice walk from our apartment to the base of the mountain
The views from the tram were great
We took lots of pics on the ride up the mountain
Chuck's Gate Trail
There were lots of views from the top!
May 28, 2013 - Today we're taking the Phillips 26 Glacier Tour from Whittier. It's a 45 minute drive to Whittier and we have to drive through the famous Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. This tunnel is the longest in North America at 2.5 miles. The tunnel is only one lane and it is shared with a railroad. On the hour the traffic goes into Whittier and on the half hour the traffic goes out of Whittier. And occasionally a train needs to use the tunnel and it can go whichever way it needs to!
We got there early so we could check out Whittier before our cruise time
and we wanted to be sure we weren't late with tunnel traffic
We had some breakfast before the cruise
and we walked around the pretty town of Whittier
The 26 glacier tour was a 5.5 hour tour through Prince William Sound
The glaciers were amazing!
There were LOTS of photo ops
Time for lunch
More glaciers
Do you hear the Titanic music?
Nice spot to enjoy the ride
a fishing boat
What do you see Bob?
Kevin doesn't seem to be looking out the window
the reflection was crazy!
We got so close to the glaciers
lots of ice in the water
Cousins
the rookery (can you see all the birds flying from the cliff)
When we got home, the moose was cooling off in the snow pile across the street from our apartment
May 29, 2013 - Today we're taking the Alaska Railroad from Girdwood to Seward. It's a 3 hour ride and we're looking forward to the beautiful trip there. We'll wander around Seward for a couple of hours (there is downtown shopping, walks along Resurrection Bay and the Alaska Sea Life Center) and then take the train back to Girdwood.
We started on the first level of the train
and then moved upstairs to get the big ceiling views
We enjoyed standing on the back of the train which was open and a great spot for pics
someone got a little bored
The cute little Seward Train Station
We packed our lunch and found a nice picnic table looking out onto Resurrection Bay
Group photo with the Bay and the Mountains!
Mile 0 of the Iditarod
Another sled
We're good at sledding by now
pretty boats
the iconic Alaska Railroad
Headed home
Chuck!!!
Everyone looks a little tired
The train stops when a bear is spotted, so everyone can get a look. We were happy to see a few bears on our trip
Kev and I spent most of the ride at the back of the train enjoying the fresh air and the view
May 30, 2013 - Today we're going to Crow Creek Gold Mine to pan for gold! They gave us a quick overview of how to do it and we took our pans and headed for the stream. Kevin soon decided he needed to upgrade to a sluice box and he and Casey were quick to get a production going. We weren't very successful, but we did end up with a little gold.
Bob was meant to be panning for gold
Did you get any Dad?
the sluice box in action
Kev's trying to make his fortune
But we ended up going home mostly empty handed
Here are the few flakes of gold we ended up with!
May 31, 2013 - Today is our last full day in Alaska and we're headed to the Kenai Penninsula for a river float.
These 2 look ready to hit the river
And Bob's going to be ready soon
The river is cold, so we got rain bibs so we keep warm and dry
this gang is ready to go
We had 2 guides and the whole raft to ourselves
No whitewater, just a nice float down the river with lots of gorgeous views
We made it back
And the mosquitoes found us!
We had a relaxing evening at our apartment
pizza on the deck
and blueberry muffins for dessert! What a great trip, so much to see in Alaska! We've only seen a tiny corner...I guess we'll have to come back.
