I love to travel and try to plan one big trip a year. I have had the opportunity to travel througnh most of the United States and Europe. I have also done a bit of traveling in Asia. My hit list of places I wish to see is still a good size so let the traveling continue.
countdown=20120802 text=Countdown to My Sabbatical Trip
The first trail we hiked was called the Savage River Loop Trail. It was roughly a 2 mile walk but we added a bit of a challenge by climbing some of the rocky slopes to get some gorgeous views. During that hike we spot some caribou higher up the slopes. The photographers in the group posed us in various poses to capture some pretty cool photographs. After the hike we wandered over to the Denali kennels to check out the Denali Canine Park Rangers. All the dogs used as part of the ranger program descended from the same line of husky breed. The program is used mostly in the winter months to haul in scientific equipment along with scientists. They also use them to haul out debris and perform rescues when required. Compared to the Iditarod, ... read more
Arrived in Denali from Talkeetna this afternoon. Only 2 hours in car which was a welcome break from the 6 hours spent in the car the day before. The gang spent the afternoon browsing the visitor center at the DenaliPark to get the game plan together for the next day before checking into the lodge. When you get away from the town center Denali has a serene feel. We got some really good pictures of Mt McKinley on the way to Denali. The second day in Denali started out with a moose sighting next to our lodge. After capturing some pictures we headed to Denali park to take a hop on hop off bus tour. Cars are only allowed the first 15 miles into the park so the only way to see the whole park is ... read more
Today in Valdez I conquered a first – Kayaking. We purchased a ½ day tour from AnadyrSea Kayaking & Hiking. The tour took us kayaking across the Valdez Glacier lake between large icebergs and ice caves. We kayaked to the face of a glacier were we hiked up it and viewed multiple glacier streams and crevasses. The tour guide headed us to the face of a glacier where we got to hike and view multiple glacial streams and caverns along with having lunch. Next we kayaked to through multiple ice caves and got some great pictures along with being dripped on by cold water. Wait let me re-phrase that; we got dripped on by some very very very cold glacial water. Overall I give the tour a 10 out of 10 because I managed to survive, ... read more
Today’s adventure was learning all about an event that draws mushers from around the world, the Iditarod. We visited Seaveys which is a family owned operation that has been participating in the race for many years. In 2004 Mitch Seavey won the race and in 2011 his son won the race and his grandson won the juniors competition. The family property, training ground and kennel contain about 85 dogs where are used to race every year. The biggest myth that was busted for me was that the racing dogs do not look like Siberian huskies. They are thin but man are they strong and have a strong desire to pull. They tolerate the cold very well. They did have one Siberian Huskie but they don’t’ use him much for pulling. To give you an idea of ... read more
Left behind the cruise ship and all the free food and service at your beck and call today at Whittier. Picked up a rental car and 2 additional friends from the airport and headed to Seward where we checked into Renfros Lakeside Retreat on KenaiLake surrounded by KenaiMountains. The cabins are very well maintained and backed right up to the lake with a fire pit in front of each cabin. After checking in we headed to Kenai Fjords national park were we spent the afternoon hiking to the local glacier. We were able to hike up close and personal to the glacier and I got some really good pictures. I hope they are able to reflect the blue color that gets trapped inside the glacier when they re-crystallize capturing the color prism and reflecting the blue. ... read more
The town of Skagway is a quaint town with friendly locals and an interesting history. I'm discovering that prostitution was very popular in Alaska since every port has a historical brothel tour. Guess those gold miners needed something to do. Here are some quick Skagway Facts: There are 923 people living in Skagway during the summer peak the town dwindles down to 200 people who live in town year-round. Business are open 5 months out of the year so locals who live her year around have to earn enough to last until tourist season begins in June. The nearest hospital is in Juneau. Most citizens of the town are born in Canada so they have dual citizenship. However, most women will choose to fly down to Portland or Seattle to have their children. There is one ... read more
Juneau is much like Ketchikan when it comes to the town facts. It rains 300 days out of the year, it’s also an island and it’s the 3rd largest city in Alaska with 30,000 people. There are a few differences. Juneau does host a local university which averages as many students as PurdueUniversity according to our guide for the day who attends the college. The main difference between Ketchikan and Juneau is the gold. Juneau has MountRoberts which has 400 miles of tunnels left over from the gold mining days. The mine put out close to a billion dollars (today’s price) worth of gold. It appears there is still gold left in them there hills. Permits are being filled to continue the mining gold. The dirt removed was used to build up the local city. The ... read more
Ketchikan was an interesting town and unique town. The driver to our excursion gave us a brief history of the town. It's the fourth largest town in Alaska with an average population of 13,000 - 14,000. The whole island is 160 miles around with one road throughout the whole town. The road does not connect to loop around the island it just deadends. Most of the town is built on pilings and it rains 300 days a year. The most rain they received in a given year was in 1949 with 202 inches. The fishing industry is pretty large on the island and equates to 1 in 10 jobs. Since Ketchikan is an island the only way to get on and off the island is by boat. The State Ferry is used by islanders to get ... read more
Headed to the Skytrain this morning to purchase an all day pass to head into Vancouver. Found a good breakfast place on the advice of a local Skytrain transit worker. The Bellaggio Cafe offered a good breakfast at a decent price. After breakfast the gang headed over to Stanley Park where we enjoyed the slight breeze and 75 degree weather were according to the local is very hot weather. Ok!!!! We spent a good part of the day wondering along the lake and forest trails. We hiked to Beaver Lake which is known as a Forest Lake which has a short life span. The process of this lake succession is happening faster than normal. The completed process of the water lilies which is taking over the lake and robbing it off oxygen is expected to be ... read more
So the trip out had it's challenges. It start with a very slow start getting checked into Alaska airlines. Lines backed up as the agent helped all the first class passengers and then other agents. I would say it took about 1/2 to get checked in and we were first in line. I experciened a first, an over weight bag by 4 pounds. Grrrr!!! Of course had no idea what was contributing to the four pounds so just paid the fee. Of course sisterly love kicked in so I won't be living down the fact that my bag was overweight any time soon after teasing her so much in the past about her overweight bags when traveling. Discovered Jack's Urban Fries when I stopped at Jack's in the airport. Ohh my I'm still dreaming about those ... read more
