Just like Heaven

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Hi Everyone,

We are now touring away through the coastal towns and villages of Alaska. Right now we are on the Kenai Peninsula and have visited almost every town so far; Seward, Soldotna, Kenai, Anchor Point, Nillichick, and Homer. Everything here has been so beautiful and unexpected.

We started out in Seward, Alaska visiting the harbor and Kenai Fjords National Park. The town is situated on the Gulf of Alaska and Resurrection Bay which is surrounded by coastal mountains. The mountains are beautiful and there are so many glaciers visible from the streets of the town. We indulged in some fresh seafood and walked around the harbor. The next day we went to Exit Glacier, which is part of the Kenai Fjords National Park and took some lovely hikes right to the glacier. When we arrived there was a sign posted that there had been a brown bear and her cub spotted on the trail at 7:30 am but unfortunately we did not get the chance to see her. I don’t think a bear spotting is in the cards for us on this trip to Alaska, but I know there will be more visits to my home away from home. We did get to see lots of big ol bear droppings along the trail though. The coolest thing about Exit Glacier is that you are able to hike right up to the glacier’s mouth. The ice was so crystal blue and amazing. It is incredible to think that this glacier has been around for thousands and thousands of years. The only unfortunate part of our visit there was this horribly rude family that was kicking, hitting, and throwing rocks at the ice. It wasn’t just the kids either, it was also the parents. I was amazed; I have never seen such horrible behavior from someone visiting a national park. We asked them to stop and at first they were really snotty to us but eventually we bugged them enough that they did in fact stop whacking the glacier. We let the rangers know what happened and apparently it happens all the time. They are in the works of increasing the ranger presence at the foot of the glacier. I mean, I though that the national park motto was to protect and preserve.

After Seward we made our way to Kenai and Soldotna. They were much bigger towns that I thought they were going to be, around 4-6,000 people. The towns themselves weren’t anything to write home about but they did have some spectacular views of the coast, mountains, lakes, and streams. The Kenai River is so crystal blue that it looks like something you would find in the Caribbean. There were tons of people fly fishing in the river and the whole Kenai Peninsula is renowned for there fishing. Kenai had a beautiful coastline where you could see Beluga Whales in the water. It was quite amazing, well worth the visit.

Homer was the real gem of the trip to the area. It was so beautiful. On the drive down there you had spectacular views of the coastal mountains, ocean beach lines, and volcanoes across the Cook Inlet. I was so surprised to see the volcanoes, I knew that there were volcanoes in the area but I was so surprised. Apparently they are part of the “Ring of Fire” volcano chain in the Aleutian Range. They were spectacular. They were about 10,000-14,000 feet tall and covered in snow. There is one volcano Mt. Augustine in Homer that has been smoking since January but we weren’t able to see it because of the fog around the mountains. Thankfully the volcano is on it’s own island and isn’t endangering anybody. Homer is a cute coastal town with lots of little shops and outfitters for fishing or sightseeing charters. The Homer Spit is where all the action takes place, it is this huge sandbar jutting out into the water, apparently it is the second largest spit of anywhere in the world. When you’re there you have panoramic views of the mountains and islands off the coast. It is on the Cook Inlet and across the way is Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks; however, the only access to them is by plane. It was amazing to see the Aleutian Mountain Range from Homer because you don’t realize that you are that close to them. We took this scenic drive that brings you high above the town to these overlooks that are beyond description; mountains, glaciers, the spit, and the islands. My new dream is life is someday to have a cabin on the top of that hill and get to wake up to that view every morning. Dare to dream. I could come to Alaska every year for the rest of my life and see something different and even more amazing than the last.

We are now on our way down to Valdez, AK another coastal town. I have heard so many good things about it so we figured we would check it out. Our plan is to take a glacier cruise to see all the sights up close and personal. I am hoping for some marine wildlife sightings! I hope all is well back home and I miss everyone.

Happy Birthday Sara, Auntie is thinking about both my little nieces and I can’t wait to see you guys again!

Love, Laura

PS- Don’t forget to leave comments, I haven’t gotten any is quite some time : (

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