Blogs from Alaska, United States, North America - page 226

The beauty of Alaska compares with that of any place in the world. Below are some pictures from a trip to Anchorage, then the Kenai fjords, and the Denali area (summer 2000). If you go I would highly recommend you taking the train to Seward from Anchorage--incredibly scenic! And then take in the town and some of the trails around town. While there take a day trip on a boat through the fjords on the coast. If possible take the longest day trip possible and sign up for a small boat. The one we took had about 17 people on it and it was great. We saw puffins, humpback whales, murres, a shark, a sea otter, seals, and killer whales (a huge highlight!). Another tip for Anchorage: a great day hike is up Wolverine Peak AND ... read more

If you are ever in Alaska, on a cruise for example that takes you up the Inside Passage coast to Skagway, then try to do yourself a favor and book a tour to go dog sledding that day! Worth the expensive trip (as they take you on helicopter atop a glacier) and choose to do the snow dog sledding instead of one on wheels in a dirt road. That is how (I am told) the Alaskan huskies train during the Summer (both on snow or on dirt) so that their owners can take them later in March to the Iditarod race out of Anchorage. So, the dogs are used to entertain tourists during the Summer for top dollar. This particular day of September (end of season), the helicopter left on a very windy day out of ... read more

When we awoke, Rob and Estrella were out for a canoe ride. It had rained during the night, but was a beautiful morning. When they got back, Danielle and I paddled around a bit and said good morning to some loons (an adult pair and 2 juveniles). We paddled to the car and got the sleeping bag that I had left behind. After we paddled back, we fixed up a lunch and got ready to hike the seven lakes trail. The girls were off and running along the trail with Carina and we had to remind them that we could easily run into a bear or moose, so they should stay close. We found a nice meadow and the girls ran around and wanted to keep playing in it, but we had plenty of miles ahead ... read more

We’re off to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge! My friend and co-worker Rob and his family invited us to join them at the Engineer Lake Cabin, which is a fairly remote public use cabin on the refuge. We got directions and planned to meet them there. We stopped on the way to hike the Skyline Trail. The guidebook and trail sign said that it was a one mile trail. The trail started steep and the girls enjoyed the rock scrambling and counting steps. Well, it may have been one mile to some landmark, but the trail kept going and so did we. It took some convincing the girls, but they were glad that they kept going. We found some fantastic blueberry patches (yes, they are still around), some tundra hiking, and some fabulous views. We could ... read more

After work on Thursday, Danielle and the girls picked me up for a hike at Falls Creek, about a half hour south of Anchorage. We had read about the hike in a number of different guidebooks and also in the Anchorage Press (similar to the Advocate). From the size of the parking lot it is obvious that the trail is not over used. The trail started alongside the creek, which cascaded down and sounded beautiful. Danielle finally spotted baneberry. Baneberry is the most poisonous berry in Alaska. Its berries can vary from red to white or even black. Gabbi was very concerned about them after Danielle pointed them out to us. She preferred that we not stop to look at them and certainly didn’t want us touching them or the plants that they grew on! After ... read more