Here Bear Bear!! August 4th - 10th
Retired Vacation. Sunday.
First, I want to put on my Travel Advisor hat and talk about yesterday's marine life tour. (You are free to listen to my advice, or skip it...) When we started looking at this trip, it became apparent that a tour on the water would be a must for us. I researched outfits, locations, etc. and came up with Seward and a particular company there. They had 2-hour, 4-hour, and 8.5-hour tours. Given Hanna's health and fatigue-level, I let her take it from there and decide. Surprisingly, she chose the longest tour. Why? Because it had the smallest boat and the least amount of people on it (less than 30). With the smaller boat, we got to go to more far out places. Northwest Glacier, for example, has water as shallow as 35 feet and only has 3 boats that go out to it, ours and two others. So, while we were exhausted last night, we have no regrets. It was an incredible ride!
The alarm went off earlier than we wanted it to this morning because it was Sunday and there is church for us, even on vacation. We looked at the Jesus Picture below, remembered why church makes us happy, and got up. Cleaned up, breakfast, packed up, checked out, and to church.
You've probably seen many Latter-day Saint church buildings before. They mostly look all alike. But not here. See the picture of the near-log-cabin-looking church we got to go to. Very cool.
After church, we trekked back North towards Anchorage and our AirBnB. We took a side-trip to Whittier to grab a cache there so we can get that Burrough. Geocaching never disappoints! It takes us to places we would otherwise never see. The 9-mile or so road from the Seward Highway to Whittier runs into a huge mountain. The road-building guys figured the easiest way to deal with that was to bore a huge tunnel through the mountain! Single-lane. 2.5 miles long. Includes train tracks. Yes! We got to drive through it. Traffic takes turns on each side as well as for trains. And we did have to wait for a train. All the more fun. We did find the Geocache outside a souvenir shop, took some cool pictures, and headed back to the tunnel.
We also grabbed another cool Geocache just as we arrived in Anchorage. We have now found caches in 3 of the 9 Burroughs we plan to.
We chose beef for dinner after eating fish the last two nights.
Tomorrow we head up into the mountains...
View from our balcony when we got up
Road trip life
The Seward Branch
Waiting to go thru the tunnel
Whittier Cache
Waiting to go back thru the tunnel
A train!!!!
Anchorage Cache
Old retired people on vacation. Monday.
After some decent rest, we packed up, checked out of the AirBnB, and headed north towards the mountains.
First stop, Wasilla, to find a cache for that Burrough. It was up a very steep ATV trail across from the airport. Hanna refused to let me drive the rental JEEP up the hill, so we hiked it. She handled it quite well with her hiking sticks. Found the cache easily and watched about 6 or 7 small planes take off and land. Very cool.
Now, as we told people about this trip, those that had been here before warned us to not plan on seeing Denali. "It is always fogged in..." they said. The company providing us with the Denali Bus Tour tomorrow said the same thing. Almost like a disclaimer. "On most days, no one can see Denali." Well, 130 miles out from Denali, this HUGE pile of dirt, rocks, and ice appeared in front of our highway!!! (Another long tunnel, right???) And there she was!! The huge beast Denali, in all her majesty and splendor, the tallest mountain in the entire North American Continent!! The closer we got to her, the bigger she got and the better the view. We took a bunch of pictures. Nothing like retired tourists, right?
Next stop was Cantwell, home of a particular geocache we wanted to find. An ammocan even. Thick brush. The search was futile. Several others before us couldn't find it either. I'm thinking Alaska is the ONLY state in the world that can completely hide an ammocan so no one can ever find it. No matter, we found the next nearest geocache. An annoying micro hanging in a tree (who does that?) with a Zombie theme (and who does that??). And actually, tonight we heard from the cache owner of the futile Ammocan we couldn't find in Seward telling us the cache had been taken and its contents destroyed. That would explain our futility on that one...
Four Burroughs down, five to go.
And interestingly enough, we loaded altimeter apps on our phones so we can see how high we can get. (That sounds not quite right...) We expected to climb some high passes today. Not so. The highest we got was 2400 feet, about the elevation of Spokane at its peak, and lower than Fairfield. We didn't expect that. Beautiful drive though. Sadly, the only wildlife we saw were the Mooses painted on the yellow moose crossing signs. We have higher hopes for both issues for tomorrow.
We finally arrived at Denali Park Entrance. Checked into our motel. Found a Chinese place for dinner that was actually pretty good. Found the bus depot so we're ready for tomorrow's early departure time. And we're now going to bed early.
Good night Ya 'all.
To steep for a JEEP, but not too steep for Hanna.
DENALI!!!!
A freakin zombie-themed micro in the woods! But I found it!
Old retired people on vacation. Tuesday.
Here in Alaska, we have yet to see the night sky. The sun goes down about 11pm long after we are in bed and rises at about 4:30, long before we are up. Today, though, was the Denali Park Bus Tour, so we were up at 4:30 so we could catch our bus. And we saw the sunrise. Pictures below for proof. The sunrise was amazing.
When you sign up for the Denali Park Bus Tour, they eventually assign you a departure time between 6am and 5pm. Lucky us, we drew the 6:10am tour. So the nasty alarm clock went off way too early. But we got to see the sunrise.
The tour took us miles into the park past where vehicles are allowed. It was narrated and we learned about the history of the park, drama surrounding its name, climate change, and facts about the rocks, plants, and critters that reside there. Very interesting and worth the early alarm. We also heard from a 72-year-old woman "Native Alaskan" who taught us a lot about their culture and traditions and taught us a dance. She was so sweet!
At one point, we were also shown a hands-on display of various critters' horns, antlers, and paddles. See the picture of Hanna trying hard to look mean while modeling some sheep horns.
Denali hid behind clouds and fog all day and did not come out. Good thing we saw her yesterday. Regardless, we took several scenic pictures of where the beast would have been if she had come out, including a selfie.
The highest elevation we reached today was 3200. Interesting facts: the tree line is at only about 2700 feet due to the fact that we are almost at the North Pole. The base of Denali is at 2000 feet, making it an 18,000-foot climb, which is more elevation gain than Mt Everest, which has a base of 12,000 feet. So, Alaska has a lot of large valleys and meadows surrounded by steep, tall mountains. The roads pretty much stick to the valleys.
Also there are no snakes or Elk in the park because it is too cold. And the black bears only reside on the West Side of the park because the trees on the East Side, where we are, are too tiny to climb up.
"So, what critters did you see??" you ask. The critter most seen in the park is Human Beings. We saw hundreds of them. It wasn't as crowded as Yellowstone or Glacier, but there were plenty of humans to be seen. We did spot a cow moose aways off from the road settled down in the grass with her calf. I was able to zoom in and get a fairly decent head-shot. She was just chilling.
After the tour, we took very long naps. Then went out in search of food and ended up eating at a hot dog stand. I had a chili dog. Hanna had a sauerkraut dog. Delicious!
After lunch, staying in tune with the Olympics, we broke the world record for number of Gift Shops visited in one day. Probably about 12. I lost count. Seriously. I got 11,000 steps in today, most of them circling around inside Gift Shops. Hanna was in heaven! And good news. The Christmas Shopping is all done now!!
We celebrated our new world record by buying ice cream. Plus a sign on the Boardwalk told us we had to. We don't want to be disobedient. I had fireweed-flavored ice cream. Hanna had Mango. (Fireweed is that purplish flowering plant you see in some of my pictures.) (Also, ice cream is the secret cure for cancer. So we have it often.)
Next, we hiked about a half-mile to find a Geocache by a hiking trail. Because it's what we do and we're retired and can do what we want.
I threw in a picture of a recent fire scar across from the resort town. The locals are freaked out about how huge it is. But it really is nothing compared to what I have seen in Washington and California.
Finally, we found a cool parking spot for our JEEP. (I gotta get that sign for my driveway...)
Here in Alaska, we have yet to see the night sky. The sun goes down about 11pm long after we are in bed and rises at about 4:30, long before we are up. Today, though, was the Denali Park Bus Tour, so we were up at 4:30 so we could catch our bus. And we saw the sunrise. Pictures below for proof. The sunrise was amazing.
When you sign up for the Denali Park Bus Tour, they eventually assign you a departure time between 6am and 5pm. Lucky us, we drew the 6:10am tour. So the nasty alarm clock went off way too early. But we got to see the sunrise.
The tour took us miles into the park past where vehicles are allowed. It was narrated and we learned about the history of the park, drama surrounding its name, climate change, and facts about the rocks, plants, and critters that reside there. Very interesting and worth the early alarm. We also heard from a 72-year-old woman "Native Alaskan" who taught us a lot about their culture and traditions and taught us a dance. She was so sweet!
At one point, we were also shown a hands-on display of various critters' horns, antlers, and paddles. See the picture of Hanna trying hard to look mean while modeling some sheep horns.
Denali hid behind clouds and fog all day and did not come out. Good thing we saw her yesterday. Regardless, we took several scenic pictures of where the beast would have been if she had come out, including a selfie.
The highest elevation we reached today was 3200. Interesting facts: the tree line is at only about 2700 feet due to the fact that we are almost at the North Pole. The base of Denali is at 2000 feet, making it an 18,000-foot climb, which is more elevation gain than Mt Everest, which has a base of 12,000 feet. So, Alaska has a lot of large valleys and meadows surrounded by steep, tall mountains. The roads pretty much stick to the valleys.
Also there are no snakes or Elk in the park because it is too cold. And the black bears only reside on the West Side of the park because the trees on the East Side, where we are, are too tiny to climb up.
"So, what critters did you see??" you ask. The critter most seen in the park is Human Beings. We saw hundreds of them. It wasn't as crowded as Yellowstone or Glacier, but there were plenty of humans to be seen. We did spot a cow moose aways off from the road settled down in the grass with her calf. I was able to zoom in and get a fairly decent head-shot. She was just chilling.
After the tour, we took very long naps. Then went out in search of food and ended up eating at a hot dog stand. I had a chili dog. Hanna had a sauerkraut dog. Delicious!
After lunch, staying in tune with the Olympics, we broke the world record for number of Gift Shops visited in one day. Probably about 12. I lost count. Seriously. I got 11,000 steps in today, most of them circling around inside Gift Shops. Hanna was in heaven! And good news. The Christmas Shopping is all done now!!
We celebrated our new world record by buying ice cream. Plus a sign on the Boardwalk told us we had to. We don't want to be disobedient. I had fireweed-flavored ice cream. Hanna had Mango. (Fireweed is that purplish flowering plant you see in some of my pictures.) (Also, ice cream is the secret cure for cancer. So we have it often.)
Next, we hiked about a half-mile to find a Geocache by a hiking trail. Because it's what we do and we're retired and can do what we want.
I threw in a picture of a recent fire scar across from the resort town. The locals are freaked out about how huge it is. But it really is nothing compared to what I have seen in Washington and California.
Finally, we found a cool parking spot for our JEEP. (I gotta get that sign for my driveway...)
Tomorrow we head into more remote areas where there is more elevation, less tourists, and hopefully more critters.
4:30 AM Sunrise
"I'm a mean critter!!!"
That's Denali in the background, right??
Moose on the loose
Could there be a cache under that unnatural pile of sticks??
We started our day with a delicious breakfast on the Boardwalk. Then, after packing up and checking out, we drove North, caching, siteseeing, taking pictures, and generally acting like tourists.
Stopped first in Nanama for a Geocache. Found the Latter-day Saint Church Building nearby and took a picture. Shock! It looked like a building from Alaska, not a brick edifice from Spokane. Nice.
Next stop was just outside of Fairbanks for a cool cache hidden in a tree stump.
Then on to the North Pole where we took a selfie with a giant-sized Santa. A virtual cache. Just send the cache owner a selfie and it is logged.
Then finally, a huge Ammocan in Delta Junction during a horrendous Alaskan wind storm.
Please note that we found all the caches today. No futility to report. And we have now found caches in 8 of the 9 Burroughs we set out to cover. (Map of this morning vs this evening at the end.)
The road from Denali to Fairbanks and then to Delta Junction was pretty much like driving in a tree cave. Trees lined both sides and you really couldn't see out. And not much elevation gain. We did come upon a couple of pullouts that we could see out from and took some pictures.
At Delta Junction, we took Highway 4 and it immediately climbed above the tree line and we could see out. Great views of the mountains, river, lakes, etc. Tons of pictures below. Great country to gawk at!
We finally arrived at Paxson, (actual population is 0...seriously. Look it up.) (elevation is 2700) where we found our BnB host and cabin. See the pictures below for the view out our cabin and the cabin itself. The hosts provided us a chunk of fresh salmon meat and a grill to cook it on. It was very good salmon! We dined with two other couples, one from Florida and one from Switzerland. I'd soon not have to socialize, but Hanna loved it. And if she's happy, I'm happy.
Gonna sleep well tonight. No one around for miles. (Population = 0, remember?) very cool and a touch rainy air, and a creek babbling just outside our cabin window.
Today the only critter we saw was a beaver. Kind of. We saw a fresh dam and lodge. There had to be a beaver in there though. Does that count?
We'll drive over the old Denali Highway/JEEP trail tomorrow. Second highest pass in all of Alaska at just over 4000 feet elevation. Hoping to at least see a Caribou.
Nenana Branch meets here.
Looking out of the cabin.
Old retired people on vacation. Thursday.
The hosts at the BnB (really just several cabins with a common lodge/game room/eat meals in room) provided us a great breakfast. We sat with the couple from Switzerland. Turns out he is an attorney that represents folks that are under IRS investigation for finances in Swiss and have citizenship in both US and Switzerland. We had a great talk. It's always fun to keep people out of jail. I enjoyed that part of my career immensely. But not as much as I enjoy retirement. Especially in Alaska.
After breakfast, well, we took naps. Because we are retired and old and can just do that
Once back awake, we drove up the Old Denali Highway, one of the most scenic drives in Alaska. We drove over the MacLaren pass, topping out at around 4700 feet elevation. The view was great there, but a bit cloudy. Denali was hiding behind the clouds.
Stopped at the MacLaren Lodge and had lunch (BLTs). And then it started to rain heavily, so we went back to the cabin. On the way back, we stopped to get our final planned-on cache and got drenched. Hey, what we won't do to log a find, right?
The cache map is now all filled in. Cool pic below.
We spent the late afternoon and evening reading, napping, grilling some burgers (provided by our host) and enjoying the solemnity of the place. Very relaxing.
By now you have noticed the purplish-colored flowering looking plants in our pictures. Fireweed! It is all over up here and it blooms all summer (which here is about a few weeks, right?) The blooms start at the bottom of the stalk and bloom their way to the top. When the top blooms, the Natives here say that means winter is six weeks away. They make tea out of it. And I consumed some fireweed-flavored ice cream. Tasted kind of like a cross of caramel and coffee. Either way, the fireweed makes for a good frame for our mountain pictures. And I included a picture today featuring just fireweed. So it will feel important.
At the lunch today, the table across from us contained several temporary summer workers, several with strong Russian accents. Eavesdropping, it appears some worked as miners and some worked with a Geology company, drilling into glaciers. And from them I take the quote of the day: "I thought this was bear country! Be on bear watch while you work! I haven't seen a XXXXXX bear the entire time I have been here!" Yup. I feel his pain....
The hosts at the BnB (really just several cabins with a common lodge/game room/eat meals in room) provided us a great breakfast. We sat with the couple from Switzerland. Turns out he is an attorney that represents folks that are under IRS investigation for finances in Swiss and have citizenship in both US and Switzerland. We had a great talk. It's always fun to keep people out of jail. I enjoyed that part of my career immensely. But not as much as I enjoy retirement. Especially in Alaska.
After breakfast, well, we took naps. Because we are retired and old and can just do that
Once back awake, we drove up the Old Denali Highway, one of the most scenic drives in Alaska. We drove over the MacLaren pass, topping out at around 4700 feet elevation. The view was great there, but a bit cloudy. Denali was hiding behind the clouds.
Stopped at the MacLaren Lodge and had lunch (BLTs). And then it started to rain heavily, so we went back to the cabin. On the way back, we stopped to get our final planned-on cache and got drenched. Hey, what we won't do to log a find, right?
The cache map is now all filled in. Cool pic below.
We spent the late afternoon and evening reading, napping, grilling some burgers (provided by our host) and enjoying the solemnity of the place. Very relaxing.
By now you have noticed the purplish-colored flowering looking plants in our pictures. Fireweed! It is all over up here and it blooms all summer (which here is about a few weeks, right?) The blooms start at the bottom of the stalk and bloom their way to the top. When the top blooms, the Natives here say that means winter is six weeks away. They make tea out of it. And I consumed some fireweed-flavored ice cream. Tasted kind of like a cross of caramel and coffee. Either way, the fireweed makes for a good frame for our mountain pictures. And I included a picture today featuring just fireweed. So it will feel important.
At the lunch today, the table across from us contained several temporary summer workers, several with strong Russian accents. Eavesdropping, it appears some worked as miners and some worked with a Geology company, drilling into glaciers. And from them I take the quote of the day: "I thought this was bear country! Be on bear watch while you work! I haven't seen a XXXXXX bear the entire time I have been here!" Yup. I feel his pain....
The Tundra
Cool app tracks elevation
View from the pass
Fireweed!!
Found a cache in those trees. Now we are both soaked. Raining hard. 52 degrees at 3pm
Retired and on vacation too. Friday.
Today's adventures included primarily driving from our cabin in Paxson to our AirBnB in Anchorage so we can catch our flight home tomorrow.
Before leaving, we had a great visit with our hosts. We really enjoyed how this couple and their 6-year-old son ran their little business out in the middle of no where. Living the American Dream! They've been at it since the 1990s. And have watched while the town of Paxson pretty much failed and shriveled up. They are all that's left. Impressive. As retired business advisors, we love seeing folks like them do their thing. Merica!! So glad we stayed there.
Critter report! On the way to Anchorage, we did see another moose! Hanna spotted its head poking out of the trees on the side of the road as we wizzed by at 70mph. After hitting the brakes, backing up, opening the window and her grabbing her phone, the Cow Moose watched us closely, then had enough of that and turned and ran into the woods before we could get a good picture. Hanna did get a kind of not good one. Look closely. She's there.
The rest of the trip, we saw tons of great scenery. For part of it, we climbed up above the tree line which opened up to some great views of the mountains and valley below and a Glacier down there too. Very cool. Tons of pictures below.
Once at the AirBnB, we completely emptied the JEEP was have lived in the past week+, repacked everything in 3 suitcases/bags and some carryons, threw away a bunch of stuff we no longer need and don't have room for, then found dinner.
No doubt you're missing Frivvy like we are and are wondering how he is doing. No worries. Today we got word that he went to work with Justin at Domino's and had the time of his life. See the picture. See the grin. He was a hit! (As usual...)
Today's adventures included primarily driving from our cabin in Paxson to our AirBnB in Anchorage so we can catch our flight home tomorrow.
Before leaving, we had a great visit with our hosts. We really enjoyed how this couple and their 6-year-old son ran their little business out in the middle of no where. Living the American Dream! They've been at it since the 1990s. And have watched while the town of Paxson pretty much failed and shriveled up. They are all that's left. Impressive. As retired business advisors, we love seeing folks like them do their thing. Merica!! So glad we stayed there.
Critter report! On the way to Anchorage, we did see another moose! Hanna spotted its head poking out of the trees on the side of the road as we wizzed by at 70mph. After hitting the brakes, backing up, opening the window and her grabbing her phone, the Cow Moose watched us closely, then had enough of that and turned and ran into the woods before we could get a good picture. Hanna did get a kind of not good one. Look closely. She's there.
The rest of the trip, we saw tons of great scenery. For part of it, we climbed up above the tree line which opened up to some great views of the mountains and valley below and a Glacier down there too. Very cool. Tons of pictures below.
Once at the AirBnB, we completely emptied the JEEP was have lived in the past week+, repacked everything in 3 suitcases/bags and some carryons, threw away a bunch of stuff we no longer need and don't have room for, then found dinner.
No doubt you're missing Frivvy like we are and are wondering how he is doing. No worries. Today we got word that he went to work with Justin at Domino's and had the time of his life. See the picture. See the grin. He was a hit! (As usual...)
Look for the moose!!
Cool swirling glacier.
Glacier and slow down below us.
Frivvy's happy smile!
Old retired folks on vacation. Saturday.
We don't often eat at Denny's, but when we do, we eat at the Denny's that is the most northernmost in the entire world. (Friday dinner and cool sign...)
So, today our goal was to catch our plane, fly home, and well, be at home. It's always an adventure though. Massive flight delays out of Seattle due to shortage of scheduled pilots. We ended up getting home at 11:30pm instead of 7pm.
Part of the mission for today was also to see a Grizzly Bear. Even if it was a plastic replica in the Anchorage Airport. We walked ever foot of hallway of that airport (after TSA) and did not see a Grizzly Bear. So, I had to settle for having my picture taken with a huge stuffed moose.
My theories and thoughts on no bear sitings:
1. The theory I think is the most correct, is that there really are no bears in Alaska. It's all a conspiracy. They tell you there are bears, invite you to come see the bears, tell you there is a significant chance that you will have a bear encounter even if you don't leave your car, and insist you must buy expensive bear spray or YOU WILL DIE!! Everyone had bear spray up there. Either rented ($12 per day) or purchased ($40 - $60) So, the bear spray company and the tourist industry are making a fortune with the story. But there are no bears in Alaska. Below is a picture of a cupboard literally full of bear spray at our AirBnB, left behind by other travelers who obviously saw no bears. None of it used. That is right around $200 worth of bear spray right there!!
2. Murphy's law. (And my apologies to my good friends, the Murphy's...) because I bought bear spray, no bear would be seen. If I had skipped the bear spray, we would have had daily bear encounters.
Regardless, here, have a picture of a moose.
Finally, Hanna had the window seat on the way home and dutifully took a picture of someplace between Anchorage and Seattle.
PSA here: Regarding the no sitings of bears. Life doesn't always give you what you expect. In fact, my experience is that most times expectations are failed. Get used to it. We flew all the way to Alaska and saw no bears. But hey, we saw four Hump Back Whales breach! And tons of other stuff. We ran into a family of 7 up there that flew into Anchorage and then were supposed to be flown to a small lake out in the middle of no where and stay in a remote cabin. (Great family reunion, right)? Upon arrival, their personal pilot told them it was too foggy to fly in and the cabin was flooded. YIKES! No matter, they rented a couple of cars and were road tripping instead. And were happy and having a blast! On the plane home, we met a guy that flew all the way up there to do a Salmon fishing tour. Got there, found out the designated river was running too high, no Salmon anywhere, so no fishing. Again, he went road tripping. And they gave him a free new fishing pole which he was quite proud of. Life is what you make of it. Not what you expect of it.
And so ends our trip of a lifetime, our second honeymoon of sorts, our long-planned trip to Alaska. Got it off the bucket list of things we gotta do before one of us loses our health to the point that we can't travel like that any more. But......on the way back in to Anchorage, the Lovely Miss Hanna was heard saying "when we come back here...." I'm totally down for that. There is so much more of Alaska to see. That Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudoe Bay has my undivided attention. As do the remaining 10 Burroughs that I haven't cached in that would require plane, boat, or dog sled to get to.
Heck, we may even see a Grizzly Bear next time. If there really are any bears in Alaska. And if I refuse to buy Bear Spray. But then the encounter would probably not go well and the Grizzly would probably be the last thing I see before painfully, and without morphine, leave this life.
We don't often eat at Denny's, but when we do, we eat at the Denny's that is the most northernmost in the entire world. (Friday dinner and cool sign...)
So, today our goal was to catch our plane, fly home, and well, be at home. It's always an adventure though. Massive flight delays out of Seattle due to shortage of scheduled pilots. We ended up getting home at 11:30pm instead of 7pm.
Part of the mission for today was also to see a Grizzly Bear. Even if it was a plastic replica in the Anchorage Airport. We walked ever foot of hallway of that airport (after TSA) and did not see a Grizzly Bear. So, I had to settle for having my picture taken with a huge stuffed moose.
My theories and thoughts on no bear sitings:
1. The theory I think is the most correct, is that there really are no bears in Alaska. It's all a conspiracy. They tell you there are bears, invite you to come see the bears, tell you there is a significant chance that you will have a bear encounter even if you don't leave your car, and insist you must buy expensive bear spray or YOU WILL DIE!! Everyone had bear spray up there. Either rented ($12 per day) or purchased ($40 - $60) So, the bear spray company and the tourist industry are making a fortune with the story. But there are no bears in Alaska. Below is a picture of a cupboard literally full of bear spray at our AirBnB, left behind by other travelers who obviously saw no bears. None of it used. That is right around $200 worth of bear spray right there!!
2. Murphy's law. (And my apologies to my good friends, the Murphy's...) because I bought bear spray, no bear would be seen. If I had skipped the bear spray, we would have had daily bear encounters.
Regardless, here, have a picture of a moose.
Finally, Hanna had the window seat on the way home and dutifully took a picture of someplace between Anchorage and Seattle.
PSA here: Regarding the no sitings of bears. Life doesn't always give you what you expect. In fact, my experience is that most times expectations are failed. Get used to it. We flew all the way to Alaska and saw no bears. But hey, we saw four Hump Back Whales breach! And tons of other stuff. We ran into a family of 7 up there that flew into Anchorage and then were supposed to be flown to a small lake out in the middle of no where and stay in a remote cabin. (Great family reunion, right)? Upon arrival, their personal pilot told them it was too foggy to fly in and the cabin was flooded. YIKES! No matter, they rented a couple of cars and were road tripping instead. And were happy and having a blast! On the plane home, we met a guy that flew all the way up there to do a Salmon fishing tour. Got there, found out the designated river was running too high, no Salmon anywhere, so no fishing. Again, he went road tripping. And they gave him a free new fishing pole which he was quite proud of. Life is what you make of it. Not what you expect of it.
And so ends our trip of a lifetime, our second honeymoon of sorts, our long-planned trip to Alaska. Got it off the bucket list of things we gotta do before one of us loses our health to the point that we can't travel like that any more. But......on the way back in to Anchorage, the Lovely Miss Hanna was heard saying "when we come back here...." I'm totally down for that. There is so much more of Alaska to see. That Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudoe Bay has my undivided attention. As do the remaining 10 Burroughs that I haven't cached in that would require plane, boat, or dog sled to get to.
Heck, we may even see a Grizzly Bear next time. If there really are any bears in Alaska. And if I refuse to buy Bear Spray. But then the encounter would probably not go well and the Grizzly would probably be the last thing I see before painfully, and without morphine, leave this life.
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