Trip to Alaska

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Trip to Alaska: 

Trip to Alaska

Slide 2: 

I flew from Chicago to Fairbanks…

Slide 3: 

and early the next morning, I headed north.

Slide 4: 

I’m on the way to the Arctic Circle…

as the sign says.: 

as the sign says.

Here’s some good (?) advice.: 

Here’s some good (?) advice.

Slide 7: 

This is the Dalton Highway, just like on Ice Road Truckers.

Slide 8: 

Speaking of truckers – SLOW DOWN!

Slide 9: 

The Yukon River goes all the way across Alaska, and this is the only bridge that crosses it.

Slide 10: 

Some fall colors on the Arctic tundra…

Slide 11: 

and caribou lichen and wild berries.

Slide 12: 

I ate these wild blueberries. So tasty!

Slide 13: 

The Alaska Pipeline runs along the Dalton Highway, sometimes underground.

Slide 14: 

Going north of the Arctic Circle…

Slide 15: 

to Coldfoot Camp…

Slide 16: 

where it’s almost hunting season.

Slide 18: 

The pilot is packing the plane for the flight back to Fairbanks.

Slide 20: 

One of the best museums in Alaska is the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

Slide 21: 

Someone really smart lives in Fairbanks!

Slide 22: 

This is the Antler Arch in Fairbanks…

Slide 23: 

and the Chena River…

Slide 24: 

and downtown. Yeah, that’s about the extent of it.

Slide 26: 

The AMAZING Denali National Park was the next stop. That looks like a painting behind me, but it’s the real thing!

Slide 27: 

I visited the sled dogs that patrol the park during the winter. This sweet girl’s name is Sylvie.

Slide 28: 

This is my favorite boy, Sitken , with one of his trainers. Check out those blue eyes! He looks mean, but he’s a lover.

Slide 29: 

This is the hostel I stayed at outside of the park.

Slide 30: 

Here’s the outside of the tent…

Slide 31: 

and the inside.

Slide 32: 

This is the Visitor’s Center at the park. They have an excellent restaurant where I ate reindeer stew.

Slide 33: 

It was so clear on the day of my bus tour that we could see Mt. McKinley from 100 miles away.

Slide 34: 

The fall colors on the tundra are really beautiful, especially with Mt. McKinley in the background.

Slide 35: 

We saw fall colors…and a grizzly!

Slide 36: 

Dall sheep graze on the side of the mountain.

Slide 37: 

The scenery is almost hard to believe.

Slide 38: 

Isn’t it?

Slide 39: 

This makes me want to go back next fall.

Slide 40: 

They tell you that if you see a bear in the wild, yell at the bear, wave your arms, and stand your ground…

Slide 41: 

but if you see a moose, run like hell.

Slide 42: 

On my last day at Denali, I went on a river-rafting trip with Class III and IV rapids.

Slide 43: 

Do I look rugged and outdoorsy?

Slide 45: 

Next, I went to stay at a hostel in the town of Talkeetna.

Slide 46: 

Talkeetna was the inspiration for the tv show Northern Exposure.

Slide 47: 

It’s a cute little town.

Slide 48: 

It sort of reminded me of Door County…

Slide 49: 

with more dramatic scenery.

Slide 50: 

Yes, that’s Mt. McKinley on the right…90 miles away.

Slide 51: 

I wanted an up-close view of Mt. McKinley…

Slide 52: 

and I got it!

Slide 53: 

I even walked on the Eldridge Glacier – 10 feet of snow on top of 2,000 feet of ice.

Slide 54: 

Check out these glaciers coming down the mountains. Some of them are 25 miles long and 4,000 feet deep.

Slide 59: 

I took the Alaska Railroad from Talkeetna to Anchorage…

Slide 60: 

through the Chugach Mountains.

Slide 61: 

Then I flew to Cordova, because no roads go there.

Slide 62: 

I stayed at the Orca Adventure Lodge…

Slide 63: 

where I could see sea otters from my window.

Slide 64: 

There are lots of sea otters in Cordova.

Slide 65: 

It’s a beautiful place…

Slide 66: 

but they do have large slugs…

Slide 67: 

and an egg-eating raven.

Slide 68: 

Still, it’s a quaint little town…

Slide 69: 

and a GREAT place to fish for salmon!

Slide 70: 

There’s also a bus that they turned into a really good taco stand…

Slide 71: 

and seals in the harbor.

Slide 73: 

On the flight back to Anchorage, the sky was spooky.

Slide 74: 

The next day, I rented a car to drive down to Seward…

Slide 75: 

through the Chugach National Forest…

Slide 76: 

and past a few glaciers.

Slide 77: 

In Seward, I took a boat trip to see marine wildlife and glaciers.

Slide 78: 

There was a humpback whale…

Slide 79: 

and Dall’s porpoises…

Slide 80: 

swimming with the boat.

Slide 81: 

I also saw puffins…

Slide 82: 

and harbor seals on the floating ice.

Slide 83: 

The highlight might have been seeing the Aialik Glacier…

Slide 84: 

and watching it calve into the sea.

Slide 85: 

An engine on our boat stopped working, and we had to be towed a bit.

Slide 86: 

I drove back to Anchorage the next day.

Slide 87: 

On my last day, I visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

Slide 88: 

They had examples of the Native dwellings from different parts of the state.

Slide 91: 

They also had a dance performance, and some Native kids showed us a few traditional Native games.

Slide 92: 

That night, I had to get on the plane and take the long trip home.

Slide 94: 

The End