A Tiny Piece of Heaven

Alaska has always been one on my "must see" list. I remember back in the early 80's when I was a kid, my parents had a wallpaper mural in one of the rooms of our house (how 70's of them!). The picture was of beautiful autumn trees dabbled between evergreens. Beyond was a majestic snow covered mountain and a placid lake which mirrored it. I always wondered where that place may be, if it even existed.

As we drove along the Seward Highway (AK-1) I was reminded of that mural from years ago. The mountains sometimes soared above the clouds so high that they seemed to pierce the sky. The water was calm and glistened in the morning sun and patches of fog cropped up between the valleys. We started off out of Anchorage around 9am, waking up to a breakfast of strong coffee scrambled eggs and reindeer sausage. We looked outside, and the mountains were already snow covered. The locals said that this was a little unusual this time of year and the snow often doesn't start accumulating until a bit later in the season.



Along our drive, we stopped for any reason we could. The first few times just to breathe in the brisk fresh air and to take some photos of the steep mountain ranges, glaciers and fall foliage.



Another time was to try to get a glimpse of the Beluga whale that we saw in the bay as we were driving. I was amazed at how easily it was to spot wildlife and how freely they roamed in their natural habitat. Around every turn in the road, it seemed like there was a better view. Snow capped mountains and powerful waterfalls in the distance, bald eagles soaring above.



We arrived at our destination in the Kenai Peninsula. There are a lot of tours that go out of Seward for wildlife and glacial viewing as well as fishing trips. We decided to stop and have lunch at a place on the water called Ray's. We had a great view of the fishing boats as well as a large sea otter popping in and out of the water, probably looking for his lunch as well. I ordered the fish and chips with cod, red snapper and halibut. It was awesome! Probably because I was eating it in a small fishing village in Alaska.







After lunch we decided to head to the Exit Glacier in the Kenai National Forest. I had seen glaciers before, but never had the chance to walk right up and touch one. For some reason, I expected the glacier to be like packed snow. I was completely wrong. It literally was a block of solid ice, slowly melting away. Here are more photos of the view from the park:



This is where the glacier used to reach in 1926:





A solid block of ice:


A little piece of history melting away:



On the way back to Anchorage, we stopped at a wildlife conservation center where injured animals are either rehabilitated or kept if they are unable to go back into the wild. For example, we saw a Bald Eagle who had lost a wing and could no longer fly. here are a few photos of the brown bears and black bear high in the trees!







I wanted to see a moose all day - he was pretty chill (no flared nostrils):



So much to see and do in Alaska. It is truly beautiful here.