Alaska is HUGE, it is 3 times the size of Texas and it takes some driving to see anything. Some places have only one road into and out of them and some places have no roads at all.
We'll start with Kennicott/Mcarthy. After visiting some more populated or tourist towns, we were excited to finally arrive here. It took some driving; about 6 hours and the last 2 were on a dirt road. We finally got to a dirt parking lot where a shuttle van took us down the dirt road for about a half mile and dropped us off at a foot bridge. We crossed the foot bridge and waited for another shuttle van to take us to the one and only lodge. Our lodge room had a sink in it that only ran cold water. We had to share the bathroom and showers with everyone else in the lodge. :D Surprisingly this place was one of our favorite stops. We only spent 2 nights but we took a very cool guided hike around the glacier there. We learned all about moulins, moraine and what constitutes a glacier. It was exciting and amazing. To think we hiked all over a glacier is still something I can't totally wrap my head around.
We then braved the 2 hour dirt road out and got on the highway to go to Valdez. The drive into Valdez is AMAZING!! There are glaciers and waterfalls everywhere. Valdez is a place that has one road in and one road out but I think it is well worth the drive. One cool thing they have is the fish hatchery. We were there at a lucky time since the salmon were just starting to come back to spawn. There were thousands and thousands of fish returning and as a result we got to see sea otters and sea lions hunting. Apparently the bears come out to gorge but we never did see them.
On to Seward! Seward is a little port town full of fishing boats and smaller cruise ships. It is also the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. We took a half day cruise out to a glacier and spent a half hour watching it "calve". Calving is when the ice breaks off the glacier. It's very cool to see and hear. Along the way out to the glacier we saw whales and on the way back we saw steller seals, puffins and sea otters.
Driving from Valdez to Seward took FOREVER so we were thankful that we only had to drive about 2.5 hours to Homer. Homer is another small fishing town and smaller cruise ship port. There is the town of Homer and Homer Spit. The spit is a super cute little fishing village that has little shops and art galleries. Definitely worth the stop. While there we took a sea plane to Katmai National Park. Upon landing our pilot told us, "Just go down that path to the visitors' center and if you come upon a bear, just stay about 50 yards away and you should be fine." !!! We didn't see any bears and when we got to the center we received "bear 101". Afterward we walked around a couple of paths to a waterfall where bears hang out and catch fish. We spent about 2 hours there just watching the various bears and their different ways that they fish. It was definitely a highlight! We saw a mommy bear and her 3 cubs swimming, we heard a bear snoring while taking a nap (haha!) but the biggest heart beat increase was when we were walking back toward the visitors' center and a bear walked directly onto our path! We could not maintain the 50 yards because he kept walking toward us. Just as quickly as he walked onto the path, he walked off. WHEW! :) What a fantastic experience though!
Much to our surprise while doing our research of Alaska, even though Juneau is the capital you cannot drive to it. You either fly or take a ferry. We flew into Juneau and upon arrival our jaws dropped. Juneau is beautiful! You have both ocean and mountains. And of course, glaciers. We explored all of Juneau by bus and car but the biggest highlight for me was a helicopter flight out over a couple of glaciers and landed at a sled dog camp! We got to ride on the sled while a team of doggies pulled us and we had a real live musher. We stopped a couple of times to switch places so we could each stand on the back of the sled and play with the doggies. At the end of the adventure we got to play with sled dog puppies. They were SO adorable!!! It was a wonderful day. :)
