Our Alaskan adventure began two years before we set foot on Alaskan soil. It all started when Dan’s best friend (who happens to be one day older than him) suggested that they go on a big trip to celebrate their 60th birthdays. After some discussion, it was decided that Alaska would be the destination.
Dan’s friend, Dennis, is a dairy farmer in Pennsylvania and we are farmers here in the Midwest so it took a bit of planning for two farmers and their wives to find two entire weeks when they could leave their farms. Thankfully, both of us have children actively involved in our farming operations who graciously agreed to “hold down the fort.”
On August 2, Dan and I flew from Chicago to Seattle and then onto Anchorage. Our flight landed at 9pm and it was full daylight! Our friends had arrived an hour before and were waiting for us in the airport. It was so strange to be out and about until 11pm before darkness finally seemed to begin setting in.
We spent our first full day in Alaska by doing a bit of exploring in Anchorage. Finding a bike rental shop, we rented bikes and took a 20 mile ride along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.
If you click on any of the pictures in this post, you can see a larger view of the full photo.
During our ride we saw three moose, and two of them were just a few feet off the trail. Interestingly, this was the only time during the entire trip that we saw moose.
The next day we headed toward Denali National Park. We didn’t plan to go into the park, but hoped to get a view of Denali from the town of Talkeetnah. The day was fairly clear so we were able to see most of Denali and many of the snow capped mountains surrounding it.
One of the biggest surprises to me were the beautiful flowers in both Anchorage and Talkeetna. We didn’t know the reason, but we guessed that the flowers grew so well because of the unusually long daylight hours in the summer months.
From Talkeetna we went on the explore Hatcher’s Pass. We enjoyed a gorgeous drive up into the mountains with the road meandering along a large flowing river with rocky boulders. At Summit Lake we threw a few snowballs, watched paragliders, and enjoyed the spectacular views.
That night we stayed at an Airbnb in Palmer. The hosts were considered farmers because they had large gardens, a few pigs and a couple steers. The husband was the director of agriculture for the state of Alaska. He told us that there was very little agriculture in Alaska, and his main job was to encourage agriculture.
The short growing season, difficulty of obtaining/maintaining farm machinery, and rain forest conditions (yes, there are rain forests in Alaska) make farming in Alaska very difficult, if not impossible. It was also fascinating to learn that there is only one dairy farm in the whole state.
We saw a small number of lush green pastures with horses and a few farmers making hay. I was able to pick strawberries and raspberries in the gardens at our Airbnb which we ate for breakfast the next morning.
After breakfast, we went to Matanuska Glacier where we enjoyed a guided tour of the glacier. We were given glacier travel gear which included crampons and helmets before we hiked out onto the glacier for several hours.
Our guide was wonderful and taught us much about glaciers. The formations were breathtaking, unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was somewhat like exploring a whole new planet… an ICE PLANET!
Our next adventures were planned for the Kenai Peninsula area, but the weather had other plans. We experienced two days of pouring rain while in Seward.
Despite the rain, we decide to go ahead with our scheduled day long cruise through Resurrection Bay and the Kenai Fjords National Park. The cruise promised views of the unparalleled beauty of pristine Alaskan waters along with exploration of wildlife and glaciers onboard a stable, high-speed catamaran.
Those promised views didn’t quite happen. The light rain grew into pouring rain and raging seas with huge swells. Many of the passengers became seasick and the ship’s captain decided it was unsafe to continue the cruise so we headed back to port.
After two dreary days in Seward, we headed for Soldotna taking a scenic, gravel road hoping to see wildlife. We didn’t see much wildlife, but we did find bear scat on the trail and enjoyed a short hike in the mist. Remember, I said earlier that Alaska has rain forests!
Our first stop in Soldotna was the Visitor’s Center. Inside were displays about wildlife, including the world-record king salmon that Les Anderson caught in 1985 (Weighing in at 97¼ pounds!). The fish’s actual skin is on the mount.
We were able to see other record breaking salmon mounts, walk the Centennial Trail, and watch anglers snagging salmon from the Kenai River.
Before leaving the Kenai Peninsula the weather finally cleared and we able to enjoy a guided river raft trip down the Upper Kenai River through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. It was a beautiful float with a few mild rapids!
The scenery was spectacular and we spotted at least 10 eagles in the tree tops. Our guide showed us the historic sites of Cooper Landing and the world famous combat fishing area at the Russian River where we saw dozens of fishermen lining the shores.
That’s it for Part 1! I will continue with Part 2 of our trip as time allows.
Thanks for coming along on the first part of our Alaskan adventure.