This is the second post of a recap of my Alaska trip! Finally!! Summer tends to get away from me, full of work, travels, and pool time. So, here we are!
The above photo is from Portage Glacier, in the Chugach National Forest, just south of Anchorage. This is where we spent two days with a grad student and faculty member from the University of Alaska Anchorage. While here, we learned how they look for bats and identify the different species, since bats are relatively new to Alaska. We also learned about how they look for and trap different aquatic species, looking for different organisms in the streams around here.
On Monday afternoon, we also hiked to a glacier in the park, where we were able to walk on the permanent snow fields! If you come out here in August, you would still be on snow! It was definitely a cool experience.
Wednesday, we had a unexpectedly free day, so we spent our morning hiking Flattop, the local favorite for an "easy" hike in Anchorage. As you can see from the above picture, you're pretty much on the top of a mountain overlooking the city and the bay beyond. The first part of the hike is relatively easy and much like a hike you would find around Pennsylvania. Then, we began the second half of the hike, heading up to the top. Here, it became more of a climb, heading up over large boulders and scrambling to the top. But I'm so glad I made it to the top! It was a huge accomplishment, one that I am extremely proud of. Now, going back down was a bit tricky, but here I am so I obviously made it down!
Above is another photo of the top of the mountain. It truly is flat up there!
Now, this photo above might just be my favorite of the whole trip. This is out the window of a four-seater plane piloted by a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Anchorage. He was gracious enough to take all of us up in groups, and I was the final group on Wednesday. This view of the sunset was amazing! Not to mention our pilot was one of the kindest, funniest men I think I've ever met. He loves to fly and got into it when he worked in aviation law, but his daughters and wife don't enjoy flying as much, so he loved the chance to take a bunch of excited college students up in the air.
Here's his hanger. It looked like the ultimate man cave!
On Thursday, we headed north to the interior of Alaska and the weather started to heat up! We stopped in Palmer, where we square danced with a troup and I had the honor of singing some of the calls. Then, we visited a recycling facility. Being in Alaska makes recycling a little hard, since they have to send the recycled materials to the lower 48, so they want the highest bid!
Also during this time, we spent 2 days in Willow, the start of the Iditarod. We were there to help replant trees in the area after a devastating forest fire the year before. It was heartbreaking to hear these families stories of the fire, but I'm so grateful that we were able to help with the replanting process. We met so many wonderful people (and sled dogs!), so I'm so glad we were able to serve in this community.
You can see Denali peaking out above the trees in the picture. It's a view as we were driving toward the park, but we were still about 200 miles away!
Once we made it to Denali, I was so excited. Truth be told, this was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to. We stayed in the most beautiful cabin there. If you're looking for somewhere near the park, the
McKinley Cabins and the the Carlo home are wonderful! It was a great treat after sleeping in cramped quarters and on church floors on air mattresses. It felt like being pampered and was fantastic.
The photo above was in the park. We went on a short hike from the visitors center before our bus tour out into the park. If you are planning a trip to the park, the bus tours are definitely the way to see the park, especially if you only have one day as we did. We had the morning to explore the visitors center (With lots of information about Alaska and how the park came about, including why you see Doll Sheep on the park logo), then we went out as far as you can in the park, without the back country hiking permits. We saw so much wildlife! Since I was taking photos on my phone, I didn't get the best picture of the animals, but I have a few of the scenery. It's amazing how much the scenery changes as you go. It goes from pine forest, to more sparse trees, to tundra in a matter of miles. Truly amazing. And windy.
The buses drive on very narrow, winding roads up the mountainside. It can be very scary at times, but it was a lot of fun!
After driving back to Anchorage, we had one last day to relax and eat at Moose Tooth, a great Pizza restaurant in the city. I would recommend it to anyone who is visiting! Good food and a great local place.
Before heading to the airport, we had some time, so the pastor of First Presbyterian in Anchorage invited us to his house for s'mores, then took us out to a park by the bay, built on top of a landfill. If he had never told us, I wouldn't have even known. This picture perfectly sums up the trip. Breathtaking, beautiful, full of wonder and awe, and the sun never set.
I know I've missed things and details, but I just want to say thank you to everyone who made this trip possible, and to all those who went on this trip with me. I went in not really being that close to anyone, and came away with new friendships and memories that I won't forget for a lifetime. So thank you for giving me a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience. I hope these blog posts help us to look back and remember this time for years to come.
-Sydney Liz
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