Pacific NW/AK/BC Pugs off to Alaska

Bad Bob · Jul 25, 2021

The Chugach is a larger mountain range than the Alps; and they are not the largest range in AK.
Your picture over the marsh bring back memories @Tricia . The peak on the left is Pioneer Peak one to the right is Twin Peak, between them is the Hunter drainage. Hunted sheep and bear up there with success in both.
Amazing country. The sheer scale is mind boggling. It takes a very long day to drive across Texas. You can't even drive across Alaska but it does take all day to fly across Alaska.

Jack skis · Jul 25, 2021

If you look East and a little South of Anchorage on your paper map you'll see Girdwood on the highway along Turnagain Arm (not identified on you map). Girdwood in where you'll find Alyeska. Drive a few more miles on Highway 1 and you get to Portage Glacier, and the route to Whittier should you care to see a bit of Prince William Sound. Honestly, Whittier isn't much of a tourist destination. Pretty much all you can do there is turn around a go back.

dbostedo · Jul 25, 2021

Jack skis said:
Pretty much all you can do there is turn around a go back.

Or get on a cruise ship... which is what I did.

Philpug · Jul 25, 2021

Today was a light day with a short hike from the house, spending time with family and watching the young eagle roosting in the tree by the house. Tomorrow we will be hitting a glacier.

Bad Bob · Jul 25, 2021

Jack skis said:
If you look East and a little South of Anchorage on your paper map you'll see Girdwood on the highway along Turnagain Arm (not identified on you map). Girdwood in where you'll find Alyeska. Drive a few more miles on Highway 1 and you get to Portage Glacier, and the route to Whittier should you care to see a bit of Prince William Sound. Honestly, Whittier isn't much of a tourist destination. Pretty much all you can do there is turn around a go back.

You can catch the Ferry from Whittier to Valdez. The poor mans Love Boat. That was a staple trip when we had company come into town. A good trip.

Tricia · Jul 25, 2021

Jack skis said:
If you look East and a little South of Anchorage on your paper map you'll see Girdwood on the highway along Turnagain Arm (not identified on you map). Girdwood in where you'll find Alyeska. Drive a few more miles on Highway 1 and you get to Portage Glacier, and the route to Whittier should you care to see a bit of Prince William Sound. Honestly, Whittier isn't much of a tourist destination. Pretty much all you can do there is turn around a go back.

Our plan for Wednesday is to go to Alyeska. Will likely stay in Girdwood over night. Flying home on Thursday late afternoon.

Tricia · Jul 25, 2021

Bad Bob said:
The Chugach is a larger mountain range than the Alps; and they are not the largest range in AK.
Your picture over the marsh bring back memories @Tricia . The peak on the left is Pioneer Peak one to the right is Twin Peak, between them is the Hunter drainage. Hunted sheep and bear up there with success in both.
Amazing counrty. The sheer scale is mind boggling. It takes a very long day to drive across Texas. You can't even drive across Alaska but it does take all day to fly across Alaska.

Its interesting how you learn geography when you're in school and you know certain things, but the experience of being present is awe inspiring.

Jack skis said:
If you look East and a little South of Anchorage on your paper map you'll see Girdwood on the highway along Turnagain Arm (not identified on you map). Girdwood in where you'll find Alyeska. Drive a few more miles on Highway 1 and you get to Portage Glacier, and the route to Whittier should you care to see a bit of Prince William Sound. Honestly, Whittier isn't much of a tourist destination. Pretty much all you can do there is turn around a go back.

Because this was a trip to relax and reconnect with family, we didn't plan anything except for the three day trip to Denali,
The plans from here to Thursday are mostly freestyle planning but I'm really enjoying getting the lay of the land really enjoying waking up to that view.

Tricia · Jul 25, 2021

Jilly said:
Say HI to Lil please.

Will do!

John Webb · Jul 25, 2021

No surfing the tidal bore at Turnagain Arm ?

On a trip 20 years ago we didn't see Denali either. But saw Griz and other large animals next to the Denali bus.
No moose seen anywhere until seeing one in someones backyard in Fairbanks.

John Webb · Jul 25, 2021

Museum in Homer can be interesting.

We were watching a puffin cam they had offshore 3 miles underground in a puffins nest.

The most amazing thing ever suddenly happened ! Staff had been waiting weeks for the eggs to hatch.
At closing time Trish & I saw movement. The eggs were hatching ! ! !. We ran upstairs and told the staff.
Instead of closing the place everyone spent the next 2 hours watching eggs hatch.

The next morning we dropped by and all but one of 6 eggs had hatched.

Philpug · Jul 26, 2021

@Andy Mink would love all the ducks on the water.

RobSN · Jul 26, 2021

The Anchorage museum has a section on the 1964 earthquake - the thing that really sticks in my mind is an I bar twisted into an S shape. A pilot who flew a group of us up to and around Denali said that he was a little boy at the time and his biggest memory was a slapping sound, which was trees hitting the ground as the waves in the earth went through causing them to swing from 0 degrees (slap on ground) to 90 degrees (usual tree configuration) to 0 degrees other side (slap on ground). Difficult to imagine.

Uncle-A · Jul 26, 2021

Philpug said:
View attachment 138550
@Andy Mink would love all the ducks on the water.

There are a lot of ducks on the pond, I wonder what it would look like in Hunting Season?

dbostedo · Jul 26, 2021

Anchorage also has a cool scale model of the solar system of a sort, called the Anchorage Light Speed Planet Walk. It's scaled so that you're travelling at "light speed" at a normal walking pace. For instance, since light takes 8 minutes to get from the sun to the earth, it should take about 8 minutes to walk from the model of the sun, to the signs for earth. (Of course, that means to do the whole walk out to Pluto (though no longer a planet) takes several hours and goes from downtown along the waterfront around the airport.)

Each planet has a sign... here's one for earth I grabbed online. I only saw a couple of them, and didn't take any pics. The little model of the earth in the upper left is to scale.

GB_Ski · Jul 26, 2021

I don't know the glacier condition this year, but if you can, make the drive to talkeenta, hop on a bush plane and get on the Denali glacier would be fun. If you get a funny pilot, they''ll fly you very close to the the mountains. While in Talkeetna, the roadhouse has great pancakes. If you walk down the street to Sutsina river, you can get an amazing glance of Denali.

P-Ute · Jul 26, 2021

Tricia said:
Our plan for Wednesday is to go to Alyeska. Will likely stay in Girdwood over night. Flying home on Thursday late afternoon.

If you have a little extra time near Girdwood:

Williwaw Fish Viewing Platform (mi 4 Portage Glacier Road) is an excellent spot to view spawning salmon from mid-July through the end of August. Take the Williwaw Nature Trail that follows the creek for additional salmon viewing.

Getting There:
Seward Highway milepost 78.9. The Portage Glacier Road runs southeast about five miles toward the shore of Portage Lake and the highway tunnel to Whittier in Prince William Sound.

John Webb · Jul 26, 2021

10 miles or so south of Anchorage is Bird Creek. Parking area is packed.
Even at 2am it's hard to find a parking space ! People walk up a tiny tiny stream
trying to catch salmon during a salmon run.