Alaska: The Last Frontier

We made it to the last frontier!

We set off on our adventure on 3 hours of sleep (it was a late night and early morning… but thankfully, no flight issues since we caught the first one out!) and arrived in Anchorage on June 30th. We took the beautiful Seward Highway south, catching a view of two bald eagles soaring above us, and strolled around downtown Seward. We walked along Resurrection Bay and stopped to watch a group of fishermen dipping in their lines where the creek met the bay. We were told this is a great spot to catch salmon when they’re spawning. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much action today. We also saw our first seal in the distance popping in and out of the water. We continued to the harbor and were greeted by a fishing cruise that had just finished. The largest halibut caught on the trip was 91 pounds. That’s a lot of fish! We wandered around the boat docks, taking in the views, and finally decided to head back to the car to check into our picture-perfect Alaskan cabin. It was tucked away in the trees, had a creek with spawning salmon next to it, and was adorable and quaint. Our first tiny home experience!

Our legs did not know what was in store on Day 2 of our Alaskan adventures, but the views we earned would be worth every step and sore muscle! On Friday, we hiked Harding Icefield, following Exit Glacier from the valley floor to the tip-top of the mountain. With 3,500 elevation gain in 3 hours, you quickly earn a beautiful view even when you’re hiking in the clouds, mist and all! We were relieved to make it to the first viewpoint and were blown away by the views. We stopped for our much-deserved lunch and were awed by the glistening blues in the glacier and the “ants” walking along on the glacier, preparing to go ice climbing. We continued through the snow fields and finally reached the summit marker and top of the mountain. Simply beautiful! Even with the clouds obstructing our views, it was still incredible. If you want to feel bad-ass, hike a mountain in Alaska!

Can you find me?

By the time we made it to the bottom, our legs were a little jelloey and ready for a break. We hopped in the hot tub at the Airbnb and relaxed, listening to the creek next to us, watching the salmon jumping around, and keeping an ear out for any rustling in the bushes… Per the recommendation from the Airbnb, we took the bear spray with us and kept it close. There’s a first for everything, but luckily, we did not need the spray!

We ended the day chowing down on a fresh halibut and seafood Mac and cheese. You have to savor the seafood in a place like Seward!

The sun was shining on Saturday, and we were excited to get out and enjoy it! We started the day grabbing a coffee and walking through the little street fair. We continued on strolling again by the water and then set off to the Seward Sealife Center. Our favorite part was watching the seals bopping around in the water and catching the Steller sea lion feeding. This sea lion was massive and yet still had the moves. At 1900-pounds, he entertained us all by spinning in circles, jumping onto and off the rocks, waiving, and barking loudly to request more fish. He was a beast and quite entertaining!

We grabbed a late lunch/early dinner, then set off to get ready for our next big adventure… kayaking in Resurrection Bay to Bridal Falls. We opted for the evening excursion, which began at 6:30 pm. We fought the waves on our way to the falls, but were rewarded for our hard work on the way back. Thankfully we did not have any whale encounters this time and instead enjoyed watching a bald eagle and a few sea otters checking us out. We disembarked at Bridal Falls and took a short hike through the coastal rainforest to catch sight of the three-tiered waterfall. Once back on the beach, our guide picked some miners’ lettuce and sea pickles for us to taste. I’m not sure I’d care to live on either one, but they were fun to try! Our kayak trip ended at 10:30 pm, and the sun was still out. It’s fun to have so much daylight, but it makes it hard to go to bed!

On Sunday, we left the fun little town of Seward and headed north to Palmer. We spotted one mama moose and two babies along the way, our first big wildlife! Unless it’s the end of August and the Alaska State Fair is going on, there’s not much to see in Palmer, but it’s where my sister lived and where I was first introduced to Alaska, so I had to share it with Jeff. We stopped at Vegabond Blues for lunch, snagging a gigantic cookie and yummy bird seed ball to snack on later. With it being Sunday and a holiday, most of the downtown shops were unfortunately closed, so we decided to head to Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine instead. Independence Mine is a former gold mine that mined nearly 6 million dollars worth of gold and closed for good in 1951. We wandered through the old mine town, popping into a few of the restored buildings and climbing the trail up to the water tunnel portal for a spectacular view of the mine backed by mountains and the Matanuska Valley.

While heading back to Palmer, we ogled at the snow packs sitting on the river bank, barely dipping into the water and creating a stunning blue river. We enjoyed dinner sitting on the porch at Palmer Alehouse, people watching and mountain watching, and ended the day with a stroll around Reflections Lake. We searched for moose from the elevated viewing tower and enjoyed a peaceful walk around the lake.

Our newest Airbnb was even smaller than the first. It was on Monday morning, after sleeping in the loft with minimal head space, that Jeff was heard saying, “I am officially off the tiny home bandwagon” – I never thought he would say this! But there’s just not enough room for a tall guy!

We headed north to Talkeetna and Denali to celebrate the 4th of July! We journeyed along the highway, keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife in the bushes, and stopped near Mile Marker 133 to catch a view of the mountain. Unfortunately, the mountain was hiding behind a cloud. Too bad! But there were plenty of other mountains to look at, and the little walk around the viewpoint was a nice way to stretch our legs. We stopped at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge for one more peek at the Alaska Range, sitting out on the patio and taking in the view before heading back to the spunky town of Talkeetna.

We checked into our last Airbnb of the trip and were amazed at how perfect it was. It was another teeny-tiny cabin but did not have a loft. Yay! The cabin sat right next to the Susitna River and looked straight at Denali. #roomwithaview We spent the afternoon wandering around the historic, throw-back town of Talkeetna. We popped into the little shops and admired the old-style cabins and original shops, including Nagley’s Store and the Fairview Inn. What a charming little town! We also finally found the must-try fireweed ice cream! Fireweed is a beautiful pink flower that lines the highways and covers the mountains, and it’s an edible plant!

Next up, we decided to go for a little hike/walk around the lakes nearby. After digging through our pockets for cash (who carries cash these days?!) We started our hike and immediately realized it was a bad idea… a 1/2 mile in, I had eight mosquito bites, and Jeff was being devoured as well. We quickly decided to turn around and beelined it to the car.

Instead of being eaten alive, we decided to grab poke bowls from one of the little huts and followed that with a drink from Denali Brewery. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards outside our cabin, taking in the views and soaking in the beautiful weather.

At the start of our trip, we said we needed to stay up to watch at least one sunset while we were here… we made it to midnight and decided that had to be late enough. The sun still wasn’t set by the time we put our eye masks on and went to sleep, but we couldn’t stay up all night! According to Google, the sunset was at 11:50 pm, and sunrise was 4:20 am, however, it never actually gets dark. During the summer, “civil twilight” is as dark as it gets, meaning there’s still enough sunlight for ordinary outdoor activities. Crazy!

The next morning, we were greeted by Denali itself! We opened our eyes, and BAM! There was the mountain! We’re officially part of the 30% club now (Only 30% of people who come to see Denali actually get to see the mountain, the other 70% see clouds!). We hopped out of bed, snapped a few photos, then grabbed breakfast and enjoyed sipping our coffee and munching on bagels while sitting out enjoying the fresh morning air and a view that most people don’t ever get to see. What a way to start the day!

As the clouds began to come in, hiding our view of the majestic mountain, we decided it was time to pack up and head back to Anchorage. We stopped at Bodenburg Butte to stretch our legs and catch some views of the valley. It was another steep hike, this time with stairs to help us, but the views, as always, were worth it.

We also took a little detour to Eagle River Nature Center. When I visited here before, the creeks were full of spawning salmon, and I was hoping to share that experience with Jeff, however, when we got to the viewing platforms, we were greeted with quiet, still water. According to the locals, the salmon show is coming in a couple of weeks, just a little too late for us! Luckily the mountains were still gorgeous, and we had fun walking along another part of the Iditarod Trail.

We ended the day stuffing ourselves with the best pizza I’ve had in a long time… hot, delicious, and entirely gut-friendly! We had to wait an hour to be seated and another hour to get our food, but it was completely worth it, and everyone else in town knew it! If you’re ever in Anchorage, check out Moose’s Tooth!

On Thursday, we headed east to Girdwood. Our first stop was a little hike near Alyeska Resort. Unfortunately, the hand tram (the exciting part of the hike) was closed, but we decided to do the hike anyway. We wound our way along Winner Creek trail, following the water, admiring the raging waterfalls, and stopping to take a photo with the (famous in my family) “butt tree.” We took our shoes off at the top of the trail and dipped our toes in the icy water. It was quite refreshing for the whole 3 seconds I was in there! Jeff tolerated the cold for a bit longer… but not by much!

Following the hike, we took the Aerial Tram to the top of Mt. Alyeska. We debated hiking up the face of the mountain, but boy, are we glad we opted to be lazy! The incline on that trail looked worse than the icefield and something we really could live without… so instead, we grabbed a drink, pulled out a deck of cards, and enjoyed the views of the hanging glaciers and Turnagain Arm while relaxing and royally enjoying ourselves.

On Friday, we took to the rails! We boarded our car on the Alaska Railroad at 9:45 am and enjoyed every minute of our train ride to Whittier (oh, how we miss trains!). Once in Whittier, we transferred to a boat for our 26 Glacier cruise, 5 hours of sailing through Prince William Sound and seeing some incredible sights.

We hit the jackpot with our assigned seats! We had unobstructed views, with two seats facing the front of the boat. Absolutely perfect for gazing out at the waters while eating our delicious salmon chowder.

Although it was rainy and chilly, we didn’t spend much time inside. The best views were from the deck of the boat. We found the perfect little nook and took in the sights with an older gentleman who reminded me so much of my grandpa. His joy and excitement were contagious and so fun to share the experience with.

On our way to the first glacier, we saw a couple of otters pass by, and our captain said he would only stop for a “raft of otters.” A while later, we saw a group of 5-10 otters and thought, “Oh, this must be the raft he was talking about!” But nope, we blazed right by those little guys who were chilling and watching us pass by. It wasn’t long until we saw several little black dots out in the water and felt the boat starting to slow down… the dots became bigger, and we could see at least 30 otters grouped together just hanging out. This is about the time when we learned what a “raft of otters” really was. We saw two other large rafts in the same area, and who knows how many otters, at least 70!

We also slowed to spy on the giant sea lions lying on a little island. Some were “fighting,” others were jumping in and out of the water, and many were talking to each other. At the end of our tour, the captain took us to one last spot to gawk at hundreds of black-legged kittiwakes nesting on the cliff next to the waterfall. There were sooo many!

So many birds!

Surprise Glacier was our favorite glacier on the tour. Not only was it massive and a beautiful blue, but it was also where we saw bits of the glacier falling off into the water. We’d see a chunk fall, then hear the loud crack. According to the captain, the largest chunk we saw fall was likely the size of a VW bug. This is also where we saw seals poking their heads out of the water and lounging on the icebergs, and where the crew collected some ice off an iceberg and were sharing “glacier ice” margaritas, soda, and water. Yes, we tried some. It was bittersweet staring at these incredible feats of nature, hearing the captain say how large the glaciers were when he started ten years ago as compared to now and knowing so many people will never have the chance to see them. We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity!

The train ride home was just as enjoyable as the ride to Whittier, but with the added bonus of stopping to watch a group of Dall sheep climb along the cliffs. We arrived back in Anchorage at 9:30 pm and barely made it to Matanuska Brewery for a fish taco dinner, eating quickly so we didn’t keep the staff past closing.

With our time in Alaska nearing its end, we opted to stick close to Anchorage for the next two days. Friday started out quiet but quickly became more exciting as we witnessed a van almost roll down the side of the mountain… as we were getting ready to hike Flattop Sunnyside Trail, a van pulled up to park on the shoulder of the gravel road. As the driver was adjusting the parking job, we heard a loud thud and saw that the van was literally sitting on two wheels tipping downhill. The driver quickly jumped out, and we all gaped in silence. Ultimately, the owners decided to call a tow truck (a good idea because the only other option at this point was to roll it down the hill…), and by the time we finished the hike, the tow truck had come, the van was pulled off the side of the road, and the group was beginning their hike. What an adventure! See if we ever park on the cliff side of a mountain road after seeing that!

With our adrenalin pumping, we were ready to begin our (what we thought would be) a nice relaxing morning hike. However, because it's Alaska, the hike ended up being steeper than we expected and more of a workout versus morning stroll… but like everything else, worth it in the end. The trails were lined with bright pink flowering fireweed, and the views continued to get better and better the higher we went. At the top of the mountain, we took in the landscape with views of the city, Turnagain Arm, and mountains backed by mountains. The views were spectacular and even better since we earned them!

Next up was a trip to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Since we hadn’t seen much wildlife yet, we figured this would be a fun way to support the conservation efforts while catching a safe view of some incredible wildlife. However, as we made our way down the highway, the sky quickly turned grey, the sun disappeared, and the rain began to cover our windshield. With even darker clouds in the distance, we decided to swap plans for the day and instead headed back to Anchorage where the weather looked significantly better.

We stopped at a park near the bay to walk around and found what may have been Jeff’s favorite part of the trip… airplanes coming in for a landing literally right above us. The path we found took us right to the end of the airport’s runway, and as we looked out over the water, we searched for the plane’s headlights to appear. We locked in and watched as the lights began to grow bigger and bigger until all of a sudden, the plane was flying right above us, wheels out and ready to land. The rumble from the engines shot through our body, the wind struck our face, and the smell of fuel and breaks filled our nostrils. It was pretty incredible! I’m not sure how long we stayed there or how many planes we watched land, but the best were definitely the 747 cargo jets, they were massive! The propeller planes wobbling in the air as they prepared to meet the ground were not quite as spectacular, but they were still fun to watch!

We continued on, and while strolling around Kincaid Park, we spotted our second moose of the trip! She was tucked behind a tree munching on some leaves, and had no care in the world that bikers and walkers were passing by.

Saturday was our last day in this incredible state. We strolled around downtown Anchorage, popping our heads in a few shops before taking off to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center since we had missed it the day before. There was so much to see at the conservation, including a baby moose (and adults), muskox, wood bison (with the best hairdos), caribou, elk, wolves, porcupines, reindeer, and (our favorite) bears.

The bears were so active while we were there, one walked along the fence, giving us an up-close view of his massive structure, including his enormous paws and claws (we’re so glad we didn’t encounter one of these on our hikes!). Another bear sat “hiding” in the trees while watching us walk by, and two others were playing in a little pond. Jeff even caught a silly video of one of the bears in the pond playing with a stick. One time the bear tossed the stick into the air and then looked around, confused as to where it had gone. As we all saw, the stick had landed in the water behind him. They were so fun to watch!

We spent our last evening hiking to Byron Glacier and were captivated once again by the views. We followed the raging water up to the snowpack and found where the river began, right at a little cave carved out of the snow. We were also once again struck by the number of waterfalls running down the mountain sides and the beautiful blue glistening against the white snow. What an incredible sight!

We ended our trip with one last seafood dinner at 49th State Brewery. Jeff had enjoyed their raspberry blonde earlier in the trip, so it was fun to check out the brewery where it originated. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the raspberry beer on hand, but they did have a pina colada beer that was definitely worth a taste! Our dinner was delicious as well. Jeff ordered the seafood mac & cheese, and man was it good! I still can’t decide if it was as good as my halibut, but it did make me miss mac & cheese!

And just like that, our trip came to an end. We flew out early Sunday morning, waking up at 5 am, and were greeted by the never-setting sun (it made the morning wake-up call a little easier). We had an absolute blast exploring the last frontier. The sheer amount of undiscovered land, the incredible mountain ranges that go for miles, the challenging but rewarding hikes, and the beauty of it all was something else. When can we go back?!