Alaska Trip

I just returned from a 17 day trip to Alaska. This was a special trip because it was with my husband and my parents. Dad just turned 85, and he and Mom have been married almost 52 years. What great fun we had.

We started in Anchorage, then headed down to Seward, "catching" the Exit Glacier before grabbing the ferry in Whittier to Cordova. We arrived in Cordova just in time to catch a day when it officially rained 5.5 inches. Some would bewail their bad luck. Not this foursome. The heavy rains meant that the rivers and waterfalls were wildly exciting.

I’m sure you don’t want all the stories from the trip, but I’ll share a few highlights. We drove about 2000 miles the first 10 days. Dad and Jim climbed up to and on the Worthington Glacier.... in the pouring rain. It rained parts of every day EXCEPT the 2.5 days at Denali when our main trip into the park was crystal clear and the mountain, magnificent.

Jim and I followed a very nice family group of ptarmigan in the tundra through the mist and low clouds. Some of the birds came within a few feet. I envision some moody paintings from that encounter.

Fortunately, we had a number of good close views of caribou (especially fun as Mom and Dad had not seen them in the wild before.) Several times we were close to cow moose with calves, and we saw some particularly large bull moose at Denali.

Birds included Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Short-earred owl, Great Blue Heron, Tundra Swan, and Grouse.

And, mustn’t forget the grizzlies. Our sightings make for some fun and dynamic stories. (And, future paintings!)

My folks, Alden and Barbara Besse, at Denali