Fairbanks, Part 1

We are in beautiful, sunny Fairbanks! It is so nice to finally see the sun, because it has been so cloudy. We went up and visited my uncle at his cabin on Thursday & Friday, but I forgot to take pictures (sorry, Grandma). Then today we did a bunch of stuff in Fairbanks before picking up my friend Tasha from the airport. Tasha will be joining me for the trip back east, which is so cool!!! I'll post details about our itinerary once we figure it out. But for now, here's some snaps from Fairbanks.

Susanne & I outside Pioneer Park in Fairbanks. It's pretty nice in here. They have a lot of museums and old log cabins that have been preserved.

They also have this riverboat that was preserved from the gold rush era that you can walk around inside.

That's me coming out of a little house that's kept at 40 below! My dad insisted I go in. It was soooooooooooo cold I think that the snot in my sinuses froze!

We went to El Dorado gold mine, which is a working mine, and went panning for gold. My dad used to do this, so he knows how and he showed us. We got about 7 grains of gold, which was worth about $50 altogether. I got it put into a locket.

A big old grizzly bear at the Museum of the North in the U of Alaska. It's like 9 feet tall!

And here's my hand inside the grizzly track. Hope I don't meet one of those while hiking in the woods!

Athabascan natives make these amazing beaded items & intricately woven baskets. It is so amazing to see. I wish I could afford to buy some, but it's pretty expensive since it's so detailed.

This is a Tlingit ceremonial robe. The Tlingit & Haida art is probably my favorite of all the native art.

Tomorrow we are going to the farmer's market & the Tanana Valley Fair. Not sure when I'll have another chance to post pictures-maybe when we are back in the Yukon. Tasha & I will be leaving Denali and heading out of Alaska on Tuesday.

The Kenai

We spent two days touring the Kenai Peninsula, which had some of my favorite parts of Alaska (so far). The drive along the Turnagain Arm on the way out of Anchorage to the Kenai is gorgeous, even on a cloudy day. Here's my favorite shot from that part of the drive:

On Monday we drove down the Sterling Highway to Homer., making a bunch of stops. One of them was at this little overlook near Kenai Lake. The water was such an amazing color-and we even had some sun!

Here's a beautiful fireweed that I saw growing near the lake. I think this might be one of my overall favorite pictures from the trip so far.

This is the Russian Orthodox Church in the town of Ninilchik. It has such an amazing view.

We were also able to see some of the volcanoes in the Aleutian range. This is Mount Iliamna.

We also saw tons of eagles, both bald and golden. I got a lot of pictures, but this was one of the best.

On the way back up from Homer, we took a detour into Kenai. That was a really neat town, and I think if I ever moved to Alaska, that might be where I'd want to live. It's in a good location, with gorgeous views. Here's a shot of the Russian Orthodox Church there.

We stayed at a beautiful lodge called Summit Lake on Monday night. The next day we drove down to Seward, where we took a boat cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park. It was windy, rainy and grey, so we didn't see as much scenery, but it was still awesome! We also went to the Alaska Sea Life center; here's a harbor seal at that aquarium:

The next three shots are all from the cruise. Here are some Stellar sea lions:

This big guy was definitely in charge on this rock:

The water there in Resurrection Bay was also an amazing color, and it was so starkly beautiful.

The captain of our boat was great. He took us pretty far out in the Gulf of Alaska to try and find some whales. We didn't see any, but it was still an awesome time. We had some great pizza in Seward and then stopped at Exit Glacier, also in Kenai Fjords National Park, on the way out of town. We hiked a trail called "Edge of the Glacier," which I had thought would enable me to actually touch the glacier. I was so disappointed when I got to the top and found out I couldn't actually touch it. But it was still nice.

Tomorrow my dad and I are heading up to Healy and then to Fairbanks on the weekend. My awesome friend Tasha is flying in late Saturday night to drive home with me, and we're going to spend a few days in Denali National Park before starting to head home on Tuesday. Not sure where we're going yet, so stay tuned. I'm having an amazing time, but this adventure isn't even half over yet!

Laid-Back (Sort Of) Weekend

I can't believe it's August already! I have been traveling since July 2; so far, in only 30 days, I have visited: 15 states (NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI, IA, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA & AK); 3 countries (Canada, Bermuda & Turks and Caicos); and 2 US Commonwealths (Puerto Rico and the US Virign Islands). Before my trip ends, I'll probably visit about 11 more states (OR, CA, NV, UT, CO, KA, MO, AR, TN, KY & WV). I've driven almost 6,000 miles, plus traveled another 3,000 by ship. I've been to 5 National Parks/Monuments (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore & Yellowstone National Park) and will probably visit at least 6 more (Kenai Fjords, Denali, Crater Lake, Redwoods, Yosemite, Capitol Reef, & Rocky Mountains).

This weekend we stayed pretty close to home-well, my dad's home, that is. On Saturday we went to Anchorage to the street fair and out to dinner at this awesome place called Suite 100. We also went to this used bookstore called Title Wave Books-so awesome! Used bookstores are my favorite places to hunt for treasures. I got 3 books about Alaska plus a novel for about $25-you can't beat that. We also went to the Alaska Wildberry Gift Shop, where I saw the world's largest chocolate fountain:

Man, did I want to dive right in there! But my dad wouldn't let me. Afterwards, we went to a few scenic places in the city, where I was able to see a nice view of Anchorage from a park near the airport:

Today we went to the Iditorad Trail Headquarters. That's me petting the statue of Balto:

We also had the salmon tonight, along with some yummy shelled peas:

 

Although my dad cooked the salmon to perfection and it had a nice flavor, I unfortunately didn't like the texture. So I just had peas, corn, bread & cheese. But at least I got try some really fresh salmon.

Tomorrow we're heading on an overnight trip down to the Kenai Peninsula, which I'm really excited about. We're going to see some Russian Orthodox churches in Kenai and maybe go tide-pooling in Homer. Then we're going to stay overnight at a place called Summit Lake & then drive down to Seward, stopping at Exit Glacier along the way. In Seward we're going to have a look around, maybe go the Sea Life Center (which is an aquarium) and then go on a boat cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park, where we'll see a glacier and hopefully a bunch of wildlife! And I'm also hoping that somewhere along the way some Alaskan king crab legs see the inside of my tummy!