Sunday, February 13, 2011

My Trip to Alaska in July 2010

 A seagull at Cook Inlet outside Anchorage
 Cook Inlet
 If I remember correctly, this was taken from near the top of Flat Top Mountain. We only made it about 3/4 the way up.



 Mt. McKinley, a.k.a. Denali. I was lucky to get a shot of the peak. Usually, there is a lot of cloud cover hiding the peak.

 This is the little town of Talkeetna, AK. Very popular with tourists & locals alike. Anybody brave enough to attempt a climb of Denali, has to register here & be flown to the base camp from here.



 I shot pics of so many mountains, I couldn't even begin to tell you which was which, other than Denali. We went all over the place.


 Mama moose & calf grazing in the marsh.
 The midnight sun, setting over the mountain in Fairbanks, AK. I shot this pic at 3 minutes past midnight, out the motel window.

 This was taken at Chena Hot Springs.  A lot of people like this place, but honestly, it didn't appeal to me at all.
 This little squirrel was at Chena Hot Springs. He was munching on a mushroom, oblivious to the humans surrounding him.
 A large stack of moose antlers at Chena Hot Springs.




 Glenna & I sitting on the Alaska Pipeline.
 Tim & Glenna also took me on a wildlife/glacier cruise in Prince William Sound. This was the highlight of my Alaska trip.

 Sea lions soaking up the sun.
 Bald Eagles were numerous around Esther Hatchery, which is a salmon hatchery in Prince William Sound.

 A actually got a shot of a salmon jumping out of the water.
 Mama & calf Humpback whales.

 Sea otters at play.

 This is the main glacier on the cruise. It's called Surprise Glacier. We pulled up about 1/4 mile away from the glacier to watch the calving. Calving is when huge chunks of the glacier break away and fall into the water. When this happens, the breakaway sounds like thunder echoing!
 Still part of Surprise Glacier.
 Yet another shot of Surprise Glacier.
 A shot of Glenna (right) & I with Surprise Glacier in the background.

 A waterfall created from melting glaciers.
 Another glacier as we were driving out of Whittier. Whittier is a tiny town that is actually closed off during the winter. It is only a boating community. You have to drive through a 2.2 mile long tunnel cut through a mountain to get there, and the tunnel is only accessible during certain hours of the day. Automobile traffic must share this tunnel with a freight train. The passages are timed accordingly.


I had a great time while I was there. We also went 4-wheeling at Denali National Park. That was the first time I had ever been on a 4-wheeler, but it felt natural. I had a blast!