(P9301215 - 09/30/02)>Home >Vacations >Alaska Trip >Page 1
Alaska Trip - Page 1
During the first week of October, 2002, Roger & Theresa flew Northwest to Anchorage, Alaska. Roger had been invited to be a Contest Administrator for the Evergreen District contest of barbershopper singers. Contestants came from Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and we think, two provinces of Canada. Before the contest we toured Girdwood/Aleyska, with it's ski area and magnificent hotel/lodge; Seward, with it's seaside boat excursions; and and Talkeetna, with it's staging area for Mt. McKinley climbers. Then after the contest, we took a walking tour of downtown Anchorage. Please enjoy the photos to follow. If only they showed the REAL Alaska! You must not turn down any opportunity to go and enjoy it yourself. It is like Colorado, or the Canadian Rockies, but even better! No kidding! We are thinking that right after Labor Day is maybe best... no crowds, and they still have more tours; plus the light conditions and weather are about like here.
As far as winter temperature, Anchorage gets just a little colder than here. Seward is actually warmer. Snow hardly ever sticks! We talked to transplanted Minnesotans and they told us all about it. Summers in both places are a little milder.
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Don't you love this Alaskan Airlines plane at the Anchorage International Airport.
Anchorage is the largest city and it has 300,000 people, half of all of Alaska. The state is about 20% of the size of the lower 48!
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Our drive through drizzly rain one hour to the south of Anchorage. See the fall foliage, water, mountains...mile after mile of this.
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In Girdwood, our Alyeska lodging, with ski lift behind. Beautiful!
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Our first self-portrait in the hotel restaurant.
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Theresa In front of a very showy hotel fireplace. She does not especially like taxidermied animals, but took an exception this time.
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Roger in the hotel lobby. What a sight. Taxidermied Polar bear in a diorama.
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Our Seward boat excursion captain... a salty dog with a great sense of humor who had the expertise to cross the Pacific SOLO TWICE, so we thought we could trust him with our lives, even though he piloted with two hooks for hands. The enclosed boat had room for 75 persons, but during this slow "shoulder season" we had only 17 passengers. It was very casual, and friendly; and they served sandwiches for lunch. He had a young man who did this, and also tied up the boat, etc.
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Looking behind the boat as we sped to dozens of magnificent scenes like this.
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One of several scenic waterfalls on this 2-1/2 hour sea voyage. One of my favorite photos. Shall I frame it?
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A glacier which does not actually calve into the sea like those which come right up to the water's edge. This one, looking rather like a road, stops a half mile short of the sea, and just melts away. ( It will take a trip earlier in the season to see the calving glaciers.)
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Look closely and see sea lions on the rocks.
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A friendly passenger offered to take our photo while on board. It was chilly but not unbearable, (maybe 40 degrees and windy) but we were indoors a lot of the time.
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The captain stopped here so we could really take this all in. Such magnificence. One of my favorites. Probably should frame this one too.
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