When I semi-spontaneously made the decision to visit Alaska,
I had very little information on what to expect. Bears? Snow? Salmon?
The really lovely thing about school is that they teach you
about Africa’s history, and Asia’s history, and American history… but I can’t
ever remember a teacher uttering a fact about Alaska. Thank you Arbor
Montessori School, for fostering my interests and what I wanted to learn… as
long as it was about an Asian or African country.
Suffice to say, I know very little about our country’s
biggest state.
Thankfully, a dear friend moved to Alaska to be with her
boyfriend, and so I took the opportunity to visit. On the phone with her prior
to leaving, she emphasized two things.
- I would get bored in her little town of Talkeetna.
- I must bring a winter coat, because Alaska’s weather is unpredictable.
It was true that by the end, her little town was just
another little tourist town. Highlights of the trip were flying in my friend’s
boyfriend’s plane up to Denali (AKA Mt. McKinley*), flying his float plane low
near the river and seeing the landscape, and beer canning for Denali Brewing
Company.
*Apparently, the mountain was called Denali, meaning “The great
one,” originally. The US Government renamed it Mount McKinley, and apparently,
the Alaskan government has made several unsuccessful attempts to have the name
changed back to Denali.
The coolest thing about flying is getting to see things you
could likely never see from the ground. I don’t ski, nor do I have serious
experience climbing, so snowy Mt. McKinley is nowhere near my climbing capabilities.
It was incredibly fortunate then that I did get to jump into a couple glacier
flights.
They were spectacular and huge. I wanted to jump out of the
plane and go ice skating down the glaciers. It looked so perfect and dreamy.
It was a different kind of dreamy inside Denali Brewing; a
dreamy hoppy smell wafted from the windows as I approached the building, some
ten miles out of town. I met a couple more travelers and a few locals, and once
we started packaging, it was super quick. Kudos to Henry Ford for the assembly
line. We packed more than 2 tons of beer, and each got two cases for a few
hours of work. I’d definitely do it again somewhere else if I got the
opportunity.
Each time I travel, there is one aspect that remains the
same: I find exponentially more activities I want to do somewhere.
A few things on my to do list for Alaska, when I go back.
- See the salmon jump.
- Go ice climbing (on any glacier, really!)
- Camping in Denali National Park
- See a bear
- Go dog sledding
- See the Northern Lights
- Be there in the dead of summer, when the sun stays above the horizon all night long.
And now, some photos, captions underneath. Enjoy!
Stuck my toes in this lake. So chilly! Note the ice flows a few meters away.
Alas, I didn't see any bears.
This is lake X-Y, just a few moments from my friend's house.
Mountains! That's Denali / Mt. McKinley on the far right.
Inside that case are thousands of empty cans. And to the right, the machine which cans them!
Flying up in Denali National Park.
Flying in Denali National Park. That's Denali / Mt. McKinley up there, I believe. The cloud you see at the top is actually snow blowing off, giving you an idea of how windy it is up there!
That plane holds 10ish people.
Can't see Denali due to the fog, taken from the river in Talkeetna
The old railroad bridge! Still in use. :)
I don't know what these are, but thought they were so cute!
A cinnamon bun from Roadhouse, a must in Talkeetna. That's my thumbprint there; I struggled taking it from the bag!
So many massive glaciers.
See that dot all the way down, a centimeter or so from the bottom? That's me.
Flying around the rivers at sunset.
Thanks for reading! My (freezing) toes!
