My trip was AMAZING (look at the pictures). The flight to Anchorage is a tour in itself; on a clear day, you can see mountains filled with glaciers and ice fields. It literally looks like another planet. As we neared Anchorage, we saw something we hadn't seen in a while...a nice flat valley! Again, this place was strange to us, not what we've come to know as Alaska.
After we landed in Anchorage, I think all three of us (me and my co-clerks) had a strange sensation. Where were we? Juneau is so unique that being in Anchorage was a bit scary at first (the big city, oh my?!). Then, we saw the Chili's in the airport and knew we had found civilization and Am-er-i-cuh. The cab ride to our hotel was surreal as well. Anchorage looks a lot like California; big city in a lush valley with water on one side and mountains in the distance. This false comparison would quickly evaporate with moose encounters, but more on that later...
The state put us up in the nicest hotel in Anchorage (score!). However, it's so fancy that they charge for access to their "fitness club" (fail). We spent our first night roaming town, sampling the local breweries, checking out the coastal trail and watching one of the most gorgeous sunsets ever.
Orientation was kind of bland, but the best part was visiting the Native Heritage Center. I didn't take any pictures there because I felt it was rude and/or disrespectful. Plus, our tour guide had chin strap tattoos and I'm pretty sure she could take me.
On Saturday, we arranged a trip for the 3 of us and some of our new Anchorage friends to go visit Seward, a town about two hours from Anchorage. We did the "combo tour," meaning we boarded a bus (or "luxury motorcoach") in Anchorage by 6:45 AM, arrived in Seward and had 1.5 hours to wander (prob about 1.25 hours longer than necessary), took a 6 hour sight-seeing boat tour and then returned on the Alaska scenic railroad, a 4-hour journey. It was well worth the journey and sleep deprivation. Although some of the big ticket animals, like whales, are starting to head south, we saw a TON of stuff and the weather generally held out too. Here is a list: bald eagle, black bear, mountain goat, moose, orca whales (5), humpback whales (2), dall porpoises, calving glaciers, sea lions, harbor seals, regular seals, sea otters, puffins and a ton of seabirds. I didn't get all of these marvels on camera because a lot of them pop their heads out of the water to play, but then go down so fast that it's nearly impossible to catch them. I only got seasick for a portion of the 6 hour boat-ride (mostly when we were cruising up and down 15 foot swells...yay, Gulf of Alaska!). I can tell you one thing, being out in the middle of the ocean in the Northwest really seems like the end of the Earth. It requires a huge leap of faith that the boat will somehow bring you back to land. I have no idea how Columbus, Captain Cook and all those other seafarers did it back in the day. All I know is that their lives on land must have been PRETTY miserable...
On Sunday morning, I got up early to accompany a new friend on a training run (he's running his first marathon in about a month). This meant a chipper 20 mile run, which was great for getting to know Anchorage and its great trails. We encountered two moose up close, which was quite terrifying. The first one I spotted by the steam coming out of its nose (if that gives you any indication of how close we were). We hid behind a tree to observe it walking out on the trail, but luckily we didn't startle it (which will likely make the animal charge). A few miles later, we encountered another moose and literally almost ran into it. We calmly walked back up the trail and this moose was curious. She decided to follow (terrifying). Although she walked up the trail after us, she eventually lost interest as we hid behind neighboring trees and headed back into the forest next to the trail. Then, we politely trotted past and hoped she didn't get angry and charge. It really gave us the adrenaline rush we needed to keep running! On Sunday afternoon, we went to Lake Eklutna, a beautiful lake with hiking trails, camping and canoing areas. About half the clerks went and we hiked/wandered and canoed (or attempted to). One girl in my canoe flipped out and while half-crying demanded we take her back to shore. So we did. After we were exhausted, we started a campfire and made s'mores. Just like summer camp...
On Monday, we had more orientation. The highlight of that day was our "safety orientation," telling us what to do if we see bears, moose, run out of drinking water, get trapped by a flowing stream, etc. Basically, it was "How NOT to Die in Alaska 101." Cross your fingers for me!
Apparently, the actual Palin quote was that she could see Russia from Alaska (not "her house"). Apparently, this is true. Wasilla, her hometown, is close to Anchorage (just a bit farther North). I did not see Russia from Anchorage.
Lastly, Bud drove us back to the airport in his "official state use only" vehicle. I felt so special. However, it's good to be home. Goodbye chain stores and bar scene, hello rain!
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