30 August 2007

The last frontier

...no, it's not space (that's the 'final' frontier....)

The last frontier is Alaska. And it is truly a place to behold. I'm working on uploading my pictures.

The family and I (plus Sibling's gf) had an amazing time. We were in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier National Park, Whittier and Anchorage. Some of these places are only reachable by boat and plane, perhaps by train. Or, there is just one road in and out. But only in the summertime when it's not buried under snow. Then it's time to bust out the dogsleds.

The sheer scale of things in Alaska boggles the mind. The sky is huge (even bigger than Texas, oh yes); the ocean is vast; the mountains are really that green. I feel like I've been on another planet. And the diversity of wildlife! We saw: Beluga whales, humpback whales, orcas, bald eagles, moose, all varieties of bear, elk, reindeer, HUGE spawning salmon, musk ox, porpuses, harbor seals, puffins and sea lions.

We had daylight from 5:30 in the morning to 10 at night. The people are generous and friendly.
I cannot wait to return and get a chance to explore this part of our country on a deeper level.

3 comments:

math jedi said...

awesome!!! :) can't wait to see the pictures!

Sharona said...

That sounds amazing!! I can't wait until you return and we can sit on your couch for hours looking at your pix and drinking ze vino...

Anonymous said...

that sounds awesome!