Alaskan Adventure

Wow, how do you write about such a wonderful adventure without boring the readers and writing a book? My eyes, my mind, and my body feel like a sponge that could not absorb one tiniest drop of water.

My eyes are saturated with the beauty of Alaska. How do I describe the scary feeling of flying through a sleet storm in a small engine plane just to burst above the clouds and view the magnificence of Mt. McKinley up close, the drifting clouds against the white of the snow fields, shadow upon shadow of jagged peaks against jagged peaks. How to explain the beauty of viewing wildlife in natural habitat, mommy grizzly romping in a stream with her two cubs, daddy bull moose with his proud antlers, the lone wolf performing antics for our bus as if to say, “You came here to see me so I am going to give you a show!” the bittersweet beauty of watching a glacier calving. Bittersweet because you know that in that moment, the glacier is reducing in size. Will it be here for future generations to view its beauty?

My mind is saturated with the knowledge I have gained I now know how to tell a young bald eagle from a mature one. (A young eagle has kind of “dirty” white head feathers; a mature eagle’s head feathers are completely white — think “elderly human”!) I walked in an ancient forest and learned the ecosystem and felt so close to the Higher Being (I call Him God) who created all of it. I have learned history of Northwest Indians, legends of the totem carvings. I know Juneau, the capitol, has no road leading into or out of it!! We decided that was best as it kept the politicians in one place :0

My body is saturated with food, the most scrumptious salmon you will ever eat (and I don’t usually like salmon). I gained 8 pounds, enough said!

If I had to choose my favorite experience, I would have to say the Dog Sled Summer Camp. It was a thrill to be pulled a mile by a dog sled team. The cacophony of howling that took place as the dogs were being harnessed up filled the air with excitement (no, the howling wasn’t from the tourists!) I never knew how much the Alaskan dogs loved their “job” and I will definitely be following the Iditarod this year with a new appreciation for the musher and dog sled team, knowing the hardships they go through.

Despite trying for eight days straight, I didn’t see the Northern Lights. Am I bummed? Not really as it is just an excuse for another Alaskan ROAD TRIP! So…

• Don’t go to Alaska with preconceived “wants”; Do open your eyes to all the beauty
• Don’t over pack your clothes; Do keep space for all the souvenirs
• Don’t worry if you got the perfect picture; Do know it doesn’t matter as all of them are memories
• Don’t sweat the small stuff; Do just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy

The Seattle portion of this adventure will come in a future blog “installment.”

[tags]Alaska, Alaskan travel[/tags]