Alaska, Part 3

I am SO glad we decided to travel down to Anchorage.  The last few days have been really fun.  Had we stayed in Fairbanks, we probably would have spent a lot of time trying to simply find things to do, whereas in Anchorage our main problem was trying to decide which things to do because there were so many options.  And I must say, after a week of sleeping in our tent every night, it has been really nice to stay in a hostel and have access to a shower every day (especially considering how cloudy and rainy it has been).





In the last few days,we have explored downtown Anchorage, eaten at some very tasty restaurants, watched the famous bore tides come into Turnagain Arm, taken a day cruise to see wildlife and glaciers in Prince William Sound, visited the rehabilitated wildlife at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, gone whitewater kayaking, AND visited Santa at the North Pole.  We've ended the trip on quite a few good notes, if you ask me, as we return to Tucson tomorrow morning.

The cruise through Prince William Sound was pretty awesome,and I'm so glad we did it.  We got to see a glacier up close and to see/hear it calve and crash into the icy waters below, we ate a really delicious lunch of king crab cakes, we visited the largest salmon hatchery in North America and got to see a fishing boat reel in it's 20,000-pound load of pink salmon,and we got to see bald eagles, sea otter, seals, sea lions, and porpoises.  It was spectacular, and we were lucky to have the most beautiful weather that the captain said he had seen in weeks.  I'm trying to figure out how I can best smuggle a sea otter back to Arizona.  Those things are sickeningly adorable.  (My alternate plan is to break into one of the sled dog kennels and steal a husky puppy...)

Since we never got to take our planned canoe trip in Fairbanks,we decided that we wanted to try to do a day of either canoeing or kayaking before we left Anchorage.  We had thought that we'd just rent a boat and hang out on one of the lakes or something,but we found a place in Wasilla (about 40 miles north of Anchorage) that would take us kayaking on some beginner-friendly rapids.  So, yesterday we suited up in dry suits and helmets, got an intro lesson on how to whitewater kayak, and took off down the river.  We had a guide with us, which was a very good thing because both Josh and I managed to flip ourselves out of our kayaks at different times on the trip.  I don't think you really realize how cold 40-degree glacial rivers are until you are unexpectedly thrown into them.  It was... shocking.  And a bit stressful.  But our guide was awesome and the rapids were actually quite fun (although I do admit that I chickened out and skirted around a few of the bigger ones after my wipeout.)  We took along a cheapo waterproof disposable camera, so there are a few photos which I will try to get on the computer with the others pics at some point.

The area around Anchorage is gorgeous- and I can totally understand why the Seward highway is labelled as one of the prettiest scenic highways in the U.S.  I could never live in a place like this, but I would certainly visit again.

(This bear was rescued as a tiny cub when she was found by some hunters, abandoned by her mother and with hundreds of porcupine quills in her paws, thus unable to walk or do anything for herself.  She's been raised by humans at the Wildlife Conservation Center and can no longer be let back into the wild.)

Back to Tucson tomorrow.  I'll post final links to photos and stuff after we've sorted through and gotten them posted on our respective albums.  It's been a fun trip.