It's Official!

I'm an Alaskan!

Wildlife Day

Dad and I went out to search for wildlife today, however, Mother Nature had other plans. With rain and 80 mph winds, we didn't get too far.
We did see some swans.

As for the other animals we were hoping to see, we had to go to the Anchorage Museum.

Native whale carving

Native Textile

To all my kayaking buddies, which paddle would you like to use?

Any of these?

Or perhaps this kayak?

Or maybe one of these boats?

My first fire in Alaska! So nice to have a cozy fire after a cold wet day!

Eileen Ivers with the Anchorage Sympony Orchestra

Listen everyone. There is culture in Anchorage. Dad and I went to the symphony tonight. Check out this video. Eileen Ivers is called the "Jimmy Hendrix of violin" and she showed it tonight.

Fast forward to 2:35 for the really good stuff!

Eklutna Lake and Thunder Bird Falls

Last Sunday, we took a small hike to Thunder Bird Falls. It is listed as a 200 foot waterfall, however it left a lot to be desired.

 We also took a small stroll around Eklutna Lake. Possible grizzly sightings however we didn't run into any, luckily.

 Jameson has to work on looking at the camera.

Weekend trip to Homer

Dad and I ventured to Homer, AK last Saturday. We took a detour to see more glaciers and even saw some icebergs! No moose or Belugas though. :(

Moving to Alaska: 101

Hello everyone! Please don't burn me at the stake for going MIA for 13 days! It's been quite the adventure ever since we landed in Haines, AK for our 775 mile drive to Anchorage.

Before I begin explaining that part of the adventure, let me catch you up on the pictures from the last leg of the ferry. We saw more humpback whales and Dalls porpoises.

Zoom into the middle of the pics to see humpback whales blowing through their blow holes . There was a pod of around 8 whales but they didn't get any closer than this.

 The flag on the back of the Malaspina

 Seagull photo shoot - at this point in the trip, this was the best thing to take a picture of!

Our first glacier of the trip!
 

Closer view of the glacier

 

 Zoom into the middle right of the pic - another humpback blowing but closer than the other pod

 A whale tail!!

We started getting into the real Alaska views about 1 hour from Haines.

 Another great example of a glacier

We landed safely in Haines on October 14th and headed up the road to our destination for the night, Buckshot Betty's, in Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory. What you see is what you get at that place. We had to drive through British Columbia to get to the Yukon. We arrived after over 100 miles of horrible road (all those stories you hear about the Alcan are true!). The frost heaves have huge dips and washboard spots which are super fun when dragging a 6' x 12' trailer behind you. Luckily I have amazing brakes. There is now a hole in the floor where my dad was sitting from pushing his imaginary brake.

Welcome to British Columbia!

 We made it through the Canadian customs without any issue and made it into Alaska (again) on October 15th!!

 Glaciers are everywhere!

We made it to Anchorage in the evening of October 15th! My duplex actually was there and uninhabited so Craigslist didn't let me down! Lots of space for visitors so plan your trip!

On and off the Ferry: Day 2

We made it to Ketchikan around 7 am and it is not raining but foggy. We'll take it. Welcome to Alaska!
I'm going to post throughout the day and update it when I can due to limited service so check back for more pics.
Jameson waited 38 hours, waiting for the grass and boy did he have to go.
Out for a walk we with Papa Smurf.

We found some totem poles!

Docked in Wrangell at 4 pm

Docked in Petersburg at 7 pm. It's dark so no pics. 

Juneau at 4:15 am, then Haines (our destination) at 10:45 am.

On the Ferry: Day 1

Ok, so its day 11 of the trip but I had to switch out up a bit too keep y'all interested. We got settled into our 4 berth cabin after a long wait to get on the ferry.

Jameson can be checked on/fed/watered/bathroomed only 4 times a day unless at a port of call. The poor little guy doesn't go to the bathroom in the dog park let alone on a concrete ship deck. We'll see how long he can hold out. So far, 20 hours.
We started out with a nice sunrise but they're gonna get better! Liking for wildlife, we have a great clear day to catch some sights.
We saw whales! Pics to come once I load them to my computer in Anchorage.
Had a great day and learned to play hearts.
7 am port of call in Ketchikan all maybe Jamers will go then!

Waiting for the Ferry: Day 10

We found the Marine Park near the ferry terminal and took Jameson for a nice long walk. We were first to stage for the Malaspina, our humble abode for the next 2.5 days.

This is what you see while waiting for the ferry. 

Some history of downtown Bellingham. 

Chinese Deadline

Quicksand

Whiskey

Time to load! I'll upload more posts when I have service to do so! Bon voyage!

Alaska Bound: Day 9

We decided to head to Bellingham to be ready for the ferry on Friday. We arrived around 2 pm and had a relaxing night hitting the hay by 8pm (give us a break, its technically 11 pm EST). No amazing pictures but much need rest and relaxation.
Tomorrow is the ferry so be prepared for amazing pictures. No guarantee of when we can post things as internet doesn't exist on the boat and cell service is spotty.