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The story of our Alaska trip...July 18-Aug. 3, 2013

cruisin'mama

By cruisin'mama,
in Alaska

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Chenega

Chenega

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Posted
I just checked the posts I done so far and even though I preview my posts before submitting it' date=' it looks like not all the pictures are posting...

 

Better go to bed and take another crack at it in the morning :confused:[/quote']

 

Although I live up here, I really enjoy your beautiful pictures of our state. They're a great advertisement for what Alaska has to offer. Even better that you were here while the summer weather was gorgeous. It's raining now but we can use it since things have been so dry.

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cruisin'mama

cruisin'mama

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Thank you for your kind words. I love good scenery pictures so I wanted to take a lot of pictures in hopes that I got enough good ones that I could make a hard-covered book for our " photo album" of the trip. So I was afraid that I might be getting a little carried away with my posts! ( even though it seems not all the pictures are posting )

 

I mainly used a Panasonic FZ200. Love that camera. I also had bought a Nikon 3100 DSLR specifically for this trip, but as you'll read later on in my story, I left my charger and extra battery for that camera still plugged in at home ( I CAN'T believe I did that !) and then accidentally left the camera ON so the battery was dead very quickly! I also brought along my little Panasonic Tz8 that fits in my pocket, but except for one occasion ( ANAN) I really didn't use it. I bought a close-out priced ($38) Kodak easy share for my husband to take along on HIS excursions so I didn't have to give him one of mine, LOL! That little camera performed just fine for what he used it for....

 

I am going to try to get back in here in a little while and hopefully get the rest of the story posted. ( I wrote it all first, in segments, now I just am posting it and adding the pictures. )

 

A few that didn't post earlier...

 

In the mud at Potter Marsh...

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At the Wildlife Conservation Center

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By the Anchorage airport

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In our efficiency apt. in Homer

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I love cool looking in things nature...

 

 

 

 

 

 

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cruisin'mama

cruisin'mama

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Day 5 was again sunny and warm. We had no immediate schedule except to be at the Matanuska Glacier to have a private hike with NOVA at 2:30pm. I had bought Groupons for the Reindeer Farm in Palmer so we headed out the Glenn Hwy to go there first. http://www.reindeerfarm.com/Pages/default.aspx They were just opening when we got there, so we got to see them feed the Elk that they had along with the “non-tame” reindeer. My husband and son were told that if they picked some long grass that they could also feed the elk, which they did.

Then we got to go in their “petting zoo” that had chickens and rabbits, before going on our tour. Since we were the only ones there, it was like a private tour. We were given cups of food and let into the pen with the “tame” reindeer to feed them. That was fun and we learned that in captivity they are Reindeer, but in the wild they are Caribou. Never knew that!

Later we got to feed and pet their moose who they raised from an orphaned baby as well as their buffalo. My son thought that was pretty cool!

 

We then grabbed some lunch to eat as we continued on toward our glacier hike. The drive is such a pretty one. We arrived and met our guide, Gaby, who was great. We got our gear and Gaby drove us out to the private property that we had to cross for access to the glacier. We paid our fee then parked and started our adventure. It was another warm day, and we were required to wear long pants, but I just wore a tank top and vest with my pants. I had asked for a private guide since I knew my son could do the trek, he just might be slower and I didn’t want to hold anyone else back. NOVA was great and didn’t charge us any more $ for that! We had an awesome time on the Matanuska and absolutely loved our hike!!!

 

We stayed that night at the Tundra Rose Cottages in the Glacier View cottage. http://www.tundrarosecabins.com/ We had to check in next door at the GrandView RV Park and restaurant. After checking in and finding our cottage, we went back and took advantage of the laundry facilities at the RV Park to wash some of our shorts and t-shirts since we were running out of summer clothes. The weather has been so sunny and warm, we’ve basically just worn our shorts so far.

Dinner was good and we went back and enjoyed the view of the glacier from the deck on our cottage. This was truly one of our favorite days.

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cruisin'mama

cruisin'mama

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Day 6 we woke up to a bright sunny day again. We went over to the Grandview for breakfast then started on our day. The only time restraints we had today was to get the rented truck back to Enterprise in downtown Anchorage by 5:30pm.

 

I had bought a Groupon for the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer. http://muskoxfarm.org/ We got there about the time it opened and went on their tour with some other people. We couldn’t get up close or feed them like we did at the Reindeer Farm, but the Musk Ox were still close enough for my son to see them and he seemed fascinated with them, so it was a good stop for us.

Then I wanted to go to Independence Mine thru Hatcher Pass.

 

http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/indmine.htm It was a gorgeous drive up there! The fireweed was in bloom everywhere! I loved the Hatcher Pass area that we drove through. We paid the $5 parking fee at the Independence Mine and did the self-guided tour through the “ruins” of the mine. It was a warm day so after “hiking” up to the top, it was a wonderful surprise to walk into the water tunnel entrance and find it to be about 40 degrees! Ahhhh! The views from the top were stunning on a clear sunny day. We saw marmots around, so cute! We made our way back down the easier way, on the paved path, then drove out through the beautiful Hatcher Pass again.

I also bought a Groupon for the Alaska Transportation Museum in Wasilla, so we headed there next.

 

http://www.museumofalaska.org/ My son really enjoyed seeing all the old vehicles of all kinds! We now were having to watch our time, so we stayed there maybe 45 mins. Then headed back to Anchorage.

We grabbed Subway sandwiches and checked into the Comfort Inn Ship Creek, then my husband returned the truck. After we ate, we took our son down to the hotel pool for a swim then an early shower since we were catching the Alaska Railroad 6:45am Coastal Classic Train the next day.

 

http://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel/Transit/Schedules/tabid/98/Default.aspx My husband went down and watched the fishermen in the creek behind the hotel for a while. It was an early night for all of us.

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cruisin'mama

cruisin'mama

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On thing I didn't write about were all the little "coffee huts" that we saw everywhere. They seemed to be on almost every corner. After a while, I tried to take pictures of them to show the different looks and how they were all so different from each other. Here are a few of them....

 

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