Alaska Overwhelms

Other visitors to Alaska had told me about the breadth of space I would find here, but I was not prepared for the vast magnitude of the mountains, the greenery, the glaciers, and the over-arching sky.  We based ourselves in Girdwood, AK, about 40 miles southeast of Anchorage, for our introduction to Alaska and it served us quite nicely.  We saw animals we planned to see and animals we did not plan to see, and even experienced a 5.3 magnitude earthquake!

The Winner Creek hike begins right off the Alyeska Resort property where we were staying.  It is a 5-mile hike through the woods surrounded by mountain walls, fairly frequent waterfalls, and skies punctuated by pointed glaciers.  Easy to navigate and negotiate, the hike's only challenge was the hand tram across a gorge.  It's called a hand tram because that's how you power yourself across -- hand over hand on a basic rope.  Take a look - it was tons of fun.

Gilly, the moose calf

Back on the ground, we visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a non-profit center dedicated tot he rescue and preservation of wild animals.  We took a "behind the scenes" tour which allowed us to feed moose calves, and pet Snickers, the porcupine, Hershey, the reindeer, and Julie, the Sitka deer. There were huge deer and elk to see, including Roosevelt Elk, named for T.R.'s preferred prey!  Best of all, though, was observing black, brown, and Kodiak bears in a natural, albeit safely confined area.  The Kodiak bears were being trained while we were there, and the trainer was sitting as close to them as I sit with our doggy, and the whole routine did not actually look so different!

The following day began with a bear spotting right on the road.  On our way to Crow Pass Trail, we came around the corner (in our car, thankfully!) to what we thought was a puppy off its leash with a red collar.  But this was no puppy, and there was no leash; it was a brown bear cub evidently tagged with a red marker.  He heard our car as we saw him and scurried away as quickly as he appeared.  We drove ahead only half hoping to see mother and siblings!  No more bears on that day!

The Crow Pass hike, itself, was thrilling and quite challenging.  It was majestic in its scope, uphill all the way, and went into a remote valley with spectacular waterfalls as our reward. We didn't quite make it to the Pass but stopped after 2 steep miles to make a much easier and quicker trek down!

I would like to write about accommodations and dining, both spectacular in Girdwood, but time is limited and wi-fi is weak.  We are now in Homer, about to embark on our overnight kayaking trip in Kachemak Bay. A bright, clear, sunny day greets us. We are in a whole different environment and climate that welcomes quite a different population from Girdwood, and I look forward to sharing about that in another post.  I will leave you with a most exciting sight from our drive along the Kenai River en route to Homer.  As Clay said, this is the way we like our bear sightings -- from the other side of the river.

Seattle's Best - Family and Friends

The first leg of our Alaskan adventure was to spend the weekend in Seattle, a place we had both visited many times. What brought us here? 'Not Pike Place Market (right near our hotel, Inn at Harbor Steps, which I have reviewed on TripAdvisor here), not Mt. Rainier (easily visible), and not the weather (quite perfect, actually!). We came for the love of old friends and cherished family. We got the locals' tour of The Rainier Valley from my oldest friend in the world, Susan Davis, who is the Executive Director of the Rainier Chamber Foundation. It's a great area, described by Susan as including the most diverse zip code in the country, and that was evident in the variety of shops and patrons. We were joined by Susan's husband and son, had a spectacular Thai lunch, and they did a top notch job of showing off their neighborhood with well-deserved pride. Later that day we had a home-cooked meal, salmon and veggies picked straight from Bruce's lovingly tended garden, all grilled to perfection by Chef Bruce. YUMMY!

Emi - Could she be any cuter?!

Susan and I have known each other since we were teenagers, and she celebrated with me in Madrid a long while ago when my first niece, Sarah, was born far off in Syracuse, New York. Today Sarah lives -- where else -- in Seattle, with her husband, Isaac, and the next generation of our family, the precious and adorable Emi. My feelings for Emi remind me of my feelings for each of my nieces and nephew at the sweet age of 2 and 1/2 -- marvel, wonder, and gushing love. Clay and I enjoyed tickling Emi, playing fishies on the iPhone with Emi, and reading to Emi at Sarah and Isaac's West Seattle home. We took an easy bus ride there and a fun water taxi back to our hotel. Blue skies, bright sunshine, and friendly folks greeted us wherever we went. We brought the day to perfection when we had dinner again with Susan and Bruce, this time at Seattle's own Tom Douglas's Dahlia Lounge, a beautifully appointed restaurant with delicious food, and a chance for some deeper conversation and reminiscence.

Susan and Bruce

The next generations

I came to Seattle with a handful of goals, the most practical of which was to adjust to the time and temperature change from brutally hot NYC. 'Done. The higher goal was to enjoy the company of my beloved friends and family on their home turf. This goal was more than met, and my cup runneth over. This was a time when travel brought me closer to home!

On to Alaska but for a delay at Sea-Tac Airport -- a sick crew member has grounded us until they can find a replacement, so our long-awaited flight to Anchorage will just have to wait a little longer!  Advice to self:  be here now.

Pure Americana

A summer Saturday in New England - what could show more Yankee Americana than the annual Pickin' 'n Fiddlin' Contest in Roxbury, Connecticut?  On wide-open Hurlburt Field, we enjoyed music of fiddles, mandolins, acoustic guitars, and more played by musicians ranging in age from 8 years old to about 80 years old!  At times, the people-watching even beat out the music, as the audience included families of all ages, folks from near and far, and even some celebrities that hide out in this haven they can happily call home.  There were vendors, including Goatboy Soaps, who brought along their very own goat in case we were skeptical of the soap's origins.

"Kid", no kidding!

The event supports the The Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department, and is planned each year by Billy Steers, a member of that department, who also designed the posters and the T-shirts!  Good eats were available from local organizations like Roxbury Market, the Women's Auxiliary unit of the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department, among others. We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, ice cream, and even cotton candy.  All in all, a day in the park -- overflowing with good times and warm feelings.

Home for the evening - back to the big city to enjoy our urban version of pure Americana, pizza and wine on our roof, with memories of pickin' 'n fiddlin' drowning out the car horns and metropolitan commotion.