Friday, June 18, 2010

Alaskan Adventure: Day 9

Yesterday we took the bus about 3.5 hours into the park and did a no-trail hike that involved quite a lot of bushwhacking! Total animal count was 11 bears, 1 sleeping wolf, countless caribou, Dall's sheep and Golden eagles, a bunch of marauding ground squirrels, and any number of Arctic hare. Here's the video:

Day 9 - Denali hiking and biking

Today, we're driving back to Anchorage for our last day, and heading either to the zoo or to the Native Heritage Center (depends on whether it's raining in Anchorage; it's raining here in Cantwell where we stopped for the night). Tomorrow morning our flight leaves from Anchorage at 6 a.m., so this will be my last post from Alaska. It's been a great trip but I think we're all ready to head home!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Alaskan Adventure: Days 7 and 8

We spent today hiking Denali, on three different trails. We saw several fox squirrels, two groundhogs, and some Dall's sheep, along with a demo of the (very cute) sled dogs they use in the park. Elias would have been right at home with his long legs, big feet, and Malamute markings. The short coat might be somewhat of a detriment in the winter, however!

Here's the video from Days 7 and 8 - the drive to Denali and our first day in Denali.

Tomorrow is our last day in Denali, and we're taking a bus in 3 hours and will then do some no-trail hiking. We're hoping to see some wolves and bears - from a safe distance, of course!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Alaskan Adventure: Day 6

Another Wifi hotspot, this time right outside of Denali National Park! Who'd have thought you could get Wifi in the middle of nowhere (literally)?

Tomorrow we are off for Denali adventures, and today was mostly a travel day, but here's the video from Day 6, where we went whale and glacier watching in Valdez.

Day 6 - Whale and glacier watching in Valdez.

More to come!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Alaskan Adventure: Days 3, 4, and 5

Here are the latest videos from our family vacation in Alaska:

Days 3 and 4 - Visited Exit glacier and hiked up Russian River.

Day 5 - Visited a Musk Ox farm (so cuuute!) and hiked Matanusca Glacier.

We'll post again as we can. Today we're headed out to see whales and calving glaciers off Valdez, then we're driving to Denali for our last stop of the trip. It's been fabulous so far and if you've ever thought of visiting Alaska, we highly recommend it!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Alaskan Adventure: Days 1, 2, and 3

For the next week or so, we are in Alaska on a family vacation. I didn't expect to have Internet access, but our campground today has Wifi, so I'm making a quick post.

My stepdaughter, who goes by Flitter online, has made two short videos about our trip so far. I'll post pictures when I get home, but for now, enjoy!


Panning for Gold (YouTube video)