Courtyard By Marriott Anchorage

... has already begun in Alaska and the yellow leaves of the birch trees illuminate the countryside. The bus had to stop several times because a bear or a moose were crossing the road which ends at the refuge built on a knoll that overlooks the Valley. After a quick picnic, we walked down right into the Valley and soon reached impressive layers of pumice through which the Utak River carved its way. You then ...

Took the train from Talkeetna to Anchorage yesterday...another nice ride. We saw a moose as we crossed through the grounds of Elmendorf Air Force Base. It was dark and rainy so no pictures of him.

I am now sitting at the Anchorage airport waiting for my flight home. It will be a little more pleasant as for an extra 10k frequent flier miles I was able to get first class seats for the return trip. That will be nice on a red eye ...

... catch. The glaciers were awesome and as a whole breathtaking beauty all around.

On arriving at Whittier we went through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel which is 2.5 miles long and at the other end we popped out at Portage Lake where we had lunch and we were in luck and had another clear view of the glaciers although we had loads of knats hanging around.

Along the Turnagain Arm we looked out for the Beluga Whales and guess what ...

... with the trailer he was still in our lane and the trailer didn't make it all of the way over and he clipped the trailer, which then turned over and then turned our truck over," Julie Shuttleworth said.

Witnesses came to the family's aid.

"We ran up and they were trapped in their vehicle, and we smashed open the window with an axe, we pulled them all out and made sure they were OK," Buddy Whitt said.

The worst of the damage came ...

The last night at Alaska. No specific schedule, just shopping, and easy short drive to the berry farm to see the chocolate fountain. Our flight was like 1:28 a.m., so we got to the airport around 10 p.m. Finally, the night fell. I was so glad to see the night. My eyes felt comfortable. No wonder we all felt sore for the eyes, the sun's been shining all day long!

... the Miners and Trappers Costume Ball, Native Arts and Crafts Shows in multiple locations in Anchorage, Snow Sculpture contest, Carnival down town, Snow board competitions, Train and Model Shows, Road Ralleys . . the list goes on ...

... flowing creek 20 minutes out of town . The next day, I climbed to the top of Flat Rock mountain... the guide book says, "in Hollywood you drive the Sunset Strip, in Paris you walk the Champs Elysees, in Anchorage you climb Flat Top Mountain." The first third is a steep stroll through the blueberry bushes, the next third is a series of steps built up through the tundra, and the final part is a serious ...

... Can't wait to see what it is back in Canada. I came back to the RV in a little better mood. We first went to downtown to kill a little time before lunch. Well, downtown had a few good places to shop so we spent around two hours here. Did not get too many things, but the shops were pretty cool and not so expensive. I just hope we have gotten most of this done for the entire trip. Next stop was lunch at another of our favorites - a Shwarma shop. This ...

... airstrip access road, into the Far North Bicentennial Park, and finally to Flattop Mountain. The journey sounded ambitious but Andres was up for it and Sebastian assured us we could handle the ride. 'It is no more than fifty mile,' he said with a shrug. I decided to keep quiet about the fact that I hadn't walked more than three miles in years and that I hadn't exercised regularly since high school. Andres claimed to be an avid biker. Sebastian scibbled the route on Andres' map ...