Hotel Anchor Arms Motel Anchorage

... the bears (most of them are brown bears or grizzlies) can get all the food they need before hibernating in the mountains. You have to be very careful when visiting the region because bears are everywhere and you may meet them at any moment! As soon as you arrive at Brooks Lodge, the rangers tell you what to do – and not to do! – if you happen to encounter a bear: you should talk to him while ...

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 ...

We woke up early as we had to be at the ferry terminal by 07:00. Packing up camp was fast and we were there in plenty of time so we detoured for coffee. Yum!

The ferry trip took about 6 hours. We had breakfast onboard and then proceded out on deck where we stayed for a good part of the trip. The panorama was again spectacular and our cameras were constantly clicking. One of the highlights was seeing a seal fighting off seagulls to keep ...

... and also the highest mountain in the US (20,300ft). The train had the dome carriages and beautiful views all the way. We had a wonderful 2 days at Denali. US National Parks were a highlight on our last trip and this one was every bit as good as some of our favorites. We did lots of walking and also had a great tour into the park where only the official Denali tour buses can go. On our 7 hour tour we saw 5 bears, several moose, many caribou and some dahl sheep so we ...

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!

... to visit it yesterday and we ran into Kim and Dennis who were doing one of the Royal Caribbean CruiseTours. It was nice to catch up with them and hear about their past few days since we left the cruise ship. It was now almost 3 and we needed to still have lunch and get going towards Anchorage since the drive was 5-6 hours. We want back up to Glitter Gulch to eat lunch at the Salmon Bake, a famous restaurant in the area. LJ had a great cheeseburger ...

... north is Matanuska-Susitna Borough (Mat-Su Valley, or just "the valley"), which is included with the MOA as a metropolitan area by the US Census Bureau. Although the Mat-Su is a "bedroom community" for Anchorage, the towns, exurbs, farms,and homesteads there have varied local cultures quite distinct from that of Anchorage proper. Between metropolitan Anchorage and the valley the communities of Eagle River and Chugiak, although part of the MOA, also have distinct identities.

... monster... My route to Anchorage was via Las Vegas. Enroute, some spectacular views of the British Columbia coast. P.S. You can see some of the flight traces from FlightAware. Not all of our flights are traced in the US, only where we used flight following. In Canada, flight plans are required. Don't ask about the first one I forgot to close.

... Service, etc. Some of the more controversial proposed on-land drilling sites, such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) 10-02 area and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) are federally owned. Mr. Mike Nizich, Governor Palin's staff action officer, said that there is a lot of coordination at many levels between the federal government and the State, but agreed that there can be issues that require coordination and ...

... te liggen. Om half 4 's middags besloten we om er alsnog heen te rijden. Hier hebben we absoluut geen spijt van gekregen want bij de gletsjer aangekomen trok de bewolking weg en kwam de zon tevoorschijn. We hebben een werkelijk schitterende wandeling gemaakt naar de mond van de Exit Glacier. Heerlijk voor het eerst in 2 dagen geen regen, doet een mens goed. Vanuit Seward hebben we de volgende dag een cruise van 9,5 uur gemaakt. Nadat het schip op volle zee in ...