07 June 2008

Alaska Part V

A few last pictures of the Seward and Anchorage part of our trip.



We hiked the Two Lakes Trail in Seward mostly because it was one of the few that was open and not completely covered with snow and/or ice. We were told to be on the look out for bears and moose. Unfortunately we did not see anything bigger than a squirrel.

Half way around the loop we came to a tall waterfall. This picture is just part of the whole, but the fall was a series of these smaller ones. It was definitely one of the coolest waterfalls that I have ever seen. If I had to guess, I would say that the entire fall was close to 200 feet tall.



This was our last sunset in Anchorage - and, actually, our first. We took a walk along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail at about 1100 pm.



The last thing that we did before our flight to Fairbanks was to take a hike on the south side of the town. I am not sure the name of the trail, but it provide us with views of downtown Anchorage and the mountains beyond. We crossed over a small river with snow banks hanging over.
On our way back to the car, we heard a large rustling in the bushes around a turn in the trail. We were relieved to see that it was only two moose. However, being about 15 yards away from them was quite exciting.

OK, I'll leave our Alaska trip for a while. I'll share some pictures from around here.

01 June 2008

Alaska Part IV

Time for a couple more pictures than usual. The first one is of a bald eagle that was perched in a spruce along the side of the road in Seward. It was a little too far to be captured with my lens, so Jenny held the binoculars so that I could zoom in a little closer. This is the best that I could do - still a little fuzzy.



This is our first moose in Seward. We were heading back to our room after a short trip to a beach. Across the street from the Safeway this young guy was just chillin' between the tracks.



The next day we saw another at the end of the road that our B&B was on. This one was enjoying a mid-afternoon snack along a creek that had overflowed its banks. She was not being very cooperative. Every time I tried to get the picture, she moved to have her backside pointing at me - not her best side! We were pretty close (but safe in the car) and could see that she was still pretty young. (I like to think that I'm the moose expert in the family and since she was small, she was young.)



Ever wonder what the harbor/marina in Seward looks like? (What's the difference?) Well wonder no longer. Here it is, my friends. (There's more of it, but that part is boring - boats and stuff.)



Ever wonder what Jenny does while I'm taking all of these fantastic photos? Well wonder no longer, my friends! She looks the other way contemplating life (or reading a magazine).

This is on the breakwater for the Seward harbor/marina. The darker clouds are outside of the fjord where the glacier cruise would have gone if it had gone. Since it did go...



...we headed to Exit Glacier. Unfortunately it was still very snowy and the road to the visitor center was closed. However, we were able to get some views of the glacier, just not up close. If you can't find the glacier in the picture, look for the snow in the middle. Still can't? There appears to be a "V" in between the hills on both sides of the picture. The "V" is cravases on the glacier.



I hope you have enjoyed this weekend's post. More to come!