Alaska! (OT)

Hi all! Ok, like promised (and because I really want to share this beauty with you all), here are some pictures from my amazing Alaskan adventure. It was so hard to pick my favorites, but here they are (yes...there are quite a few favorites - how do you choose from all that beauty?!).

We had 2 actual bear encounters (not including seeing bears in Denali). There was a black bear on our first campsite and a grizzly visited us at another place we camped (and walked right next to my tent!!).

Ok, here's pic number one. It is a picture taken in Denali.

Beautiful view from the van.

Lake view (love the reflection in the water!)

Our first campsite - slept right along the river. What a peaceful sound it made.

View of the same campsite from across the lake.

Some glaciers

Golden eagle.

LOVE this picture...it's a grandfather with his grandaughter and he is teaching her to fish.

Grizzly bear in Denali NP.

Same grizzly approaching the car behind us!

Walking on Kennicott Glacier

Ice climbing on Kennicott Glacier...what a rush!

Mount Redoubt - an active volcano that erupted in February.

Bald eagle in a tree.

Fishing boat surrounded by mountains - this was in Seward

Mount McKinley ("The Great One")

Ptarmigan (the Alaskan state bird)

Sea lions (Kenai Fjords)

Humpback whale

I call this "Shadow of a Bridge"

Sunset.

And that's all - hope you enjoyed them and thanks for looking :)

Gabi

Oh my goodness Gabi, those are stunning photo's! Amazing scenery! It looks like you had a wonderful time and I'm sure glad you got home safely and weren't eaten by one of those bear's! Geesh, those things are scary! And to think one walked right by your tent?!%#@ I would have had a heart attack ... well, no I wouldn't because I wouldn't be in a tent, LOL! We have black bears here in Florida, hear of them being killed by cars on occasion ... a couple of weeks ago one was killed on the Interstate. :(

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful vacation photo's. What kind of camera do you use? Great pic's ... I'm going back to look at them all again!

Absolutely beautiful.....:))

Wow! I've gone back and looked at the pic's again and showed them to my husband. He loved the beautiful scenery too. When he retires we plan on a trip to Alaska but we won't be camping unless it's in a 50' motor home, LOL.

Thanks!

Well I didn't know there was a grizzly walking next to my tent until someone told me the next morning - so thank goodness I wasn't able to freak out!!!

As for the camera, it's just a point and shoot, but the best point and shoot I've ever owned. It's a Sony Cybershot, 8.1 megapixels, 10X optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens. I forget the model number though.

You and your hubby should DEFINITELY see Alaska - and make sure you post pics when you do! Whether tent or RV, you will be blown away!!

Gabi

After sailing around the world, Bob, my DH, said that Alaska was the most beautiful!!!! IN his humble opinion. I have to agree!!! The scenery and wildlife are incredible!!!!!

Thanks Gabi...thanks so much for posting those!!!

We have some friends who traveled through Alaska a couple of times after they retired and they also said it was very beautiful. The scenery looks so pristine!

What a fantastic adventure Gabi! I just loved the photos - a real trip of a life time.

Doug

Gabi,
I’m so happy for you!
Thank you for those beautiful pictures. I’ve been in Alaska and I agree the scenery is absolutely beautiful.

Gabi, such great picture! Really a very nice camera, I might have to look into that model. My Canon point and shoot does an okay job, but the pics really lack the crispness and clarity yours have.
We were in Denali and Seward too! And I think I recognized a couple of those seals...

Don't you get the feeling of 'enormity' and immensity' in Alaska, Gabi? Everything is just HUGE, and FAR, and HIGH....

Thanks guys! Glad you enjoyed the pictures...and yes, trip of a lifetime!

Yes Carol...what a GREAT way to explain it! I feel so tiny in that vast land. It's one of those places that makes you feel like an intruder - nature just takes over. Tell Bob I agree with him...Alaska is unreal!!!

Mark - I hope you had a great time. Maybe those were the same sea lions that you saw....they were too lazy to move for 2 weeks!! So what did you like better....Denali or Seward? I personally liked Denali better, but Seward was amazing as well. You got lucky with they weather - I heard that it was sunny and there was a drought when you were there, and then I came along and Seward was flooded! It rained the whole time - we were stranded at Miller's Landing for 4 days because the bridge was flooded...what an adventure! Catch any fish?

Oh, the model on my camera is Sony Cybershot DSC-H3. I got it when it first came out for less than 300 bucks - so it must be super cheap now.

Gabi

Exactly, Gabi. It is the only place I ever felt that my being there meant nothing (except to ME) and when I left, there would be no memory of me being there. The spirit, the air, the glaciers the forests...they wouldn't notice anything and that they could absorb and handle so much. But that isn't true...it is so fragile really...and ... and.... FUN.

Hey...here is a story I remember so vividly: in Seward I schlepped the laundry to town and stood in line with folks to have use of the few machines in the laundrymat. Someone noticed I was from a boat and asked if we had done any hiking. I told him we were well supplied with stuff and would carry a bell to ring as we hiked around to let the bears know we were coming....

Ah, he said...I'm a Forestry Ranger, and we call those "dinner bells".....

You think racoons are devils in your garbage cans... Try a BEAR!!

So glad you had such an adventure!!!! Wow...iceclimbing on the glacier! Not something a girl does often!!!

I liked Seward a lot too. We went on one of those sight-seeing boats:

Also saw other sea life:

And other:

and interesting human life: this family was thrilled to see the humpback whales.

And of course the same whale you saw:

We were standing by the rear bathroom during the whale sighting and were about to move due to the incredible stench when the captain said "Oh, there's whale breath!"
Man, it was rancid.

And some scenery: