Guess Who's In Alaska?? (spoilers: it's me.)

-
I have traveled many miles and many hours and many PB&J sandwiches, but I am finally here in Alaska with my hubby!  HOORAY!  It started with three flights.  I got up at 4:00am Eastern time and arrived in Alaska at 4:30pm Alaska (?) time.  The really long flight was the 6-hour Chicago to Anchorage leg.  Thankfully, when I realized I had gone through my reading materials for the entire trip halfway through the flight, I started to see GLACIERS.  I have never really understood glaciers...I get the math and physics behind them, but they're kind of hard to just think about.  From the plane, though, I could almost see them flowing.  Glaciers and mountains (and naps) kept me entertained for the rest of my flight.  Near the end, I actually saw a glory associated with our plane shadow!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures that accurately depicted the glory, so I've included a picture from the omniscient Wikipedia. (Remember to click the pictures in order to magnify them.)

 Top left: mountains and glaciers from the plane.  Bottom left: Anchorage airport.  Center: glory--I saw this but my camera didn't :(  Top right: delta and mountains from the plane.  Bottom right: Cordova airport.

From the plane I could see for miles, and those miles were filled with snow-capped mountains, glaciers, thick forests, fog, and presumably hundreds of species of wildlife.  It's probably the tiny bit of romantic poet in me--the part that will read just about any book I can get my hands on just to learn more, the part that wants to explore every corner of the world and discover all its history--but I fully understand why this far-flung, magnificent, bewitching, unrefined land is called "The Last Frontier".  It's exceedingly difficult to describe, so I'm just going to put up pictures and let your imaginations run wild.

So far, I haven't seen the sun once, and we've had winds gusting up to 45 mph.  I find this weather to be glorious.  Tomorrow, the rain and wind should be less, so we're going to hike to one of Cordova's glaciers.  We're also going to try out a chicken gnocchi soup recipe I found.  The recipe produces "12 servings", so hopefully I'll leave Wil with some tasty home-cooked food by which to remember me :)  I've posted some videos here, and I hope you can view them!

The view off the porch.

Wil, chopping wood like a real outdoorsman!

Some of last night and this morning's wind storm.

If any of you dear readers dream about visiting Alaska, please do it! Alaska contains stunning landscapes and plenty of activities, whether you're in a big city, fishing village, or remote backcountry.  Visit while you can!  Have any of you been to Alaska?  What were your experiences?

Comments

  1. TheoOctober 14, 2013 at 9:37 AM

    SAM.

    Your husband owes me a bear. Inability to stick stamps to fur is no excuse. Shave the bear if you must.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Location: Cinque Terre, Italy

-
Image
From Switzerland we traveled to arguably the most beautiful place on the planet: Cinque Terre, Italy. Some might prefer the Caribbean for sparkling, clear waters and tropical paradise-ness, but this has totally got it beat in my book! Cinque Terre, or "Five Lands", sits on the Mediterranean coast as part of the Italian Riviera. The coastline, the five cities that make up Cinque Terre, and the surrounding hills and vineyards are nationally protected and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area has been settled and farmed for about 1000 years, and is known for its wine, olives, anchovies, and pesto. Wil and I tried them, and they are all the best we've ever tasted! Manarola clock tower. By the church in Manarola; the cornerstone is from 1338! Manarola by sunset, so beautiful. The five cities of Cinque Terre are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Trains, walking paths, and boats are the main connections between cities; I thi
Read more

October 2023

-
Image
I need to finish projects! There are a few babies on the way for people I know so I want to finish some of my many works already in progress.  A lot of crafters work on one project at once but I am not one of those crafters. My attention span is not long enough to work on one thing for months, though, and my hands often need a break from craft monotony. Because of this I end up with something like six projects on the go at once, and then it catches up with me and I feel like I'll never finish.  So this month I'm focusing on only a few projects. This is the Honey Moss shawl by Andrea Mowry. I'm making it with a non-superwash merino from De Rerum Natura. It's so soft and thick and squishy and I can't wait to wrap up in it as it gets cold. This is a messy bun hat. I'm using a thick worsted weight yarn from Bumblebee Acres Fiber Farm in a delicious deep red. This month, these are the projects I will finish!
Read more

Location: Rome (Part III)

-
Image
Ah, the wonders of cool autumn Michigan days! Wil and I made it home safe and sound, and now have only to worry about moving into our new home in a few days. In the meantime I have just a couple more blog posts worth of pictures...here we go! We planned our final day in Rome so that we could concentrate on the Via Appia Antica, or ancient Appian Way. This is the road that began in 312 BC and extended 350 miles to Brindisi, in the heel of Italy's boot! This is the road on which Sparticus and his army were slaughtered in 71 BC! This is the road on which St Peter met Jesus, before returning to Rome for his martyrdom! This is the road to which Wil and I tried to walk from our apartment, and the reason we ended up hopelessly lost in ancient farmland! (We weren't lost. -Wil) Google Maps image of the Appian Way and associated regional park, which is the part of the picture not covered in city buildings. We walked around most of the northern and central parts of the park in this
Read more