One of my favourite days on our Alaskan cruise was the one we spent cruising around Glacier Bay. It was spectacular. It started with lectures from the National Parks rangers who had come on board to educate us on the history and all things relating to Glacier Bay. I was fascinated as we have nothing like this is Australia. Mother natures grandeur was amazing.
On the day we were visiting the rangers told us that two brown bears were walking along the shoreline. I didn’t see them but many others did. I did however see some otters floating on some ice as we cruised past.
We stopped at three glaciers throughout the day. Lamplugh Glacier and John Hopkins as well as Margerie Glacier. All were different and spectacular in their own way. We were able to hear calving but I personally didn’t see any of the ice come crashing off the glaciers.
The major disappointment we had was that the weather was turning bad so the Captain cancelled our trip to the Hubbard Glacier the next day, which I am told is the most spectacular. Oh well that just means that we have to go on another Alaskan cruise.
Also known as the Haul Road and Ice Trucker Road is often described as the loneliest road on earth. This highway runs from 84 miles north of Fairbanks at Livengood to the Artic Ocean. It is 414 miles long and travels through some very remote wilderness and over the Yukon River.
The Dalton highway is a dangerous for even for the experienced driver. It is mostly has unpaved, uneven surfaces that change dramatically depending on the extreme weather. It has multiple potholes and a many very large trucks that take supplies to the oilfields.
Our bus driver who drives the road regularly was able to tell us many stories of the unusual safety rules of the road and how all the drivers who drive it regularly, do their best to keep everyone safe as their is minimal phone coverage along the route.
Plant life on the tundraDigging to the water tableThe last of the berries the animals eat. We also tasted them they were yummy.
Plant life on the tundra Digging down to the water level Last of the berries the animals eat
Our trip on the Dalton was from Coldfoot, north of the Artic Circle back to Fairbanks. We were lucky enough to stop off and look at the Artic tundra. It was very spongy underfoot. Our bus driver showed us many plant s that live there and how they support the local environment. The Dalton highway was originally built to support the communities along the Trans Alaskan Pipeline which we were lucky enough to see reasonably closely.
Captain Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770. He came ashore and named it New South Wales. I have known this most of my life. What I didn’t realise until last year was that he was also the first to explore the body of water now known as Cook Inlet at Anchorage, Alaska. At the time he was looking for the north-west passage which he believed joined the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He never found the passage. To honour this important discovery a statue was built of Cook overlooking Anchorage Harbour. There is also a statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park Sydney, Australia. According to our guide the Alaskan sculpture was built so that both statutes could look each other in the eyes. I don’t know if if its true or not but if it is it’s a great piece of detail.
To start this years A-Z Challenge I thought I would take you to the top of the world. Or at least that’s what it felt like to me when I visited the Artic Circle last year. I was so excited. I live in Newcastle, Australia which has a latitude of 32.9283 degrees South. The Artic Circle is 66.33 degrees North. To me that is hugely different.
We went in late September and to my surprise there was no snow or ice on the ground. I’m sure however it wasn’t far away. We flew from Fairbanks, Alaska and landed in Coldfoot above the Artic Circle for lunch.
It is a small community 34 people at the 2020 census. With lunch I enjoyed having a beer in the Farthest North Truck Stop in America.
We then boarded a bus to the Artic Circle sign. It felt so special and almost unbelievable.
This years A-Z Challenge seems like the best reason to get back to blogging. For anyone who isn’t aware during April a large group of bloggers get together and challenge each other to write a blog post for every letter of the alphabet. Each blogger choses a theme that connects their blog posts.
I have been busy traveling this year so I am going to expand my theme from Australian travel to include all places and things that I have experienced during my recent travels.
While my list is not yet complete complete it could involve travel by road, air or sea. The main areas will be a mixture of Australia, Canada and Alaska although I have also had some journeys in the South Pacific so they may make an appearance.
I hope that you enjoy my travels and I look forward to also taking a virtual journey to the blogs of other bloggers participating in this years challenge.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I can’t believe how quickly this year is going. Since we last had coffee back in May I have been busy planning our Canadian/Alaskan holiday which we have just returned from. It was amazing. We worked out our own itinerary using the internet and were not disappointed.
On a previous Canadian trip 10 years ago, my husband and I visited the east coast. This trip we visited the west coast. So between both we have visited all 10 Canadian provinces and a small corner of the Yukon. We have also explored a large part of Alaska which was breathtaking. Not bad for a pair of Aussies eh.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that unfortunately the initial diagnosis for my hip was incorrect and I have needed regular physio to build up the muscles supporting it. I also have had a great benefit from orthotics to support my feet. Fortunately the effort I put in before we went away paid off and I had little trouble walking the 360 kilometers we covered in 6 weeks. On returning home however it is letting me know that it isn’t very happy at times.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that Ruby, our slide on camper has finally gone back to her maker to get repaired from the major water damage she has suffered. We are looking forward to getting her back and being able to take sneaky weekend getaways again.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I have enjoyed doing a number of puzzles this year. There was one however that I found quite challenging. It was in the shape of Mickey Mouse and made up of individual pictures of Mickey. No two pieces were the same. It took me a few months to sort him him out but in the end I was pleased with the end result.
