Adventures in the Last Frontier

Alaska is the opposite of New Jersey. Whereas New Jersey has a lot of people and towns with a few spots of wilderness Alaska is all wilderness with a few spots of towns and people. It is one of the reasons they call it the last frontier because it is still a land that is being tamed and explored by the people that choose to live there.

Alaska is a vast and picturesque landscape. Even if I had the words of Hemingway and photographic talent of Ansel Adams I could not adequately convey the true beauty and grandeur of what you would see if you visit.

After visiting Alaska five years ago we knew we wanted to go back and see so many things we heard about but didn't have time to see. The vacation we planned was an ambitious trip that took us from the northern most point in Barrow all the way down to the south east corner of the state. We drove over 1000 miles and cruised 1800 miles by ship. Evey day was magical in its own way and confirmed our belief that Alaska is one of the most unique places in the world that everyone should try and visit at least once in their life.

There is no way I can describe the trip in detail in a single post so I plan to do three or four posts over the next week to share the details of what I saw. For now let me give you a few brief highlights.

First we were really lucky with the weather. It had been raining for the past 5 weeks in most of Alaska but once we got there the sun came out and except for a couple quick passing showers it was mostly sunny for the entire trip. This made our trip to Denali National Park really special since we were able to see Denali mountain, the tallest mountain in North America, for two full days which almost never happens. We also got amazing views of the rest of the mountains and rivers in Denali

 

As well as the wildlife that lives in the park

  

Including a close encounter with a grizzly bear

and Moose

 We spent 3 days above the arctic circle exploring the frozen tundra, whaling villages, oil rigs and

the famous Alaska pipeline. We even got a chance to see the aurora even though it usually isn't visible until later in the fall.

During our cruise we saw so many glaciers that I lost count but each one was cool and interesting.

 We even got to walk on one of them after riding in a hovercraft over the mud in front of the glacier.

There was an very unusual wildlife refuge that we visited where we got close to some dangerous aninals. Alaska is a little lax on safety regulations. I got to pet a porcupine and got intimate with a moose(more on that one in a later post).

It was a grueling trip where we were going 12-14 hours a day with little time for rest but each day we experienced something unique and fantastic that we will be talking about for years.

In the moments of downtime that we had we would just stare at the scenery around us that was always changing and showing us amazing views. The way the sun, clouds and mountains interacted with each other was really breath taking at times. I didn't have any computers with me and there wasn't any reliable phone or internet service so it was good to truly disconnect from the world. I had many moments of zen as I sat there and absorbed the experiences we had and the things we had seen. It definitely made me feel more connected to the land and myself. I hope to bring this connection with nature and calmness back to my normal hectic life as a way to relax and de-stress.

I have a lot more stories to tell and great pictures to share so look for more post during the week ahead to get a taste of the many things Alaska has to offer someone who is willing to explore this unique state.