Trip Report - May 16 Island Princess to AK

[parentsof5]

We spent the afternoon relaxing at different places while we traveled. We didn't really see a lot of the next glacier, just wanted to be warm. ha. We spent some time in the room and watched a movie. We went to see our favorite singer. And then we got ready for dinner! I think this was formal night 2.

 

Let me tell you, the ship started rocking and rolling while we got ready! I was SUPER thankful for my patch. I don't sail without them. It had been really calm the entire trip thus far. I hadn't changed it, so decided a fresh batch of chemicals entering my skin would be a good idea. I guarantee if I hadn't had it, I would have not made my way out of the cabin that night.

 

We ate dinner with a couple from California and South Carolina. We were getting to know each other when the waves really started getting high on our lower deck dining room window, and we were right by it. One person in between me and some kind of scary looking waves. My dinner mate tried to avoid looking at. We tried to get a picture, but it doesn't do it justice.

 

 

At dinner.

 

 

I hadn't had dessert the last couple nights, nothing jumped out at me. I am not a chocolate person, there was always chocolate, but just nothing that screamed eat me. I really wanted some tonight, so I went with the signature option, that was chocolate - and was impressive. Beautiful and tasty. Even though it was chocolate.

 

 

Tonight we went to see the show Encor in the theater. We ended up sitting with one of my favorite dinner companions who happened to sit right next to us. They were originally from Taiwan, and had lived in the US for some time, now living in Virginia. I really enjoyed her company. It was a very well done show. There are a couple of performers specifically that are just top notch. Then we went to see our favorite performer. And then we caught the Project V (a band that was on board) that did an amazing Whitney Houston Tribute. We sat with our favorite dining companions, the Canadian's from breakfast. She LOVES Whitney. So much fun.

[parentsof5]

And here we are - our last sea day - the culmination of a year and a half of planning coming to an end. Can you hear the sadness??? (Not despair though, because we still had 4 land days coming!)

 

Our last day was College Fjord. It was one of our favorite days! It helped of course that it was a nicer day out than the day before. Sunshine never hurts. And, as I woke up, later than I had been all week!!!! And the husband laid in bed, I stepped out to see the shoreline we were passing. It just takes your breath away. And then all of a sudden, you probably heard me on deck 14! BEAR! What, he hurriedly asks as I rush back inside to grab a camera. He is scrabbling out of bed and grabbing some pants, as I get a couple shots. Now, shore was quite a ways away, so the pic not so great. But the memory and watching it for a bit as we sailed by, unforgettable. In fact, I can't find the pictures on my Shutterfly to upload. (I know I have them somewhere, I saw them this weekend.)

 

We also saw otters, and Dall Porpoises. We were on Deck 14, a long way down, and the porpoise were running very close to the ship. So not great shots, hard to get, but here they are anyway.

 

 

Look at the very bottom, toward the right.

 

We had lunch in the dining room today. We were sat with a couple coming in at the same time as us, and an older lady who had the same table every meal. We had seen her another night we were sat by ourselves. She appeared to be traveling alone, and we were glad to share her table and hear about her travels.

 

And we soooo enjoyed the scenery today, so incredibly beautiful!

 

 

 

 

[parentsof5]

Some more of College Fjord Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I have to stop. I have so many pictures this day I love....

[parentsof5]

How long does it take to hike up MT. Roberts? Trying to figure this possibility into our plans.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

He said he would estimate it took closer to an hour and a half. He did stop and look at stuff and thinks it could be done in an hour.

[idahospud]

We were on the same cruise. Enjoy hearing about it from someone else's perspective!

[Anita Latte]

Beautiful photos! We're sailing to Hubbard...I'm enjoying seeing the other glacier attraction! Excited to read about your land portion too! We are also spending 4 days post cruise in Alaska!

[parentsof5]

Ok, here we go again. I had gone to bed and the husband went to watch some musical entertainment. He came back in about midnight in a rush. I think he was grabbing his coat. We were arriving, and he was going up top to watch. I got up for a few minutes, took a couple pics from the Balcony, and then back sound asleep.

 

 

The next morning, we had an assigned time to get off of 7:30 AM. A couple of days prior, a form is left to fill out with your debarkation plans. They then send a document to your cabin with the details, time, location, etc. We had made our own arrangements, as we were doing the land portion on our own. We had packed up the afternoon before, and set our luggage out before dinner. They ask you to set out the majority by dinner, and the other bag out later (I can't remember exactly what time the deadline was), so you can put your dinner clothes up. We took a chance and wore the clothes we would wear off the ship so we could go ahead and set it all out. This night we had dinner at the buffet.

 

In the morning, I ran up to the Photo Gallery to get our pictures from the deck during College Fjord as I hadn't seen them the night before. I think they may have actually been there, as they had placed them with the Glacier Bay section and not notated there were from CF. Then I joined husband in the buffet and grabbed a quick breakfast. I saw our Virginia friends from dinner, and was able to say goodbye, which was nice. Sidenote so I don't forget: I wish I would have gotten pictures with these special cruise buddies. I can't believe I didn't, I am usually good about those things. I should have done it while we dined, in fact, I should have had the waiter take a pic each dinner (you don't know which will be the real hits until later sometimes) to make sure I had everyone. We then went back to the cabin to grab our coats and backpacks, and back to the dining room (the meet up place for our group) and only had to wait maybe 2-3 minutes before they sent us out the door. Sigh......

 

Our next adventure was the journey to Anchorage from Wittier. I had made reservations with Anchorage Tours and Transfers. They have a "get me there" option, of in the people carrier and to your destination or one that takes a tour and makes some stops. We chose the get you there after reading an account of someone who got off the ship and didn't make it out of town until 1:30. We made our reservation online ahead of time. We received a discount for reserving online. I made these arrangements back in December. I want to say doing it earlier may have made a difference in the discount amount.

 

After a little searching, we found our luggage, which was spread out with all of our Silver 1 (or was it 2) group. We located our driver - which was not obvious, but we figured it out. He scratched us off the list and we waited for the others to check in. It wasn't too terribly long, and we were out the door to people carrier (for those not familiar with that term, it's between a van and a bus. Ours had a trailer attached to it for the luggage. We loaded up and had some time before the tunnel opened. Our driver took us on a little tour of Wittier, which was kind of fun. We got to see where about 80% of the populations lives (in one "high rise") and then another smaller complex. I had to laugh when I saw some teenage graffiti and thought, it doesn't matter where you are... Then it was time to head to the tunnel. Our driver was funny and entertaining, and a little crass and not quite professional. Nothing too bad, just some colorful language occasionally. Now, I said it was an adventure. The drive was about an hour or so. Commentary along the way. And I truly was beginning to think I was going to have to tell him to stop old school, on the side of the road, and find a discreet place where no one could see me! I think you know what I mean. I had been really careful about keeping hydrated, and this morning I should have thought a little harder about that bottle of water that early in the morning. Thankfully, we had a group that was being dropped off at the RV Rental, and they had a bathroom, that was quickly accessible. Takeaway: Make sure you go to the bathroom before you get off of the ship and be careful how much you drink!

 

Before we knew it, we were dropped off at the airport. I had chosen this location, thinking we would drop off our car when we flew out. It costs a little more to drop at the airport, versus the downtown location. I was trying to make it easiest. You are dropped off at the airlines. He said that was the best spot for rental cars because there wasn't really a drop off for them. I questioned this in my head, but went with the flow. Who was I to argue the point. It was a bit of a walk, down escalators (I took the stairs, escalators with big luggage = freak me out), and down a pretty long hall. We found it and had a bit of a wait. There were only 2 people in front of us, but those clerks were not working any too fast.... We got our car, and were off, with a map and directions on how to get out of a Dodge (Kansas squeaking in here). It was lunch time by now, and we were hungry. We debated what to get. We did not want to sit down, as we wanted to get to our first location. As we were coming off of one road, onto another, I glanced down the embankment and there was a Moose with her twin babies lying down in the grass! I sadly did not have my camera out, and we were moving too fast. But it is implanted in my memory. I know you are all waiting with bated breath for our lunch location, we have ate at a lot of great places along the way! We ended up with ...... Taco Bell. I really do not like TB, but there it was, my husband is addicted - seriously - and he had gotten me those flowers after all.

 

It was easy to navigate, and before you knew it we were on our way, before 1:30. I think it was closer to 1.

 

Let's talk a little about the process I took to decide what we do and were we would go for our land portion. I first looked at trip reports of course. And the preponderance of travelers headed to Denali and a lot them chose to book as part of their cruise. So I started researching the train, Denali (and discovered there is a National and State Park), where we could stay, could we stay in the park, and was looking that direction, and it just didn't feel right. My concerns were the 8 hour bus ride, yes, you can get on and off, into and out of the park that I knew would not be my husband's favorite. (I also read an account of a particularly busy day where the poster chose not to get on and off as they had planned as they were concerned the next bus would be full and they would have to wait for another.) Next, there are high odds you won't really get to see Denali. And, probably the biggest, we do all of this, and all the husband would think was "I want to climb that!" I did research, and you cannot easily even get to the base and hike some of it, which some times appeases him. So I discussed my research, and concerns with him. And we both agreed, that was not the route we wanted to go. So I started doing more research. I honestly cannot remember what key words I used to search, however, the area we ended up in came up very soon. And it felt right. I did have to make a few adjustments along the way. One of the things I kept reading was, book as soon as you can, things fill up. (Sidenote: before I forget again-the advice given often is book your flights as soon as you can. This goes against anything I have ever followed when taking a trip. I did some google searches, later in the process, and discovered that things have shifted, and the 6 week out rule is not what it once was. I especially found this true with AK. I did not listen, and while I didn't schedule 6 weeks out, I wish I would have booked at least 2 -3 weeks earlier. I don't think I could have saved a ton of money, but maybe $200. Next time, I will book earlier.) On to our trip, I know you are dying to see what we did. Remember when I followed the advice to sail North because it just gets better and better? So, so true....

 

Our first destination was on Old Glen Highway, outside of Palmer, AK. I had in my head it was on Glen Highway. There is a difference. It didn't throw us off much, they had the GPS turned on in the car, but it did have me off a bit in my head of where we were going. I honestly do not remember anything about the driver there, it was about an hour. We were just so excited to be "in" AK. When we hit Palmer, we found the grocery store. The next day we had two activities happening with not a lot of time in between. I wanted to pick up something for lunch. We also wanted something for breakfast and would have a fridge. We also picked up "hiking" food for the husband. We finally decided on some things, and were off to our destination. At 2:45, we finally arrived.

 

 

We would be staying at the Knik River Lodge for the night. They have small, individual cabins that are new to newer in age. All wood, simple decor. Reasonable in price I thought. They have a microwave, fridge and tv (with no tv - you can borrow dvd's from the main building). I mention the time because check in is 3:00. I thought we were close enough, by the time we checked in it would be close to time. The clerk very clearly, dare I say a bit curtly, pointed out it was not check-in time. I just said, that's ok, we knew we were early, but thought we could get checked in and it wasn't a problem for us to wait. (Inside, I was rolling me eyes a bit.) She "nicened" up, and let me know she would check with housekeeping if it was ready. Lo and behold it was, so we didn't have to wait.

 

We got settled in, and decided to go for a drive to check out the area. I had thought the husband might hike around a bit, he somehow became convinced there was nothing to do there. The next day, someone mentioned a hiking trail. I wish they would tell you about those kind of things when you check in. Now you will know to ask if you check this location out yourself.

 

We drove back the Old Glen Highway, and found some areas to check out. We saw our second moose. We also drove back towards Palmer. There is an Elk Farm - we drove by. If you had children, you might like to stop.

 

We found these beautiful falls not far down from the cabins. I cannot for the life of me remember there names, but there is a sign right where you look up at them from the road. Just before that sign, coming from the cabins, is a drive, take it to a parking area to get out and walk up to the falls.

 

 

 

We drove the other way on the highway from the road to Palmer and saw the moose from the road in a "swampy" area (no pic, no were to park). By the time we did all this roaming, it was dinner time, so we headed back to the lodge. They also have an onsite restaurant that has a new chef and tried to do things local, etc. So, we thought we would check it out.

 

First off, you can't go wrong with the view.

 

 

The food was good. The appetizer was very good, the main dish wasn't bad, but could have benefited from a bit of salt. They had bread pudding for dessert, one of my favorites, so we decided to get some. Sadly, it was inedible. I have never had dry bread pudding. They graciously apologized and removed it from our bill. As we walked out, we heard the waiter tell them they had "ran out" of bread pudding. I noticed a few days later, they had a post on their FB page for more help. I think they are really trying, and just a bit overwhelmed. It was getting late, and we had a busy day, so I pushed for getting a movie. We found the old Orient Express, and guess who fell asleep first!? (the movie was his choice)

 

One more pic, one of the dogs on sight, REALLY liked the husband and followed us back to the cabin and wanted to so bad to come in. I don't think housekeeping would appreciate his muddy self.

 

Ok, one more. I woke up very early, go figure.

 

[parentsof5]

I had a hard time sleeping, and about 4 was wide awake so decided to take a shower. This is not more normal MO, but was a good thing, because I was able to figure out the shower before the husband got in (he was snoozing away). It had really low water pressure, so I started hurrying because I really wanted to wash my hair. Well, it basically stopped flowing and I was sudsed up. I about had a stroke. I got out and tried the small bath room sink and could get water, so was trying to get my head under it when the shower I had inadvertently left on started streaming water, like perfect pressure. Thank goodness. The same thing happened later that morning with the husband, but I was able to warn him. He would have had a conniption. He thinks it was just some sort of switch and we let them know at the desk - hopefully it won't happen any longer. Just a little hickup.

 

We enjoyed our hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, and juice and got our things together. There is an electric kettle for hot water. Before we know it, it was time to meet up at the Front Desk for our first adventure. We were to be there 15 minutes early, and our start time 10:15. They came looking for us at 10 til 10. The Front Desk is the one that told us this the night before, so might want to double check. And maybe since everyone else was there, they thought we should be or we could just go ahead and get started.

 

And what is the trip of the day? A helicopter ride to a glacier and dog sledding!! The lodge has a helipad right there with two helicopters. We had the larger one. There were two other young women (20's), from New Zealand on a 6 week vacation. And 2 mushers who were hitching a ride up.

 

 

 

 

First you get to spend some time playing with the dogs, while they get the sled dogs harnessed and attached to the sled. Then it is time to go! You get to ride two ways. They have the main sled with the dogs harnessed in, and you ride on it with their musher driving. They have a second sled attached with a rope. You can ride on it and "drive" it. You do have to control the break like the musher is, so even though the dogs are attached to the front sled, you get the feel. It was so much fun!

 

 

After the ride, you let the dogs know how good they did, and get your pic with the lead. NOTE: When you are letting the dogs know they did good, keep an eye out for them to hike a leg....that's all I'm going to say.

 

 

This was the most amazing experience. I am so glad I made the decision to splurge and do this. It was worth every penny!

[Tyskie]

So glad you posted about the dog sled from Knik River - we’ll be doing that in 5 days!!!!

 

Thanks for your review-doing Coral Southbound [emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[parentsof5]

These videos will be longer than when you will want to watch, but you do have fast forward. Rather than wait for us to figure out the wonders of video editing, I uploaded one of the dog sledding and the helicopter ride back to Knik River Lodge to You Tube to give you a taste of the experience. We'll see if I am successful.

 

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BM6Mo_ZPSs]

 

 

We got back at almost noon. This was longer than was scheduled. We were ready to go, and headed out for our next adventure today. We had picked up lunch at the grocery the night before. I had thought we could have time to grab some lunch, however, our next lodging host shared he thought it would be tight. I am glad we listed to him. It was further than I envisioned, and there was road construction that slowed us down a bit. We ate some while we were stopped on our end of a one way road closure. We had arrived with about 15 minutes to spare, finished our "picnic" lunch are were ready to go some more.

 

Have to hit the hay, have a training with a customer bright and early to be rested for. Next up: Part B of the best vacation day ever.

 

I'll leave you with some cuteness to get you by.

 

 

 

We had quite the conversation about this lady, and a few others with these same color patters. The real story is, it is mascara! It is like with football players, they smudge it on to help them deflect the glare on their white fur into their eyes. The owner felt this beauty needed some eye brows, too!

[parentsof5]

Great trip report! We did a Princess Southbound cruise in May of '17. Booked the Northbound for May of '19. Looking for new things to do in '19. And I too am originally from Kansas, Overland Park. Relocated 12 years ago to Omaha, Nebraska!

 

Fun!! It is definately a location on our list to return to.

[parentsof5]

If the links don't work, let me know and I will paste the url. I am having trouble viewing.

[parentsof5]

So glad you posted about the dog sled from Knik River - we’ll be doing that in 5 days!!!!

 

Thanks for your review-doing Coral Southbound [emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You are going to have so much fun!

[parentsof5]

Next up, Glacier View ATV Tours. Let me tell you, Tommy - one of the owners and our guide, was so much fun! He is full of energy, does a great job easing you in for those without ATV experience. Then assesses your capability and ramps it up accordingly. He did a great job about stopping along the way to point out things, like a huge Beaver Dam (the Beaver is still one of the few elusive animals we have not seen in the wild), and the best photo op locations, taking pictures of us as well, so we could both be in the shot.

 

I had so much fun! I felt like I was a teenager again, riding 3 Wheeler's (they don't make those any longer, these are modern 4 Wheeler's) down by the river! There were 2, 20 something women along with us. They were fun, and sweet, the one in front of me consistently checked on me....ha. She had never ridden one before, but I am 50 - which = 100 when you are 20.

 

We rode on all kinds of terrain, crossing the highway, to go up in mountains (so, I am from Kansas remember, I am pretty sure it is really a mountain). We rode through puddles, saw moose, and kicked it up a notch, speeding along an old stretch of highway.

 

Unfortunately, any action shots are video clips on the Go Pro that haven't been uploaded yet. Would choose this again, too.

 

This was a 3 hour ride (my bum was a bit sore the next day). It is now after 5, once we stood around and talked a bit. Taking a right out of the parking lot, we took a short drive down the highway to Mica Guides, and our location for the next two nights. Mica Guides does Glacier Tours on Matanuska Glacier. For tonight though, we were guests of Alpenglow Luxury Camping. Everything is booked through Mica Guides. And this was our view:

 

 

The accommodations are wall tents, with a memory foam mattress on a frame. They have (or at least the one we had) a queen size and a twin bed. Covering the bed are very warm comforters. And with temps at night in the 30's, that was a good thing. The first night was a bit cold, I got cold in the evening, and it was hard to get warmed up. We should have gotten in the "soaking" hot tub. (I didn't know that was a thing. Soaking that is - no jets.)

 

 

This is your "teeth brushing" station as I called it.

 

 

Breakfast was included, and was made from scratch (except the yogurt) and delicious. I felt like I was having my grandma's granola.

 

 

And that breakfast view - awwwww. I miss that!

 

 

But I am a little ahead of myself. Next up, let's talk about dinner first, and some how we spent our evening.

[Anita Latte]

Oh I'm so excited to read about your stay there! I found that place and considered it for our DIY land tour but ultimately we went in a different direction. Looked wonderful online though...can't wait to hear more!

[parentsof5]

It was about 6 by the time we got checked in and took a tour of the area, our restroom (aka outhouse - don't be too concerned, there is a flush toilet a short walk away, maybe 50 feet), dining, etc. We were ready for some dinner. Tommy had recommended a restaurant at an RV Park down the road (I can't recall the name, and can't seem to find it online) or Sheeps Mountain Lodge has a restaurant. We chose the latter. They have a nice selection of appetizers, that we didn't have, sandwiches, burgers, and dinners like haddock and salmon. We chose a good ol burger and it was good. The also had dessert, and didn't pass it up. No foo foo, just good. The way we really like it when we indulge. We shared.

 

 

Afterward, we decided to head the other direction on Glen Highway to check things out. I am glad we did, we saw beautiful sights, including some totally different topography. We were several miles in when we could see up ahead looked funny. It took us several moments to figure out we could actually see a wall of rain dividing the highway, horizontal to the it, from a rain storm. I have not seen something like it before. When we hit it, they were huge drops, and was a beautiful rain.

 

We then headed back to our tent for the night, where we settled in. I have no idea what time it was by then, but we had checked out the area for quite awhile. I was cold, and tired, and full after a long day and climbed into bed.

 

The next morning, after breakfast, it was time for Roger to head over to the MICA Guides side. He would be going Ice Climbing this day. This is a 6 hour adventure. There were two climbers this day, and 4 guides. It may have not been that high of a ratio normally, however, when I had booked - early, because they say you should do that, no one else had booked yet and you could only book 2. So I booked myself and was willing to pay that so the husband could go. I had checked a few weeks out, and no one else was booked. I was glad to find someone had not long before the climb, and received a refund before the husband left. So, even though someone there was aware I wasn't climbing, they had planned on me.

 

After some safety talk, and getting some gear packed up that is provided, they have you take everything out to make sure everything is packed and nothing was dropped.

 

 

If you don't have tall hiking boots, they have some you can borrow. (Husband was good, however, the other climber had short hikers.) They provide the climbing boots, crampons (spikes that slip over your boots), and climbing gloves (a cotton insert, and rubber gloves - think washing dishes - seriously, they say they do the best at keep your hands dry - makes sense). Layers are definitely good.

 

 

One of the guides used our Go Pro and took pics of husband and the climbing companion. I have to laugh, because the other climber was a women. He took some awesome photos of her. The one of the husband are "ok".

 

While he climbed, I hung around the tent and just enjoyed. I went out to lunch. I was going to go to the RV Park Restaurant, only to discover it wasn't open for the season until Monday. That was ok, I just headed a little further down the road to Sheep's Mountain Lodge. I was glad I did, I heard the owner telling a local about the bear that had been hanging around the last couple of days. It was young, and a bit brazen. One of their workers had been out a trail, and here comes charging a moose and her baby. He got out of the way quick, to see a bear chasing them! This was right near the Lodge! Sadly, he/she didn't show up that day, at least while I was around. I had a nice lunch of Seafood Chowder that was tasty. I also did some exploring via our rental and took pictures of all the beauty that surrounded us everywhere.

 

Relaxing.

 

 

This is that area past Sheep Mountain with the different topography.

 

 

 

I loved all the shades of green. We were about a week out or so from having everything greened up still. I would love to be there with that, and all of the flowers out.

 

[parentsof5]

The husband arrived back a little after 4, right on time. After talking for awhile, sitting in the Adirondack Chairs on the "porch" of our tent, it was time or dinner. After all that climbing, the husband was hungry! There isn't a lot around, so we chose to head back to Sheep's Mountain Lodge again. There is a place to eat right before the ATV tour. And we also noticed the Food Truck at the ATV was open another day, so may have been this night too, however, we didn't go that way. I think I had a salmon quesadilla that was quite tasty.

 

Of course there was plenty of light in the day, so we went on the hunt for animal life. We never did see another bear. However, we did see some other wildlife.

 

Coming from Mica Guides, on the curve that puts you in front of Sheep's Mountain (not the lodge) - there is a little pull out that I think is a dirt road that goes down to something, it is right at a guard rail. This is a good spot to stop when trying to get picks up the mountain. It is so amazing how far down you are, how far up things are! And how hard it is to get a good picture (with my lens capability that is).

 

 

 

We also saw several Moose!

 

 

I neglected to mention all of the moose poop at Alpenglow. Like all over. They warn you to be aware, as they like to use their trails. Well, evidently not for us, as we sadly never saw one walk by. We sure did enjoy looking for and finding them everywhere else, though!

 

When we were done driving, we enjoyed relaxing back at the tent. We played cards for a long time, enjoying our surroundings. They have other games down at the kitchen, as well as corn hole. The first night we were the only couple, two others (there are currently 3 tents) came the second night. We saw one from a distance, and the other a bit more including visiting at breakfast the second morning before heading out. BIG sad face.

[parentsof5]

Here we are everyone, our last full day in Alaska. It was time to head back to Anchorage. We had ended up with flights that left at 5:00 am on Sunday. I had reserved a room at Springhill Marriott. (Actually, my daughter did, at her rate which saved us a little, although not as much as in Vancouver). I did this, rather than flying out at midnight, etc. so we could get a few hours sleep. We would be flying from Seattle straight home on Alaska Airlines, and that flight didn't leave until 11:30. Unfortunately, AA changed the flight about a week and half after I booked, and it wouldn't leave until almost 2! Had I known, I would have paid a little more and had a bit later flight from Anchorage.

 

I am getting ahead of myself again, let's get back to a little more good stuff!

 

We started the drive back to Anchorage, with some detours. We drove towards Palmer. Along the way is a Musk Ox Farm. The husband had pointed it out, and was interested, but I think he thought I wasn't interested and didn't stop. It wasn't that I wasn't, I just wasn't necessarily excited about it. I would have been perfectly ok if we had stopped. Our goal was to go to Hatcher Pass. We saw some beautiful country on the way!!

 

 

 

We ran into this little guy, not literally.

 

 

And we started seeing less green, and more snow.

 

 

[parentsof5]

We got to our first stop, Independence Mine State Historical Park. Now, some of you readying may be laughing right now, because you know what this area is like in May.

 

 

Here it is.

 

And here is the road to get to it.

 

 

Needless to say, these Kansan's were not prepared with cross-country ski's, so we admired from afar. This also meant we were not going through Hatcher Pass, but would be heading back the way we came. That is ok, though, would not have done this differently - it was beautiful!

 

And we got to see this guy! I haven't done my research to confirm, but believe he is a marmot.

 

 

 

We headed to Anchorage through Wasilla and arrived about lunch time. While this was not how we had planned our day, it allowed time us to arrive with plenty of time to take in the Outdoor Market. It was early in the season, and I think it may have been a little smaller than later in the year based on the signs. There were still about 30, maybe more, booths. There was dried salmon jerky, clothes, honey and jams, among other things. The best of all, however, was a picture booth! Ever 5 years since our honeymoon 25 years ago, including our honeymoon, we have taken an old time photo. You know, where you dress in cowboy clothes, or civil war clothes. I had tried to find one. Someone on a thread found a webpage for one in Skagway, however, it appeared they were not open this year, or at least for the season, yet. Then I found one in Wasilla! Sadly, they only setup for the State Fair, in Palmer in August. (She was very nice, and prompt to respond, though!). I had actually stepped into the rest room, and found the husband waiting for me instead of me catching up. He was very excited to show me what he had found - he knew I would want a picture. The them was heavy winter AK Clothes with huskies - think an Eskimo picture. I asked if he could shoot in black and white, to help with it look "old", and he was able to. So now I have my picture at year 25!

 

We had lunch here as well. The husband found some Asian that was pretty good, I had a Salmon burger that was good. We also found a unique Christmas Ornament (that is one of my souvenir's I look for. It is made from clay from the silt left from a Glacier. I love it. I think I forgot to mention when we arrived in Anchorage originally, we hit the Ulu factory up. I wasn't sure what this day would bring, and wanted to make sure I went there. It is not large at all. There is a gift shop, and on either side are windowed areas where they make the knives.

[parentsof5]

Well folks, half of my laptop keyboard just quit working. While I am sad to stop storytelling, it is good we are almost done.

 

One more comment about the Ulu factory. They have a seconds area, with small imperfections. I went that route. I spent 22 on a knife and cutting board. There was a small knot in the board, and the knife had an incomplete decorative impression on one side of the handle, the otherside, is perfect.

 

We then headed to check in at the hotel. We hung out there for a bit all of a sudden the husband was ready to relax. Before we knew it, it was dinner time. The climbing guides had told him about Moose' Tooth Pizza (which I had read about here), so that's where we headed. They were packed. They have an awesome outside waiting area with a fantastic very large fire feature that kept it warm if you were close. We waited maybe 15 minutes. We had one with everything. Honestly, it was ok. I have had better, but it was fun to watch the booze counter. They have a walkup counter so you can buy a beer while you wait to be seated. We interesting were all the people that can up with their maybe half gallon, refillable jugs. It was a fun place.

 

We found the Tony Knowles trail after dinner and went for a walk. Then took the car back and turned it in. We called the hotel for the shuttle to pick us up.

 

Back to the hotel, where of course I couldnt go to sleep!! I did get about 4 hours. The hotel clerk scarred me into thinking we should leave for the hotel at 3, two hours before our flight. Nope. Could have slept atleast another half hour. We had prepaid our luggage, so only had to print the tags. And she said she put us on the shuttle list for 3. Not sure what happened, but the clerk had to call him. I think he was asleep in the van, so there was no delay, but he did say we weren't down.

 

Our flight home was uneventful. Even with the long layover. We enjoyed some live music at the Seattle Airport, window shopped, and dog watched. There were a lot of people traveling with their dogs.

[parentsof5]

Oh I'm so excited to read about your stay there! I found that place and considered it for our DIY land tour but ultimately we went in a different direction. Looked wonderful online though...can't wait to hear more!

 

What have you decided to do? It is hard to think about not coming here constantly in case there is something knew to be found!

[Anita Latte]

What have you decided to do? It is hard to think about not coming here constantly in case there is something knew to be found!

 

We decided to head back down to the Kenai Peninsula. It feels odd to be taking a shuttle from Seward to Anchorage to pick up the rental car and then head back down to the Kenai Peninsula...but we rented the car with points and Seward wasn't an option...and the Seward one way rentals had a brutal surcharge so it will be a bit of a car riding take care of business and travel kind of day. It's fine. I think we might need to do some laundry so we'll stop in Girdwood for that.

 

We're doing a public use cabin for two nights near the Kenai River area and then a kind of hotel cabin for one night near Seward. We're doing an all day fishing trip on the Kenai and then kayaking in the bay in front of Bear Glacier. We had thought to do a glacier hike on Exit Glacier but I think I'm going to cancel that. Not sure that we are physically up for it. All our thoughts and plans for getting in shape and ready to do that didn't quite happen over the winter like I had hoped. Oh well. So I'm rethinking that day...

[parentsof5]

We decided to head back down to the Kenai Peninsula. It feels odd to be taking a shuttle from Seward to Anchorage to pick up the rental car and then head back down to the Kenai Peninsula...but we rented the car with points and Seward wasn't an option...and the Seward one way rentals had a brutal surcharge so it will be a bit of a car riding take care of business and travel kind of day. It's fine. I think we might need to do some laundry so we'll stop in Girdwood for that.

 

We're doing a public use cabin for two nights near the Kenai River area and then a kind of hotel cabin for one night near Seward. We're doing an all day fishing trip on the Kenai and then kayaking in the bay in front of Bear Glacier. We had thought to do a glacier hike on Exit Glacier but I think I'm going to cancel that. Not sure that we are physically up for it. All our thoughts and plans for getting in shape and ready to do that didn't quite happen over the winter like I had hoped. Oh well. So I'm rethinking that day...

 

That is so the area we would have done if we hadn't done Palmer! I would have done the same rental car situation. One way is so ridiculous. Fishing was one thing I would like to do, too, if we can come back again some day. What a great trip you will have.

 

Maybe double check with the guides you chose for the glacier? I know ours had different options for different levels of comfort.

[ollienbertsmum]

Thank you for the review. We are going to Anchorage, Denali and Matanuska then a Princess Southbound to Vancouver in a couple of weeks' time. All you have put is making me even more excited.

 

I am normally not interested in the menus but because we have never cruised Princess before, I was glad to see what was on offer. I am not a meat eater so I think I am going to be really happy right from the start.

 

Thank you again.

[kt6453]

Thank you for the review. We are going to Anchorage, Denali and Matanuska then a Princess Southbound to Vancouver in a couple of weeks' time. All you have put is making me even more excited.

 

I am normally not interested in the menus but because we have never cruised Princess before, I was glad to see what was on offer. I am not a meat eater so I think I am going to be really happy right from the start.

 

Thank you again.

 

 

 

Loved your review! We are spending 4 nights DIY on Kenai peninsula. Your pictures made me even more excited!!

 

 

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