Mom and Dad finally came to visit me in Alaska! It was a short trip, but I secretly love being a travel agent so we had a full schedule!
Day 1 we explored around Anchorage. Mom and I rode bikes along the coast before taking Dad to the fish hatchery to see many King Salmon making their upstream run in Ship Creek. We finished the day with freshly caught Sockeye Salmon and salad from my garden!
The following day we headed south to Seward, one of my favorite little Alaskan towns. Mom and I hiked to the Harding Ice Field, a 600 square mile ice field that makes up the majority of Kenai Fjords National Park.
On day 3, we were thrilled to wake up to sunshine, a rarity in Seward! We toured the Sealife Center, another favorite place of mine, before jumping on a water taxi to Bear Glacier. We hiked and then kayaked into a camp near the glacier where we spent the night. Mom and I kayaked all around the glacier and the icebergs that have broken off of it, taking care not to get to close as they break and move often. We were fortunate enough to be able to camp in big weatherports keeping us very dry during a night of rain. After a nice morning kayak, we headed back to the mainland where we then drove to Soldotna for a fishing adventure.
I made Dad get up at 3AM to get to the Kenai River before all the people and then proceded to out fish him, winning our bet and getting myself a plane ticket home in the fall! I guess it was a better day for me than him, but fortunately Dad fishes for the fun of it, while I only fish because I love Sockeye Salmon. The Kenai is a big river and is very famous for the big run of salmon. Thousands and thousands of people head there during the month of July and early August attempting to fill their freezer or just get a great Alaskan experience. It is outrageously busy! Sockeye, much to our dismay, don't always come upstream at the same time, making fishing for them a bit of a guessing game, trying to figure out when the big run will happen. The 2nd run this year, for whatever reason, was quite small and not intense, hence our bad luck. After returning to Anchorage, I went on one last hike with Mom before bringing them back to the airport.
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| Kings stuck below the dam |
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| Trying to jump |
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| The dam was just too big and none were able to make it up. (see fish on right hand side of dam jumping) |
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| Alpine Fireweed, an Alaskan classic |
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| A small herd of mountain goats on our way to the Harding Icefield |
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| Lots of views |
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| Looking out at the icefield |
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| Harding icefield and Exit Glacier |
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| Selfie with Mom |
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| Mom enjoying the views |
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| Add caption |
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| Dad makes it to camp |
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| Some really blue ice |
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| Ice and Sun |
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| Approaching Bear Glacier |
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| The edge of the glacier. Mom and I witnessed the glaicer calve once! |
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| Teetering Icebergs |
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| Our Tent |
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| Day 2 of kayaking brought some wetter weather and some really cool clouds |
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| I found some jellyfish! |
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| Catching Salmon |
It was so fun to have visitors! Thanks Mom and Dad for the fun times!
