One place that made a permanent impression on me asa kid was Alaska. Not sure if it was the snow, the mountain range, the wildlife or just the beauty of the place that made me fall in love with Alaska. But, “Alaska” was always on the top of “Places to See” list. The year 2008 was finally the one when all things worked out and I was on my way to “Alaska”. Before I get going with our journey into Alaska, I must say that Alaska is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Just before the flight was about to land in Anchorage city of Alaska, we saw these beautiful snow covered mountains from the window. My first glimpses of Alaska.
Day 1: Anchorage: As we were driving out of the Anchorage airport, the city unfolded as a small township surrounded by snow covered mountains. The white snow on the mountains along with green lush ground and tall pine trees giving a standing ovation to the sky looked like a perfect postcard setting. The roads at times would give an illusion of going straight into the mountains.
The sun never sets in Alaska in Summer time. The light gets slightly dim around 1:00 am and the sun rays are back with bright light around 4:00 am. That’s a big advantage for the visitors, as they can indulge into outdoor activities like paragliding, kayaking and other stuff way past mid night. For dinner we ate salmon in the local restaurant and this was by far the freshest fish I ever had.
Day 2: Anchorage to Girdwood to Denali: As we started our drive from Anchorage to Girdwood the road looked straight out of some movie. I was driving right next to the Gulf of Alaska ocean line and right behind the ocean was the beautiful snow covered mountain. And if this wasn’t enough the road would turn and twist, hiding and unfolding the breathtaking scenic beauty.
Needless to say this was the most beautiful drive ever. Finally we reached Portage Glacier in Girdwood city. It was a 1 hour Boat tour that was going to take us real close to Portage Glaciers. The first close encounter with glacier was a great feeling. The closer we got the chill in the air increased and the excitement was directly proportional to the chill factor in the air. Though we headed to Denali National Park from here, you could go to Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood and catch up on paragliding.We started driving towards Denali on the parks highway. The tall pine tree tundra region and mountains around adds to the scenic beauty of parks highway. Thank God for a clear day. We got a clear view of the all white Mount McKinley as we drove towards Denali National Park. Finally after a scenic drive and great view of Mount McKinley we made it to White Moose Lodge in Healy city, the place we stayed in Denali. For the price we paid the place was too good. It was right in the middle of the woods.
Day 3: Denali National Park: We had made reservation for 13 hours Kantishna Experience Tour. This tour takes visitors deep inside the national park, on a park bus. There’s only one single road in this park which goes all the way to the end of Denali National Park. On our way we saw Mount McKinley much more closely then the day before and a beautiful wonder lake. The wonder lake is right in the middle of the national park and is a good source of water for the wildlife and a great scenic view with mountain reflection in the water for the visitors. If you are lucky you can spot lot of wildlife in their natural habitat. Initially, we spotted little wildlife, but they were quite far. But then we actually had a caribou in the middle of the road.
And if you are lucky, you might see bears crossing right in front of your tour bus. This tour impressed me more so for the stories of the people I heard than the actual forest or wildlife. Don’t get me wrong, the park was definitely beautiful, but the stories were too overwhelming to even imagine how life was 50 years ago when thousands came here to find gold during the gold rush. The land was home for lot of brave souls who came for gold, but stayed back for the love of the place. It’s hard not to fall in love with Alaska.
Day 4: Glacier Landing, Hikers and Matanuska Glaciers: This tour was the most important part of this Alaskan adventure. We chartered a helicopter thru ERA Helicopters in Denali, which would land us into the Glacier Mountains. There is no way I can tell anyone what it was like to be standing on the glacier. I have heard people say breathtaking view. But, this was the first time; I actually felt the shortness of breath. I just didn’t know how to handle the moment. I was absolutely speechless.
There were these small crystal clear blue water streams in the middle of the glaciers. The whole experience of glacier landing was nothing short of a dream.