Today was the first day of our great Alaska adventure! We flew into Anchorage from Seattle this morning, after getting up waaaay too early. After stopping for provisions, we headed down the Seward Highway. Anchorage, at least the part we drove through, looked like one giant strip mall, but as soon as we got out of town, the scenery became spectacular. The Seward Highway follows Turnagain Arm, a coastal inlet consisting of shallow water and mud flats during low tide, with views of the Chugach and Kenai mountains:
Almost halfway to Seward is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. They take in injured and orphaned animals, and those that cannot be rehabilitated live at the center permanently. We saw deer, elk, moose, caribou, black bears, grizzlies, fox, owls, musk oxen, and bison. Here are a few pics:
Just across the highway from the wildlife center is the turnoff for Portage Valley, where you can find streams filled with spawning salmon as well as Portage Glacier. Since it was getting late, we skipped the glacier cruise but took pics of some of the glaciers in the area, as well as the spawning salmon.
Just before we reached Seward, we saw our first wild moose--two cows in a clearing just off the highway.
Finally we reached Seward, which is hard to describe. It's part fishing village and part coastal tourist town, with incredible scenery. We ate (fresh salmon and halibut... yum) and walked along the shore of Resurrection Bay before calling it a day.
Stay tuned for the next installment of our exciting Alaska adventure! And if you want to see more pictures from our trip, check my Flickr account. I’ll upload more as time and internet access permit.
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