“Here’s to Alaska, here’s to the people …” Amazing Alaska – Day 1

I must begin the Alaska portion of this story by taking a moment to sing the praises of our champion: Jim Perzechino. Jim & I graduated from Salem (NH) High School, both in the Class of 1976. The best we could each probably say back then is that we knew “of each other.” Never really traveled in the same crowd, never really took any of the same classes. In a class of 422 students, that was not surprising. We became Facebook friends a few years ago, and have done some sharing between our classes from time to time (we’re both teachers.) He’s an awesome person, and offered a wealth of information and travel tips about Alaska, as he’s lived there for many years now. We would have had a _very different_ trip if it hadn’t been for Jim’s guidance, suggestions, and hospitality … Oh, yes, he invited us to stay at his place one of the nights of our trip! (More on “Day 3 Alaska”) THANK YOU, Jim, for EVERYTHING!

OK! On to Alaska, the Last Frontier!

I wish to skip past (and, if possible, completely block from my memory) the Seattle Airport Frontier, where we waited an hour in a line that snaked & rat mazed all over two floors of SEA-TAC, just to _GET_ to security clearance. Ridiculous!!

But, cleared we were, flew we did, and upon arriving in Anchorage we were rewarded with NO LINE at the Car Rental counter, AND the cars located directly on the Airport property — no Shuttle necessary! We hopped into our Jeep SUV (“This?” questioned Gerry. “Trust me,” I replied. And, FYI, I was right. ;-))

Here would be a good time to mention that, THE MOMENT we got on the road to the Kenai Peninsula from Anchorage, I was on a Scenery Overload that never quit for the whole week. Photos will prove it, but the photos don’t do the Real Place a fraction of the justice it deserves. To say that Alaska is Amazing is a vast understatement!

First Official Alaskan Stop:

The website describes it best: The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) is a sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research and quality animal care. It’s a WONDERFUL place! And … only an hour out of Anchorage, and the dirt pathways leading to / around the AWCC was immediate proof of the need for an SUV. 🙂

We saw … a delightful porcupine …

Beautiful deer …

A herd of musk ox … (Note: That SCENERY!!)

A truly majestic eagle … which, seemed to me to be about as tall as I am (5’3″)

“Thing” from The Addams Family … oh, wait … no, just more deer. 😉

A brief video of a black bear … with another cameo appearance by “Thing” …

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A buffalo herd …

And, speaking of buffalo … I simply MUST comment on this photo, which has now become the quintessential Lulu in Alaska photo, one of the very FEW I posted to Facebook while still in Alaska …

Ummmm … how can I put this delicately and kindly? THEY AIN’T REAL BUFFALOES, FOLKS!!! (Holy Moly!!) This is a very cute photo-op at the AWCC … but I was pretty confused by some of the comments on the Facebook post, proclaiming how “amazing!” this was, and what a dare devil I must be!! Not. Even. Close. LOL Just look at their hooves, sweet people: Cardboard cut-outs, mounted on wooden blocks!!

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was a great way to begin our Alaska experience. About halfway between Anchorage and our first night, in Seward (a port town on the east coast of the Kenai Peninsula). We were refreshed in so many ways, arriving in Alaska, not the least of which was due to the temperature!

(And, no, it was NOT 2:17 AM, but 48 degrees was a fact! YAY!!) We arrived at our “hotel” …

… dumped off our stuff, and headed to our last adventure for the day: A visit to Seavey’s Ididaride, where we were scheduled to do a Dog Sled ride & tour of the facilities where sled dogs are raised & trained.

Our time at Ididaride was so wonderful that I will devote the next post solely to it! Stay tuned … will there be another Golden Dog in our future???