Weekend in Anchorage

This past weekend, we were blessed with a work-sponsored trip to Anchorage to stock up on supplies. After one month of living in the bush, we were quite excited to see some new scenery. It seemed like Friday night couldn't come fast enough, and when it did, our flight was delayed! No harm done, though, it was only one hour late and they compensated us for the trouble:

We arrived in Anchorage at 11pm, and for our first order of business, picked up this sexy beast of a rental car:

 

Stopped for some late-night nachos, checked into our snazzy Super 8, caught a few zzz’s, then it was off to check out the city. First stop, Anchorage Farmer’s Market.

Only in Alaska

Fresh lemon poppyseed truffle <3

We walked around Anchorage afterward, hoping to cross paths with a moose or grizzly or at least a bald eagle. But this was the extent of the wildlife we encountered in the city limits:

Brandon bear and his invisible friend....who he is mad at for getting the bigger fish.

This will go down in history as "the time I came face-to-face with a bear in Alaska"

Ididarod sled and retired runner

So, we decided to hop on the Seward highway and explore what was south of the city. Spontaneous road trip!

Pines on the left. Ocean to the right. Mountains ahead. The open road doesn't get much better than this.   

I can’t count how many times we stopped just to take pictures of the scenery. It was truly stunning. The Alaska you see on TV doesn’t even begin to do it justice.

Check out that reflection!

I was loving the purple wildflowers

The first town we hit was Portage, where we saw signs leading to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. We figured this might be our best shot at meeting a grizzly, so we pulled in.

The AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals and provides spacious enclosures for them while they are being cared for. Animals that cannot be released into the wild are give a permanent home here. The place was HUGE and we got to meet some pretty cool wildlife we've never seen before.

Representin' for the CU Buffs!

Good ol 'American bald eagle. These were EVERYWHERE along the Seward highway!

Reindeer love.

Brown bear on the hill. Excited Brandon below.

The long anticipated grizzly encounter!! He even stood up to greet us. What a genltlemanbear.

Actually, there were two of them.

Mooooooose.

After touring the Conservation Center, we were hungry for more exploring. We drove farther along the Seward highway and got to see several glaciers, a little fishing town called Whittier, a wild porcupine, and so much more. Here are the highlights:

Entrance to Whittier tunnel. It's a one-way highway/railroad tunnel which changes directions every 1/2 hour. Built in the early 1900s, 2.5 miles long, REEEAAALLY narrow!  

Inside the tunnel.

Coming out of the tunnel into the town of Whittier.

Whittier is basically one big marina. Everything from tiny fishing boats to cruise ships.

Short little creekside/waterfall hike in Whittier

Wild porcupine!!

Portage Glacier. The glacier water was a really cool turquoise color.

It was 9 pm by the time we realized our stomachs were growling. So much excitement and lack of sunset had totally made us forget the time. So, we started to head back to town and made one last stop in another small town called Girdwood for grub. 

Fresh caught halibut and beer. mmmmmm.

The fish was so delish, I even forgot I was a vegetarian.

Quite the Saturday it was. We slept in a little bit on Sunday and spent the day shopping and getting supplies to take back to Bethel for the rest of the summer. Our afternoon flight didn't allow for much more time to explore, but we are excited to come back in August for our 1 year anniversary (: