Alaskan Adventures

This is a list of our top 5 favorite places we visited during our 2018 trip to Alaska! This list isn't necessarily in order of our favorites, instead we decided to list them in the order that we visited. 

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1. Anchorage

• Because we flew in and out of Alaska from the Anchorage airport, we were able to spend time in Anchorage on the front and back end of our trip. A 45 min drive east of the Airport led us to the Chugach State park, where we enjoyed the Eagle River Nature Center. This was our first hike we did while in Alaska and we loved every minute spent in the park.
• Within minutes of starting our hike, we froze in our tracks as we heard the branches snapping and trees rustling near by. We weren't sure what to expect and we did not have bear spray! We felt like Harry Potter under the sorting hat, except instead of saying "anything but Slytherin" we were hoping for anything but a grizzly bear. Lucky for us we were greeted with our first ever moose! Supposedly there are moose in Minnesota, but we haven't been lucky enough to see any in our home state just yet. We were close enough for our heartrate to sky rocket, but at a safe enough distance to watch him nonchalantly pass by. We soon realized there are two types of people when it comes to wild animal encounters. The "Caits" of the world say hello to the moose any try to have a conversation with her new found friend. Then there are the "Andys", who use rational thinking and are very cautions of the 800 pound threat standing in front of him. Either way this will be a moment in time we treasure forever!
• Jumping to our last night before leaving Alaska we splurged for a stay at the classy Alyeska Resort. Although it wasn't ski season, we loved riding the aerial tram 2,300 feet to the top of the Mt. Alyeska. While at the top, we enjoyed cold cocktails and warm surgery beignets with breathtaking views. We also were able to stamp our travel book with the Iditarod mile 73 stamp and pick up our final souvenirs to remember our trip by.

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2. Denali

• After our day spent at the Eagle River Nature Center, we then headed 4 hours north to Denali. During our visit, we stayed in the McKinley Chalet Resort just two miles from the entrance to Denali National Park. While at  the resort we enjoyed amazing food (especially the breakfast), crisp mountain air, and the opportunity for adventure right outside our door. At night we loved to go for walks around the resort, visiting the various shops or walking to the near by river to skip rocks (a favorite pastime wherever we go!). 
• We both agree that Denali National park is one of our absolute favorite national parks we have visited. When we visited the park, it was the end of may, and were perfectly comfortable hiking in light jackets.  We drove into the park on the Denali Park Highway as far into the park as you could go, parked our rental at the savage river trail head, and set off on foot to explore.  While hiking we saw moose, Dall sheep, cute little gophers, and beautiful wildflowers popping up through the snow. We spent the day hiking and climbing all over the giant rocks, and because this national park covers 6 million acres... by the time we were hiking we were all alone!
• Denali is the tallest and most prominent mountain in North America and perfect example of the singular beauty of the Alaskan wilderness. An outstanding first view of the peak came at the Denali viewpoint south, framed by a river and surrounding Mountains. Still 2 hours from the park entrance, we were excited for what was next. Unfortunately, that first glimpse of the peak was also our last on the trip. Denali is notorious for hiding in the clouds during the summer months and we missed out on a closer view in the following days. The park is worth the trip even without seeing the peak though so don't be discouraged! We also didn't realize that you can not drive your personal vehicle very far into the park. If we had more time to spend at the park we would have loved to take one of the buses farther into the park and budget more then one day for exploring; there is always next time! You can find more information about Denali National Park here.

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3. Coopers Landing

• The drive from Anchorage to Homer is breathtaking, and we recommend pulling off highway 1 a few times to stretch your legs and have a look around. Coopers landing was a recommended stop from Cait's dad and the one we enjoyed the most. Coopers Landing ended up being the perfect "rest stop" we needed. We tired out our legs and refilled our lungs with some cold mountain air, before hitting the road to get to Homer that night.
• Pulling off of the highway, we were immediately surrounded by crystal clear river water running off of the Kenai lake. Perfect area for... you guessed it... skipping rocks! While skipping rocks we were in awe of the Cecil Rode Mountain. Being from Minnesota, a relatively flat state, we are always fascinated with how beautiful mountains are. 
• While we were stopped, we used our AllTrails App to find a quick hike near by. The Russian River Falls Hike, an relatively flat 5 mile out and back trail delivered an amazing waterfall and the unique experience of the Alaskan wildness jumping straight from winter to summer. As with most Alaskan hikes, we were in bear country and recommend bringing bear spray and something noisy before setting off to explore. 

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4. Homer

• Homer is the whole reason we went to Alaska. Cait's family opened a seasonal bakery on the Homer spit and Cait was going up to visit her mom and help out in the bakery for a bit.  The Homer spit is one of the most unique places we have ever been! The spit is 4 and a half miles long, meaning you can walk everywhere. The views are stunning and the people are so friendly. The spit is full of mom and pop, family run businesses, and the people there all carry a  very unique story of their own. 
• Homer is a fishing haven and the harbor houses hundreds of boats. Whether you go there to fish for halibut or just for travel, you are sure to have a blast. We first arrived during high tide and saw a beautiful teal ship. We couldn't believe our eyes the next day during low tide... ship was completely land locked! Such an amazing sight that made for an awesome photo. While the tide was still low, we loved poking around in the tide pools. Finding little fish, shells, and various other forms of sea life. But we weren't only looking down, we were also fascinated by the birds in the sky. Drawn to  the fishing boats, there were more eagles and sea gulls than we could count. We were able to witness an eagle swoop down and catch a fish, fly directly over us, and land on the mast of the teal ship to enjoy his dinner.
• Under one of the Homer Spit piers, there are a couple of swings with truly amazing views. Cait could spend hours down there, and luckily for her the days felt even longer during that time of year! In June the sun wasn't setting until after 11 pm. That's 18+ hours of daylight!
• Homer had some of the best people and food we had during our Alaska trip and we will definitely make it back one day!

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5. Seward

• While staying in Seward we split our stay between a hotel in down town and a tiny cabin in the woods. The cabin was tiny, cold, and when the wind picked up... you could hear it whistling through the log walls. Some people might be put off by this, but for us It was absolutely perfect! One of the best places we stayed while in Alaska. The experience of that cabin helped us realize we don't care where we rest our head at night, we care more about where we can explore during the day. We accredit much of our Alaskan experience and that cabin stay to our desire to one day build our camper van.
• Seward rewarded us with so much to see and do. Our hotel gave us tickets to the Alaskan Sea Life Center where we watched puffins play, touched critters in the tide pool, and got up close and personal with a stellar sea lion. Outside of the  Sea Life Center, we stood on the observation deck and watched wales breaching in the bay. After our visit  to the center we settled in for dinner at the Seward Brewing company and enjoyed some delicious pizza and great local brews!
• One of our favorite things we did in Seward, was a boat cruise of the Kenai Fjords National Park. We spent hours on the water watching wales, orcas, puffins, sea lions, and even a sleepy black bear who was napping after his lunch. The tour brought us up close to glaciers and provided us with stunning views of the costal rain forests. 
• I don't know about you, but when I think of Alaska, one of the first things that comes to my mind is the Iditarod dog sled races. So we went to the Seavey family homestead for an Ididaride dog sled tour. While there we met the dogs, held adorable puppies, learned about the Iditarod racing process, and even got to ride in one of the summer training carts while being pulled by the dogs. We are not sure who loved it more... us or the dogs! One thing is for sure, their dogs love what they do and are very well taken care of.
• Some of our favorite on foot exploring we did in Seward was at Exit Glacier, part of the Harding icefield. We spent hours upon hours traversing rocks and rivers to get up close to the massive glacier. To be honest, there was a perfectly paved path you can take to the glacier, but sometimes its more fun to take the road less traveled. Once we near the glacier, we developed a whole new level of respect for mother nature. The gushing river flowing from the glacier's mouth, the cracking sound of the slowly shifting ice, and the posted warning signs of ice fall hazards really put into perspective what you are staring at. It left us in awe of Alaska and all her beauty.

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All of this being said, if you are thinking about visiting Alaska, our only word of advice to you is "just do it and don't wait"! So often we hear people say that Alaska is on their bucket list or that they would love to go one day. So we are here to say, if you feel drawn to the idea of going to Alaska. Go! We promise you wont be disappointed. Alaska has left a huge imprint on our heart and we can't wait for the day that we make it back.