For your 45th Birthday - you really are "Denali Bound" - Complete w/final thoughts - 2/17/2013 About This Page:

[DrDolphin]

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is an 11-mile (18 km) long trail along the coast of the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, with the water on one side and the city of Anchorage on the other.

It is designed for non-motorized use... no vehicles, just people, bikes, roller blades, etc. In the winter, cross-country skiers use the trail. The Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, was named by William Bligh (of HMS Bounty fame), who was also on Cook’s expedition – he named it Turnagain, because they had to turn around again and leave the bay without finding the Northwest Passage.

Our plan was to walk out to "Earthquake Park". It was misting while we walked, but we were enjoying the sites and were properly dressed for the weather.



Along the way, we saw LOTS of wildlife and an ecosystem restoration area full of ducks and a little BEAVER!! The ecosystem restoration area is designed to restore salmon spawning in the area.









He was building a lodge underneath the plastic tarp protecting the restoration site.




This was also neat for me to see – because the restoration project was being done with the Corps of Engineers – Alaska district. We passed through the restoration site and continued on our way.

All throughout Anchorage they have a "Planet Walk" which shows all the planets and the sun - all properly distanced from each other. It was really neat to see the whole thing laid out and come across the displays during our exploration of Anchorage.



We came across a seagull with a broken wing that was stuck in the mud of the bay, right near the trail, and then a raven swooped down and began to attack it!! The seagull began to scream, but since it was already injured, it could not get away... the screaming really bothered me and I asked Chris to please move on. I am a biologist, and I have seen things die before, but I was not prepared to hear that... it really upset me.

Not too much later, it began to rain harder, and we realized we had already hiked about 3 miles and decided to turn around.


We called Rachel and found out where they were. We decided to hook up with them to do some souvenir shopping when we got back to the hotel.


As we turned around to head back to town, we passed the area where the raven had attacked the seagull.... the Raven was gone, but had been replaced by two bald eagles (a mating pair – bald eagles mate for life), who were now eating what was left of the seagull.







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq3YIXsf6rE




After watching the eagles for about 10 minutes, we moved on... and came across a VERY pregnant moose feeding on some trees. We stopped and took video of her too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHz2FHFjXbA







Next - Souvenir Shopping and a Passporter Meet.

[DrDolphin]

After seeing the moose, we finally decided to head back to the hotel and meet Rachel for some shopping. I think George was napping. My one goal for shopping was to get a stole (or hat or sweater) made of Qiviut (pronounced "kiv-ee-ute"). It is made by native women from the downy underwool from the Arctic musk ox. I saw them in 2009 and really wanted one, but didn’t have the $$ necessary. So I saved up all my pennies to buy my stole. My pattern is the Nelson Island Diamond Pattern. (http://www.qiviut.com/shop_scarves_stoles.cfm). The underwool is eight times warmer than wool and extraordinarily lightweight. Wish I could get a sweater – but those run in excess of $1,000. After buying my stole at the Cooperative – we went shopping at some of the souvenir shops and bought some t-shirts for the kids, and a few other gifts for family and friends.




After Rachel and I finished shopping, I needed some solo time. I also needed to replace my Ulu bowl that was warped a year ago. So, I walked down to the Ulu Factory by myself and got there right before they closed at 5pm. I bought my original one when I was in Anchorage in 2009. An Ulu is a curved single bladed knife commonly used in Alaskan culture and my bowl is like a cutting board in the form of a bowl that fits the Ulu blade.



A view of Downtown Anchorage with the Hilton on the hill from the Ulu Factory. After shopping was done, the four of us headed out to dinner at the Snow Goose to meet up with Passporter Jennifer and her DH Chet.


We had a great time talking – add Jennifer helped with planning the next day’s trip down to Seward (she sent Chet back with a guide called “The Milepost” for the road AND homemade Alaskan jelly and jam!!!). I had crab and corn chowder; home brewed root beer; can’t remember what else I got...Thanks Jenn!!

Next - Glacier Day #1

[KMB733]

Great pictures of the wildlife!! Sounds like a great PP meet and shopping!

[lauriep]

Amazing photos. I love the ones of the beaver. So difficult to witness (and HEAR) the violence of the natural world. It all makes rational sense, but the suffering is hard to take.

[ilovedisney247]

So glad you decided to finish this! I'm loving all the wildlife photos!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pics of the trail and your travels around Anchorage. We had a Milepost. It was amazing!!

[rhinohunter]

Nice wildlife pix. I remember seeing cars along the roadside when I lived there back in the 60s. Everytime the cars were stopped, there was a moose or some other form of wildlife playing in the creeks that ran along the roads.

[chezp]

Love all the wildlife shots - and how cool to get a PassPorter meet too!

[cubfancolleen]

Great hike - except for the poor seagull attack!
The woolen factory sounds fantastic! Can't imagine the sweaters.

[rhinohunter]

Very curious about the musk ox wool. I had to google Quivit to get to information. The link in your thread wouldn't open. That is some really special yarn. Followed a blog for a lady that buys the yarn and knits the sweaters, etc. She had a sweater that was sold for $1800. One of the stores posted that all quivit products are sold out till January. Looks like it is expensive but in great demand. Glad you were able to get a piece.

[DrDolphin]

The plan for the day was to drive from Anchorage to Seward, stopping on the way south to see the sights and just explore. Have dinner in Seward and make a direct ride back to Anchorage in the evening.

We started with breakfast in the hotel lounge before loading into the minivan George had rented the day before while Chris and I were exploring the Tony Knowles trail. We left the Hilton about 9am. Later then I would have liked, but when you travel with others that have a very different vacation style then you do.... well... you adapt.

Our first stop was Indian Valley Meats. We planned on buying so Alaska treats like caribou jerky and summer sausage. George and Rachel also looked into buying some hats because it was colder than they had thought it would be when they were packing for the trip.

On our way in, we saw a male turkey on the side of the road.

He was strutting his stuff. Then we saw the other male turkey and his harem of hens. The first Tom was trying to convince the hens to leave their Tom and come with him.


We also learned from the owners of Indian Valley Meats that they own the turkeys and that turkeys are not native to Alaska.

After loading up on snacks... we headed to Beluga Point. It is a great place on the Turnagain Arm to see Beluga whales, later in the year. But we stopped to take some photos.


As we continued south, we saw roadside waterfalls from the melting snow.

Our next stop was Girdwood. Rachel had been asked by her aunt to purchase some jade earrings at a jade jewelery store her aunt had visited years before. We headed into town and found the store, but it had closed the month before we arrived.



We also saw the Alyeska ski resort and tramway while we were in Girdwood.

Our next stop was Portage Valley in the Chugach National Forest for our first glacier hiking attempt - Byron Glacier.

Back in 2009 when I visited Anchorage, I got to hike to the Byron Glacier with my friends. So one of the things I wanted to do on this trip was take Chris to the Byron Glacier. Here is the video of my visit in July 2009.

walking to glacier 2 desktop - YouTube
on the glacier desktop - YouTube

We drove up to the glacier trail, and it was COVERED in snow!! At first everyone was game for the hike. Of course... I couldn't see the trail anywhere... but I could (sorta) see the glacier in the distance. Most of the glaciers in this valley are names for english poets, Byron, Keats, Tennison, etc...

George climbing up the 4 foot tall snow bank on top of the trail...

Here comes Rachel

The crew ready for the rainy, cold hike. As soon as Chris and I sank knee deep into the snow, George and Rachel bailed and headed back to the van to wait for us.

The "sign in post" where they ask you to register before your hike, so they can keep track of who is using the trail.


The trail to the Byron glacier

The river coming from the melt of the glacier

Me taking photos on the side of the river

Me on the "trail"


You can see the glacier at the end of the valley.

It was raining (or was it sleeting) and it was cold... but to quote Chris "Who cares, we are in Alaska!". We decided after 25 minutes of trying to get close to the glacier and losing the trail, we decided to head back to the car.

Chris and the sleet

Beautiful. Cold but beautiful

We kept losing the trail, and had to follow other people's footprints. The snow was very deep and we both kept falling.

This is as close to the Byron glacier as we got. Our hike back was quite interesting. We lost the trail... but we knew the river went to the lake and there was a bridge that was near our parking lot... so we followed the river, which worked well until we had to climb through a thicket of willow trees on a steep slope and both almost ended up taking a swim in the river as we slid down the hill into the water....

Eventually we made it up to the road and followed the road back to the parking lot where Rachel and George were sleeping in the front seats!!



On our way out we drove down to the Portage Glacier visitor's center. It was closed and the boat to the actual glacier was not running. The lake was completely frozen over. What a difference a few months makes here.

Next - Glacier try #2

[lauriep]

That was quite an adventure hiking almost to the glacier. Would NOT have been good to fall in the river! It's so beautiful.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures!

[KMB733]

Sounds like a fun adventure on your hike!! Great pictures from glacier.

[chezp]

Wow, what beautiful photos.