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I recently made my first trip to Alaska. I will say right now that it will not be my last. I loved it! We started in Anchorage visiting my cousin Justin and his family. Justin moved to Alaska about 30 years ago and never looked back. His wife Evelyn is from there and they are now raising two, amazing children Celeste and Orion.
The idea for this vacation came from my Aunt Donna, who is Justin’s mother, and it turned into a memorable trip of a lifetime to celebrate with my parents for their 60th wedding anniversary. I do not know why I have not made this trip before. It’s not a well-kept secret from Minnesotans, we met several during our visit. Three girls were from Clearwater, Minnesota, just 20 miles from our home. Four other Minnesotans were from the St. Cloud area. We felt right at home except for the daylight for 19 hours a day.
My husband Mike, my uncle Mark, Justin, and his wife Evelyn spent a day fishing for halibut. They caught several and some rockfish. I had not eaten either before, but Justin as a trained chef, grilled the halibut to taste like no other fish. The white flaky fish almost had a sweetness to it that reminded me of crab.
Justin also prepared my favorite Alaska King Crab legs one evening and I could not get enough. While they were fishing, we all decided to drive to Seward Alaska to the beautiful aquarium. I saw my first tufted puffin. (Try saying that three times fast.) This is a quirky bird that looks like a drawing.
Alaska has so much to see and do eight days was not enough. We spent Father’s Day taking a train ride through the Alaska mountains with sights of blue glaciers, pink snow, mud flats, Dahl sheep high on cliff ledges, moose and even a black bear. There were park rangers on board to walk us through the history of Alaska and explain exactly what we were seeing. When I booked this 12-hour trip I misunderstood it to be a train ride visit to a village where we could have lunch and shop, then take a leisurely train ride back to Anchorage. Instead, we ended up on a mountaintop with gorgeous views but not a restaurant for more than 100 miles! We survived on almonds and tea, but it proved to be a very long day.
At my age, I have decided to only collect a memorable souvenir while on vacation. I made an exception in Alaska and brought back two. A ULU knife with a handle made from a walrus oosik fossil and some Qiviut yarn that comes from the belly of a Musk Ox. (My mom offered to knit me an Qiviut headband.)
The highlight of the trip was an airplane ride to visit a glacier. For 90 minutes we flew over some of the most beautiful scenery in America. Pictures do not do this justice but as a friend recently told me “Alaska makes everyone a professional photographer.” Head North my friend, to Alaska! Hugs and Peace, Sandy
“Alaska isn’t about who you were when you headed this way. It’s about who you become.” ~ Kristin Hannah
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