A 3 week Vacation in ALASKA - by Vandana Rajagopalan
Anchorage -
Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center, Portage Glacier.
Floatplane flight over Kodiak.
Bear Watching in Kodiak Island
Alaska Marine Highway -
Weeklong Cruise to Aleutian Islands on MV Tustumena - Cold Bay, Sand Point, Chignik, Akutan, Unalaska.
Bald Eagle viewing in Unalaska
Chiniak Bay in Kodiak
Anchorage & Palmer -
Independence Mine, Hatcher Pass, Lazy Mountain.
Alaska Railroad train to Whittier and a
Prince William Sound Cruise
Talkeetna,
Camping in Fairbanks
Drive to the North Pole along the 414 mile gravel
Dalton Highway - Arctic Circle, Coldfoot, Wiseman, Deadhorse,
Prudhoe Bay.
Dip in the Arctic Ocean.
Grizzlies at Denali National Park, Drive to Wonder Lake
July 20, 2007 Friday.
A 3 week Alaska vacation kicks off @4pm sharp!
But we have to get to the airport first! A long 500 mile drive from Clovis, NM to the airport in Denver ,CO on a Jeep Wrangler, over two days.
V in the jeep's rear-view mirror, poised with D200, clouds in her eyes.
The sun plays hide & seek as always in New Mexico skies.
We abandoned the helpful Google-Maps suggestions and staked out our own route from Clovis to Denver, via rural smalltowns hitherto untravelled.
Route on Day 1:
Clovis -> Grady -> San Jon -> Logan -> Springer, NM.
The Caprock amphitheater, between Grady & San Jon has a huge windmill farm atop a mountain. An exhilarating drive, must definitely revisit this area.
July 21, 2007. Saturday. A warm, sunny day as we cross the New Mexico border on I-25 and enter Colorado.
It starts pouring at noon. We take refuge in a state park close to the Denver Airport, and wait for it to subside. It never does. Its time to board the 8pm Alaska Airlines, and we head straight to the airport on the wet E-470 tollway, park the Jeep on the long-term economy lot & off we go!
A L A S K A !!!
Alaska Airlines lands in Anchorage at midnight.
The next morning, we head off on Seward Highway.
Fishing along the Bird Creek exit. Salmon fishing is all the rage.
V spots her first bald eagle far, far away on one of the naked spruce trees by the coast along the Seward highway. We come to a quick halt by the shoulder. As cars are whizzing by @60mph, V steadies her telephoto for this pic. She snaps a few more & we get back on the highway.
Took the detour off Seward Highway to Whittier, but stopped just short of the Whittier tunnel. This is the favored viewpoint for the Portage Glacier.
An iceberg from the glacier drifts by.
Anchorage Wildlife Refuge Center on the right. The traffic continues relentlessly despite it being so cloudy and fogged out that you require highbeams at noon.