My trip to Alaska has been a great experience. Never happened to post articles about the amazing national parks, glacier hikes, cruise, and wildlife earlier to this! I think about Alaska and replay my experiences ... every moment of it ... the severe cold, sleepless nights because of no night hours, day-long cruise on a rough ocean and sea-sickness, spectacular wildlife, snow-ice-and-glaciers, cheap hostels, road accident and so on ... Believe me ... unforgettable!! Kenai Fjords National Park- ice fields, glaciers, wildlife and lush forests! A place on earth where the ice age lingers!
Exit Glacier, is the only glacier in the park that can be reached by road. I walked up to the terminus. I wandered around solo on the less travelled trails and so happened to see a black bear with its cubs ... sorry no pics ... I was alone in an unknown land, it was raining, taking out the camera from the backpack would make some noise and Mama-bear would not like a lady-in-bright-pink-jacket around its cute-little-cubs.
Hike up the Harding ice field trail wasn't advised to visitors that rainy day. I went up a bit and returned when my waterproof shoes with extra grip started slipping! On normal summer day one could go up this strenuous trail to see the vast expanse of ice! One can have panoramic view of Exit glacier spilling out. The ice field has around 40 outflowing glaciers.
I went on a cruise to North Western glacier which is near to the highest point in the park (6450ft). The cruise started from Seward and sailed through Resurrection Bay to Harris Bay. On the way Striation Island was adding beauty to the landscape around. Thriving marine wildlife in the Gulf of Alaska is one of the must see item in lifetime. The marine wildlife I saw were- humpback whales, orca, dolphins, seals, otters and many birds. A humpback baby was having fun. It was jumping up out of the water and performed for us for almost 5 minutes before its mother decided to swim away with its baby. Orcas and dolphins were so fast, one minute they are here and the next moment on the other side of the boat- like they swam under my feet!
Well, the boat ride on the rough ocean-water was tiresome. Almost 10 hours!! Reaching up to the North Western glacier was fun. Sighting of wildlife brought all the excitement. Though everything around was grey and gloomy, cold and cloudy ... it was unimaginable!! On the way back, I got sea-sick. I threw up in buckets into the ocean ... but it didn't seem to make any difference to the vast Pacific! When I reached back my stomach was totally empty. I felt very hungry ... I remembered reading ... the best nutrition- taking control of your life ... so, I found a Chinese restaurant to have sweet-corn soup and fried rice. That hot starch tasted so delicious in that bone-biting cold! What a day and what a park?!! Almost like a dream!
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Related Articles- More on Alaska
This post is linked to Our World Tuesday and Nature Notes.
If you want pictures please ask me :)
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
What an eventful trip! Wonderful pictures too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gauri! Yes, it was very eventful! Look for one more post for more fun!
DeleteAh Beautiful photographs. First time I am reading about Alaska in a travel blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks Girdhar!
DeleteWow! What a great looking place - yet another place to add to the list!
ReplyDeleteStewart M - Australia
Thanks Stewart!
DeleteAwesome experience! The wildlife, the cold and the glaciers definitely make Alaska exotic. Would love to head there someday.
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/02/maha-kumbh-mela.html
Thank you Niranjan! Yeah, you should visit the place once in lifetime!
DeleteFabulous picture -- Alaska is still on our wish list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Thank you Sallie, Yes, Alaska should be on the list!
DeleteWhat fantastic captures, Kusum!! Another place that I, too, always wanted to visit! Your photos are the next best thing!! Thanks for sharing! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sylvia.
DeleteNow you're in the wilderness!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is! Thanks Gary.
DeleteSuch adventure and beauty! Good on ya for doing such a trip.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dina. Yes, it was a great experience!
DeleteWhat an amazing place to visit. Lovely series of photos.
ReplyDeletea once-in-a-lifetime trip. how fortunate you are.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was fantastic!
DeleteFantastic photos - what a great place to visit, as long as you can stand the cold.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThank you for these impressions of a wonderful world. The air must have been great to breath. Please have a good Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThanks Robert! Yes, the air was much better!
DeleteAwesome shots of the whale! Something I have always wanted to see! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen!
DeleteWow, what an adventrue. I have always wanted to go to Alaska.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen, Yes, Alaska is everyone's dream!
Deletewhat an awesome trip. glad you shared your experience with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWow! What a place and fantastic photography for OWT ^_^
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteYour photos are amazing! We saw whales on our trip at Christmas but nothing like this. Thanks for sharing. Blessings, Debbie
ReplyDeleteWow - what marvellous shots, especially of the whale!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lady Fi.
DeleteWonderful images. Alaska must truly be a "last frontier". Thankyou for taking us there.
ReplyDeletehave a wonderful week. I am linking up to you through Our World Tuesday.
Thank you Jill! Yes, Alaska is magnificent!
DeleteAmazing captures of the wale!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome place...
Warm greetings from Holland,
Anna :D
Thanks Anna. I hear Holland is beautiful too, would love to visit some day :)
Deletewhat an amazing trip! You are so lucky to have seen these things in person.
ReplyDeleteMollyxxx
Thanks Molly. Yes, I feel fortunate, and I wish everyone should have the same opportunity.
DeleteHow lucky you are to have seen all that! Beautiful images.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The landscape of Alaska makes us feel lucky!
DeleteThank you for sharing these amazing photos! You are very blessed!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ann!
DeleteGreat shots! I've always wanted to take an Alaskan cruise some day.
ReplyDeleteThank you Betty! Yeah, may be its time you took the cruise :)
DeleteThe Alaskan wild is very much a dream of my husband's and mine!
ReplyDeleteOh - those whale shots! Stunning! What an experience! Thanks for sharing.
PS: love this so much, I'm a new follower. Can't wait to see your next adventure
DeleteThank you Amanda. Hope soon your dearest dreams come true. Glad that you will join my journeys virtually on this blog!
Deletewonderful trip...
ReplyDeletebeautiful photos and nice write-up
thanks kusum
Thanks Krishna Ji, glad you liked it!
DeleteOh wow is all I can say. My husband has dreamed of taking a cruise to Alaska and my health is keeping him back. I hope he can do this as the scenery is amazing..amazing.. Michelle
ReplyDeleteThank you Michelle. I am sure you and your husband are going to visit Alaska very soon. Keep the hope :)
DeleteThat must have been an amazing experience. It must have been terrifying to bump into a bear. Glad you're ok. A friend of ours once got chased by a moose in the wilderness of Alaska.
ReplyDeleteWe got to do some whale watching (humpback to be precise) the year before last, this off Monterey Bay. Hoping to catch some Gray whale action later this year.
Lovely pictures, Kusum. I getting the chills seeing these photographs; but they still make me want to visit Alaska. ;)
Yes Divya, it was an incredible experience. Bumping into wildlife is always exciting though very dangerous. Yeah, Monterey is one nice place for day-long excursions. Good Luck for a Gray!
Deletevery nice and a great post! Verily, you are adept in his job.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing