Lori had been to all of the states in the USA with one exception: Alaska. I’d never been to Alaska either, so in September of last year we jetted up to Anchorage for some exploring. Our first stop was the AirBnB that would act as our base of operations. It was a small apartment in the basement of a house that we enjoyed. Until evening when it sounded like furniture was being moved. Every evening.

We got up early the next day and drove to Whittier for a day long glacier cruise. It was a beautiful drive southeast on the Seward Highway along the edge of Chugach National Forest on the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. Plenty of turnouts provided ample opportunity for photos.

The Portage Glacier Highway took us into Whittier. But before getting to Whittier you have to pass through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, also known as the Whittier Tunnel. The Whittier Tunnel is a 2.5 mile long, one lane tunnel through Maynard Mountain. The tunnel is shared between cars and trains. Passage through the tunnel is scheduled, something you have to take into account when traveling to and from Whittier.

There are about 200 permanent residents in Whittier, most of whom live in the same 14 story building, and it seems to be primarily a tourist destination these days. Our glacier cruise with Phillips Cruises set sail from Whittier for a 5 hour cruise.

The cruise took us on Prince William Sound into College Fjord, Harriman Fjord and much more. I was too busy taking pictures to take notes so I’m not sure which glacier is which.

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Wildlife sightings were limited to Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Sea Otters. Well, there was also a bear sighting but I was on the wrong side of the boat and it had run into the woods before I could get around to that side. 

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We started day three with a walk on the Tony Knowle Coastal Trail, a 22 mile long trail along the Anchorage waterfront. We started at Kincaid Park, the halfway point, sharing the trail with other walkers and bicyclists. After an hour or so we decided to explore outside of Anchorage.

We then headed north out of Anchorage without a destination. Along the way we decided to to have lunch in Wasilla then hike the Chuoilintnu/Wasilla Creek Trail in the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge. Lunch was at the Cadillac Cafe, a small diner attached to a gas station. The food was the best we had in Alaska, thank you Yelp for your guidance.

It was a beautiful hike on the Chuoilintnu/Wasilla Creek Trail, or at least we thought it was. After a half hour so, the trail we were on didn’t seem to match the description of the Chuoilintnu/Wasilla Creek Trail so we turned back. Shortly after turning around we heard some yelling. “ Hey! Hey you! What are you doing here?” Looking back up the small hill we’d just come down was a man carrying a rifle in front of a truck. In the short discussion that ensued we did determine that we were not on the correct trail but on private property and that we were not welcome there. Apologizing profusely (he was carrying a rifle after all), we quickly walked back to the trail head and got on the right trail.

The rest of the hike was uneventful, fortunately. A quick stop at Bearpaw River Brewing Company to wet our whistles then back to Anchorage.

On the fourth day we headed home, our Alaska adventure complete.

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