DENALI,GIRDWOOD, GRIZZLIES and Moose

Picked up Chris’s lost case, pleased to see that our Anchorage flight with Air Canada was on time and – what a flight!

The big coastal mountains, glaciers and inlets were clear until (according to the map we were eagerly studying) the Glacier Bay area.It was absolutely stunning. Great flight all in, almost no turbulence.

Glaciers from 39,000 feet — From 39,000 feet

The cloud cleared slightly as we came into Anchorage but we got a sense of the enormous Chugach range looming above the city.As we dipped lower I peered to the north in case Denali was visible but no sign.

Very surprised at how shallow the water seemed as we flew over a small island and landed smoothly. Alaska!! We were here at last!

Got our hired car from Thrifty very quickly, a larger car than expected. I forgot that in the USA you get BIG cars almost as standard.

I had downloaded Google directions out of Anchorage and we soon joined surprisingly heavy rush hour traffic which crawled out of the city (Thursday 5pm .] Somehow I thought it would be quiet but Anchorage itself seemed much bigger than I imagined.

Stunned at the super cheap price of fuel – half the price of ours! Mind you, a lot of these big cars must be gas guzzlers.

Finally left the city limits behind and impressive mountains reared up all around as we drove toward Wasilla.

The wider vistas were stunning. In fact, everything was more beautiful than I’d expected with purple Lupins and Ox Eye daisies lining the roadside. A lot of churches too.

Some quirky buildings…

We were headed for Talkeetna in the hope (a small one) that we’d join the 30% Club ; the relatively few visitors who see Denali clear, all 20,300 feet of spires, glaciers and ridges.Unlikely, given we would only have 8 waking hours or so in the area!

What I hoped to see…

Our accommodation for the night was a small, pretty cabin in the woods – Blueberry Chalet – about 10 mins south of Talkeetna and just off the Spur road.But before that we stopped at Cubby’s Market Place for supplies.

Quite a shop – lots of animal heads mounted on the walls – Deer, Elk, Moose, Brown Bear. We were in hunting country! The store was quiet and incredibly expensive but we expected that. Picked up milk, yoghurt, prunes, nuts, wine, beer, cheese, bread (I think I paid an astonishing $8 for a brown seeded loaf) and other bits and pieces.

Blueberry Chalet sat all on its own at the edge of the forest.We’d been warned by our hostess about mosquitoes and they were certainly about as we later had the bites to prove it. It was just lovely inside…very characterful and pretty, lots of nice touches. Quality hand soap and shower gel, which I always appreciate. Beautiful upstairs bedroom and shower with a stylish mosquito net over the bed.In fact, it reminded me of Karen Blixen’s bedroom in the film Out of Africa! The forest was all around us but we were just a short walk to the road.Very few cars so no issue with traffic noise.

Once we got our overnight bag in and the food , we headed back out again – no wasting time in case Denali might be clear!

Talkeetna looked quirky and characterful as we drove through the tiny main street past Nagely’s Store and a couple of cafes. Parked at the road end beside the racing and impressive Susitna River. Great spot.

Unfortunately, air quality wasn’t great with everything quite hazy so the mountains weren’t clear. Chatted for a while to a guy who I imagined was an aging mountaineer (our age perhaps mid 60s, long pony tail, wrist beads, very tanned).He was looking so wistfully towards Denali – was he remembering a past conquest of the peak?

Turned out he and his wife were just touring around in their campervan, admiring the scenery. Nice guy – he picked up on our accents and said he’d loved Scotland, how wild and rugged it was. I was glad it stacked up in his mind compared to the grand landscape all around us.A difficult spot to leave, mountains clear or not.

Rumbling stomachs reminded us it was time to eat so back to the chalet for cooked chicken, baked potatoes and a tomato and onion salad.

There had been another time change in Alaska and we were now a further 1 hour behind UK time but adrenalin meant we held off sleeping until 10pm.

Breakfast was gallons of tea and toast , prunes and yoghurt for me.

Had a quick look at a very lovely lake nearby with a float plane operation, a classic Alaska scene, then headed to Talkeetna.

Thrilled when a Moose and her calf bounded across the road 50m in front of the car. I had so wanted to see moose, never saw any in all our time in Canada’s Rockies a few years back.Beautiful sight.

At the riverbank, there was stubborn cloud on the summits but it looked promising !

Even from this distance away (60 miles?) the enormity of this Himalayan scale peak was a jaw drop. It must be one of the world’s great mountain panoramas. In fact, writing this up I just want to go back and see it again. Took countless photos, zooms, panoramas – how lucky were we?? Incredible.

Denali nearly clear — Denali summit almost clear

My plan had been to do the Moose Flats walk and possibly Curry Ridge, requiring a 40min drive up the Denali road. I’d spied signs for nearby Talkeetna Lodge and reckoned it must have similar wide-ranging views of the mountain range so up we headed. What a spot! The range was completely visible from here , from a slightly elevated position too so that was perfect.

Joined a queue for some Café Lattes, the impressive hotel very busy with coach passengers, then headed out to soak in the wonderful view across the lawns. We spent ages here and I took a zillion photos so I suppose some had to turn out ok. As each minute passed, the cloud kept lifting until finally Denali was completely clear. We’d joined the 30% Club!

Had a wander around the hotel lobby – I really love these towering entrance halls with grand fireplaces which are done so well in this part of the world. Complete with an enormous stuffed grizzly too. Bears frighten me, I must admit.

One of my big regrets is not doing a Denali sightseeing flight. I mentioned it to Chris but he convinced me I wouldn’t like it. Small plane bouncing around, really noisy. Friends had done the Grand Canyon flight and had hated it for those reasons but now I wish I’d just bitten the bullet…

Time to head south. We’d found another vantage point just off the road and parked there for a last look at the mountains. As we stood, we both heard a loud snuffling and grunting from the forest opposite. A bear? It certainly sounded like a large animal! I kept my car door open in case it came shuffling out of the trees and we needed to get well out of its way.

Girdwood was our next destination where we had splashed out a bit and booked into the Alyeska Resort for our last night before the cruise.

Beautiful scenery on the way back, no hardship doing that drive again especially in glorious weather. Very impressed with the Chugach mountains.

Approaching Anchorage again — Chugach mountains

Stopped at Eagle River where Chris wanted to pick up a supply of wine for the cruise.At home , alcohol can be bought just about anywhere after 10am but we were getting used once again in the USA to going to a ‘liquor’ store.While he shopped for supplies (pretty much for himself as I don’t drink much)I had a look at a beautiful white church fronted by Lupins and purple Irises framed by a mountain backdrop.

Traffic was surprisingly light on Friday afternoon and we soon hit the highway that leads to Turnaround Arm.

I was really looking forward to this area and it didn’t disappoint, even after the awe inspiring views of Denali.Plus, the sea, the sea – always the thing for me.In fact , I’d say it was way better than any photos I’d seen, perhaps because the mountains were still snow capped.We stopped at Beluga Point but the tide was out so no chance of sightings.

That said I couldn’t quite believe that these whales would ever swim up this incredibly shallow stretch of water with to huge tide. The mud flats were extensive and we later heard a tragic story about a young local man who had died in that area.A group ventured onto the mud, his friends escaped but he got stuck; apparently, it sets like concrete round a body.The lad drowned as the tide rushed in and before rescuers could save him.

The scenery was stunning all the way down to the Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Centre which we wanted to visit before Girdwood. Wasn’t sure if I’d like this place as neither of us enjoy zoos but these are rescued animals in very natural enclosures and a must see, I’d say.

It was broiling hot by now as we walked round the various enclosures which had Elk, Deer, Black Bear, Musk Ox, Wolves.

Stars of the show however were the two adult grizzlies/brown bears.They were enormous! I mean, way bigger than I imagined. One was chewing hard on some kind of road kill, something which had brown skin. A Moose calf? The other bear prowled around the pond.Majestic both but terrifying. Watched them for ages.

There was an interesting set of cardboard bear cutouts which gave an indication of bear sizes in comparison to a human being.

We were only about a 15 min drive to Alyeska and what a superbly located hotel it was. It’s a ski resort in winter but the mountains were mostly velvet green capped with snow.

Loved the place right away, so glad we booked here.Our room was huge, two double beds, lovely view onto the mountains.I imagine every room must have a great view.Lots of trails to wander through the forest and up into the mountains.Decided to go up the cable car and enjoy the summit views.Well worth the cost…gorgeous scenery.Tried to get into the Seven Glaciers restaurant up there but fully booked.

There was a bar open so we sat with drinks on a swing seat and a woman offered to take our photo.Brilliant to be up this high, beside the snow but with the sea in view.We have that at the Nevis Range resort at home, it’s a really special combination.

Had dinner in the hotel’s bar/restaurant.Halibut Tacos to start which became a favourite while in Alaska.Very tasty, quite spicy.Then Sirloin Steak for Chris and a Burger for me.Unfortunately, it wasn’t cooked through in the middle so I had to send it back.This was frustrating because the had already taken 40 mins to arrive and when it did, starters and mains came together.Plus various additional items with the burger were missing too.We weren’t the only customers having an issue that evening from what we could see and hear – staff shortages were blamed.Great chips! Lovely views from our window table. The whole area around Girdwood was really attractive.

We sauntered down in the morning for breakfast, into a lovely dining area, only to remember that it wasn’t included in the price. Didn’t fancy spending 25 dollars each as we are not huge on breakfast so decided just to get ourselves an early start for the 50 min drive up to Anchorage.We’d booked the ACT bus to take us back to Whittier from the airport and our pick up was at 10am so we didn’t have time to hang about.Great stay at Alyeska.

Being a Saturday, traffic was very light.With an hour in hand, we stopped at a really nice café…South Café and Restaurant…which offered some really nice looking food(so much for not needing breakfast!) Granola, yoghurt and berries for me, scrambled egg and toast for Chris.Sat outside in the morning sunshine, the Chugach mountains in view.

Dropped the car off at the airport and checked the arrangements for where the ACT coach pick up was. I was very impressed by the company (who at 50dollars each, were cheaper than Princess’s own transfer) because they had sent me several reminder emails about exactly where to meet the bus.It was pretty much next to where the cruise coach passengers left.

Nice scenic journey of an hour to Whittier- no matter how many times we drove up and down Turnagain Arm it’s so beautiful we never got tired of it!

Had a 5min wait in a small queue at the tunnel amidst stunning scenery, the Portage Glacier now coming into view.The views were just getting better all the time, every turn of the road.

A long tunnel and then suddenly we were at Whittier where ahead I spied our mega ship, the Royal Princess.Wow, she was enormous!