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Alaska - (Sea) Lions and Puffins and Bears, Oh My! (1 Viewer)

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frankc

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We got back three weeks ago from a bucket-list trip to Alaska. Well, part of it - the cruise part will have to wait one more year. We flew to Anchorage, then took a bus to Seward. There we took a nearly all day boat ride, which went by a glacier, and we saw lots of sea life. A couple humpback whales with calves, a pod of orcas, and others.

This is a terrible picture, but since I put sea lions in the title, I must include it.
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The next day we took a short bus ride then about a mile hike to a glacier.
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The day after that we took a train back to Anchorage. It was one of those trains where you sit on the upper level with wrap-around windows, and a dining area on the lower level.
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frankc

frankc

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We then took a bus from Anchorage to the entrance of Denali National Park, then another bus to the end of the road in the park to a lodge where we stayed for three days. The ride through the park was only about 92 miles, but it took 6-7 hours due to narrow winding roads and stopping to look at wildlife.

I learned to feel very bad for caribou. Apparently they can lose a pint of blood in a day to mosquitoes, and there is a fly that lays its eggs in their skin. All this while looking out for bears and wolves trying to eat them. The road through the park is gravel rather than paved to give them a fighting chance, because their hooves would slip on pavement if they tried to run across it. They hang out in the snow when they can because the mosquitoes don't bother them as much. _DSC2380.JPG _DSC2386.JPG _DSC2392.JPG _DSC2524.JPG

We saw a black bear on the train but I couldn't get a picture. We saw several grizzly bears with cubs - one a very young one and a couple with 1-2 year old cubs.
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And now a brief commercial message from Charmin.
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frankc

frankc

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We saw several moose, including a mother with two calves but I couldn't get a picture of them.

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This male really enjoyed the water.
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Meet Bruce the Moose, a huge male that was a frequent enough visitor to Wonder Lake near the lodge that the staff named him.
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frankc

frankc

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We took a very steep hike one day, and got a bird's eye view of the lodge we stayed at.
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On that hike we saw a ptarmigan - the state bird of Alaska - and her chicks.
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We saw this porcupine on the way back. P7011516.JPG
 
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frankc

frankc

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Apparently there are only about 25-30 days per summer when you can see all 20,310 feet of the Denali mountain (formerly Mt. McKinley) without clouds, and we got to enjoy two such days.

This is what you often see - just pieces of it.
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Cody

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I didn't realize Alaska had porcupines!
 

sneezebeetle

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So glad you and Lotti finally got to take your trip, even if only in part. Alaska is one of the places I would love to visit!
 

RR-MAN

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Great pictures Frank.

Yes Alaska is one of my favorite places...

For work I used to fly multiple times a year to Anchorage and then go to Kenai. Great fishing and scenery.
 

steveb

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Very nice Frank. So glad you got to visit. I've always wanted to go see it. Thank you for sharing photo's from your journey.
 

Bullitt519

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Been twice, definitely something everyone should experience. Food is super expensive though. Spent like 17 bucks on a bowl of spaghetti, it was the cheapest thing on the menu haha
 
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