Alaska in August

On July 30th, we flew to Anchorage for a really fun visit with our friends, Bill and Susan Buffington.  We came to know them quite well when we worked in the Middle East.  They had a home in Doha, Qatar where we visited them many times when we traveled to the Emirates for church meetings and business.  Bill served with Dave in the Stake Presidency for several years.  They also have a house in Pleasant Grove, Utah -- just a five minute drive from our house.  Bill works for ExxonMobile, and they have been in Anchorage for a year now.

Our plan for this Alaska trip was to travel and tour Alaska on our own during the week and then travel and visit with Bill and Susan on the week-ends.  We arrived on a Monday afternoon, and enjoyed a lovely dinner with our hosts that night.  The next morning, we rented a car, and headed towards Seward.

We saw some amazing things on our way!

We stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, as recommended by the Buffingtons.  They even provided a half-price coupon for us.  All of the animals at this location were rescued orphans.  They were caged in their natural habitat and food was provided for them. They were all very beautiful and healthy.  We were able to see a lot of really cool animals up-close.

Moose

Elk

Porcupine

Musk Ox

Brown (Grizzly) Bears

Black Bears

Reindeer

We continued on our way towards Seward, and saw the turn-off for "Exit Glacier," and decided to give it a try.  The trail was about a mile and a half to the bottom of the glacier.  It was a nice hike.

There were markers along the path that showed us how much the glacier has shrunk since the late 1800s.  The blue ice is very pretty.  We were taught why the glacier appears blue at the visitors center there.  Here's what we were told:  "In simplest of terms, think of the ice or snow layer as a filter. If it is only a centimeter thick, all the light makes it through; if it is a meter thick, mostly blue light makes it through".

This pretty flower was blooming all over the place.  It's called "Fire Weed". It is completely edible. We were told that when the tips of the flower were in full bloom, the first snow of the year would be only six weeks away.  You can see that the tips of these flowers weren't yet in full bloom.

We saw several bald eagles.  This one was there near the river flowing out of Exit Glacier.  They are really BIG!  He sat about two feet tall.

We enjoyed three days in Seward which is a two hour drive from Anchorage.

We went to the Alaska Sea Life Center on Wednesday.  It was well done and the animals looked great!

Puffin