Steve's Parents (Were) In Town!

Hi, All!

As promised last night, here's the story of the last few days.  Steve's parents flew into Anchorage on Tuesday for a few day adventure through Alaska.  Although the weather was expected to be rainy/snowy and cold, it turned out to be quite beautiful and warm almost the entire time they were here.

We started our adventures with a drive back to Talkeetna (which you may remember we visited in November/October).  Steve's dad is a big "Northern Exposure" fan, so he enjoyed getting to see a town that is extremely similar to that small-town, moose crossing the road, feel.

As we drove in to Talkeetna, some clouds started to cover Mt. McKinley (Denali).  Steve thought that meant any views of the mountain would be difficult, but he called the local flightseeing operation anyway.  They said the cloud cover was low, and that the views of the mountain were actually gorgeous from above, so we quickly drove to the airstrip for a ride.

The company wasn't lying.  The views were even more amazing than when we went a few months ago.  The sky was totally clear and you could see Denali's summit.

It also looked totally different in the glacier valley surrounding the mountain than when we went before:

The next day the weather was a bit harsher: there were storm warnings in and around Anchorage.  So we spent the morning at the Anchorage Museum, which is a neat collection of Alaska-based science, history, culture, and art.  

The next day the clouds had lifted a bit so we took a quick drive up to the trailhead for Mt. Baldy so that Steve's parents could look out over Anchorage and Eagle River.

Tammy didn't work on Saturday, so we headed down along the Turnagain Arm for Portage Glacier, Alyeska, and the Wildlife Conservation Center.  Saturday was an amazingly beautiful day, so we stopped a few times along the way to take some pictures of the mountains and ocean.

Then we spent some time at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  This center focuses on taking orphaned and threatened species and rehabilitating them.  They have a lot of animals, including moose, elk, bison, and more.  Here's the local porcupine:

They also have 2 new bear cubs that they are training to be taken to Sweden (we think).  The bears were the cutest things ever.  The first bear cub had learned to sit (just like a dog!) upon hearing the word "stationary."  The second bear (seen here) help up its paw every time the trainer said "Ok."

Of course, being in Alaska they have a bald eagle.  Although these can be seen everywhere in the state, this one was found in 1995-96 with its wing shot (which is illegal to do in Alaska, but 2000 or so every year are still shot).  A really beautiful bird.

There was also the cutest young muskox, whose mother had been killed by a grizzly bear.  This thing was amazing.  It ran around and acted just like a 3-year old child.

The best part of the center, though, are the grizzly/brown bears they have.  There are 3 of them, all of whom made a showing for our viewing pleasure.  It was eating time, so they got to enjoy some cantaloupe that was donated by Costco.

Finally, following the conservation center we headed to the local ski resort: Alyeska.  One of the best parts of Alyeska is the tram that goes up the North Face of the mountain.  This tram is used by skiiers and snowboarders looking to go to the top, but it is also used by tourists looking for some amazing views.

This is the view from the top.  You can see the skiiers getting ready to go down.  It is amazingly beautiful and the day was perfect for skiing.  In fact, we ran into Steve's co-clerks Rebecca and Henry at the bottom of the mountain.

Here's the view looking up the mountain to the final chair lift.

And here we are on the observation deck.

It was an awesome 4-day visit and we really loved eating, exploring, and hanging out with Steve's family.  We really enjoy having visitors, so if you want your own unique Alaska experience, let us know asap so we can figure out vacation plans!  Hooray!