Flying into Anchorage. July 17th.
We spent our trip abord the Green Tortoise bus. 28 passengers, 2 drivers, 1 moose.
This was no ordinary bus. It's made for cramming lots of people inside while still being quite comfortable.
The first stop on our 2 week tour was Denali National Park. Home of Mount McKinley.
We saw many wild animals like these Dall Sheep. Also bears, moose, wolves, caribou and more.
We stopped for this photo on a Ranger-led "Discovery Hike" where we actually do NOT follow any trails.
Ada, Sung and Fran were very excited to make it to the top of a really big hill.
Marc poses on a rocky peak with an incredible view.
In the evenings we hung around camp with our drivers Bill (left) and Ritchie (not in photo).
This is the darkest it got in Denali. That far up north, the sun barely dips below the horizon.
A dew covered plant near Eilson Station in Denali.
Our next stop was Valdez. We took a cruise around Prince William Sound. Lots of icebergs!
Here we are on the cruise. It was pretty chilly!
Later on we were able to dress more comfortably on a hike along the Valdez coastline.
Charles, one of our co-travelers, takes in a breathtaking view of Prince William Sound.
A pretty flower on our hike around Valdez.
A bunch of us went together on the hike.
Our bus at camp in Valdez.
We also stopped at Matanuska Glacier. We got to try on crampons and go tromping around the ice.
It was pretty cold with all that ice around!
Our last major stop was Homer.
Sunrise on the beach in Homer.
Homer is a charming town, full of personality. I think they have a motto that goes something like "A quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem."
We took a water taxi (yellow of course) to go on a hike across the bay.
We stopped at this amazing looking lake with a glacier on the other side and small icebergs floating around.
The following day we went fishing for Halibut.
We caught about 45 pounds of fish. Some we shared with our travel mates and some we shipped back home. The best tasting fish is the fish you caught yourself.
On our drive back to Anchorage, we stopped for some more awesome scenery.
I caught this rainbow while we had a quick dinner on the roadside.
Here's the whole group! The Green Tortoise Alaska Loop 2004. That's our driver Ritchie in the front.
