VAN VOORHIS FAMILY BLOG

A word or two from mom…..

This may end up being long winded since I haven’t posted since our first day here. I’ll try to make it as brief as I can.

Anchorage – city itself pretty unassuming – but loved the flight seeing. Amazing to see glaciers for the first time and the mountains up close. Went to the animal center and got a close look at all the animals we were hoping to see in the wild (bear, moose, caribou, porcupine, etc…)

Homer – drive down was very pretty with a few moments of sort of boring, scrappy type areas. Strikingly beautiful open views of mountains and volcanoes to break up the monotonous areas. Arriving into Homer there was an overlook that had an incredible view of the spit. Our hotel was right at the end and we were able to see eagles, sea otters and a whale in the distance from our room. The beach was full of perfectly rounded gray rocks – so different from our beach back home. Bummed we weren’t able to do the bear viewing – but the little bit of nervousness that Sam & I felt gave a little sigh of relief. We didn’t want to be responsible for sacrificing our children to grizzlies. One great meal at Captain Patties and a really ho hum meal at the “Happy Face” (only restaurant open when we wanted to eat late).

Seward – very cool drive down – saw 3 moose en route and then one more before town. We were bummed that the Exit glacier road was closed, but it still was beautiful to see from a distance. Seward had beautiful views by the water – it’s amazing how much the water adds to the views. We took a boat tour where we saw whales, sea lions, otters, etc. Very cool (literally and figuratively). We were glad to have our warm winter coats with us! We’ve been enjoying the halibut almost everywhere we’ve gone – very tasty!

Whitter to Valdez – drive was interesting – especially going through the railroad tunnel which literally was driving on top of the railroad track inside a tunnel just the width of a train. 6 minutes in the dark would’ve sent Grandma Mc into a claustrophobic fit! The ferry to Valdez was smoother than expected (& thankfully so). Valdez was a gray, depressing place and we were glad to drive out and see fabulous views en route to Kennicott.

Sam has been a rock star driver this trip dealing with tons of road miles and a lot of rocky gravel roads. The drive to Kennicott was harrowing – but worth it with the activities that we had there. Took another very cool flight seeing tour and got close up with more mountains and glaciers. Enjoyed a tour of an abandoned copper mill and then our last morning there we did a 5 hour glacier hike with a guide. Walked out to the glacier and then put crampons on our boots and literally climbed up an ice hill onto the glacier. Hard to describe how beautiful and cool it was to be hiking the glacier with the kids – an experience that ranks with some of the best family moments. I’d personally love to do the ice cave climbing, but it will have to be once I’m finished being responsible and taking care of kids in case I miss an ice pick. J Everyone we’ve met to date has been great with the exception of a very crabby lady at the front desk of the Kennicott lodge who made it a point to let you know how inconvenienced she was whenever we asked her ANYTHING!

Paxon – wow, I think Sam might need to write a more specific post about this place – but sufficient to say – the Paxon Lodge isn’t a place that most of my PV friends would want to stay. Truly a hole in the wall, truck stop type place. After our day of hiking and 5 hours of driving – we arrived and headed down to the bar to eat. Kids played pool while Sam & I hung out with the locals. There were 15 people in town and I think 12 of them were at the bar – all were smoking and telling stories. Quite a few characters!

Denali – Glad we drove the Denali Highway, but I think Sam is glad he doesn’t have to drive it again. Saw quite a few caribou, Ethan spotted a red fox, Anna saw a porcupine in a tree – and the best sighting was a huge mama moose with her baby running down the road in front of us. Pretty cool!

Now we’re here by the Denali national park in our little cabin. Great wind down family time. We’re ready to be home though.

OK, enough of my yammering. Things I miss – hot showers, internet and cell phone connection and being warm (& of course, our dog!) J Looking forward to being home with friends and family. J