Time to head south!
As I wrote earlier, Anchorage was never our "destination" on this vacation. Anchorage is a big, bustling city, and we were quite surprised at just how quickly we were in the relative wilderness. Within 20 minutes we felt far away from the city. The drive south is breathtaking, with mountains on both sides, and the Turnagain Arm to the right, in front of the mountains. Our daughter took several snapshots from the back seat. Here's one.
You'll be tempted to pull-off the road to take pictures, or just gaze. There are plenty of places provided to do this - just keep your eyes open for the signs.
As we made our Alaska plans months before, we found that almost all of the activities we wanted to do were within about 45 minutes (or less) of three cities/towns: Girdwood, Seward, and Homer. So, after a morning at the Alaska Zoo and a late lunch we set the GPS for "Girdwood" and headed south.
Girdwood is a small town that centers around ski tourism for much of the year. While in the Girdwood area, our plans included a trip to Mount Alyeska, a hike on the Winner Creek Gorge trail, the Portage Glacier, and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
We arrived in Girdwood and checked-in to our lodging for the next 3 nights, the Timberline Drive Bed and Breakfast. (My TripAdvisor review for this Bed and Breakfast.) We stayed on the "suite" side, which sleeps four comfortably. It was a nice place, and I'd recommend it, with a few small caveats. The hosts were very nice, and told us about a hiking trail at the end of the road.
We walked about a quarter-mile down the road, and easily found the trail. It led to Virgin Creek, which is basically melted glacier water. It was our first up-close view of the beauty of the Alaskan outdoors. As you can see below, it is truly breathtaking!
We hiked there until about 9 PM (still daylight in Alaska in the summer!) and came back to the room for a simple meal from provisions we'd brought from Anchorage. We were tired from the day, and went to sleep in anticipation of our first day in Girdwood.
As I wrote earlier, Anchorage was never our "destination" on this vacation. Anchorage is a big, bustling city, and we were quite surprised at just how quickly we were in the relative wilderness. Within 20 minutes we felt far away from the city. The drive south is breathtaking, with mountains on both sides, and the Turnagain Arm to the right, in front of the mountains. Our daughter took several snapshots from the back seat. Here's one.
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| Driving south from Anchorage |
You'll be tempted to pull-off the road to take pictures, or just gaze. There are plenty of places provided to do this - just keep your eyes open for the signs.
As we made our Alaska plans months before, we found that almost all of the activities we wanted to do were within about 45 minutes (or less) of three cities/towns: Girdwood, Seward, and Homer. So, after a morning at the Alaska Zoo and a late lunch we set the GPS for "Girdwood" and headed south.
 |
| Here's a map of our vacation area. |
Girdwood is a small town that centers around ski tourism for much of the year. While in the Girdwood area, our plans included a trip to Mount Alyeska, a hike on the Winner Creek Gorge trail, the Portage Glacier, and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
We arrived in Girdwood and checked-in to our lodging for the next 3 nights, the Timberline Drive Bed and Breakfast. (My TripAdvisor review for this Bed and Breakfast.) We stayed on the "suite" side, which sleeps four comfortably. It was a nice place, and I'd recommend it, with a few small caveats. The hosts were very nice, and told us about a hiking trail at the end of the road.
 |
| Timberline Drive B & B - photo courtesy of web-site |
We walked about a quarter-mile down the road, and easily found the trail. It led to Virgin Creek, which is basically melted glacier water. It was our first up-close view of the beauty of the Alaskan outdoors. As you can see below, it is truly breathtaking!
 |
| Virgin Creek Falls - about a half-mile down the trail |
We hiked there until about 9 PM (still daylight in Alaska in the summer!) and came back to the room for a simple meal from provisions we'd brought from Anchorage. We were tired from the day, and went to sleep in anticipation of our first day in Girdwood.
