Through this gorge, the glacier drops nearly 2,000 feet over ten miles and is raked with crevasses. Add in the solid granite cliffs that tower 5,000 feet above the glacier's surface, and you create an abyss that is deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Flightseeing over Mt. McKinley (or Denali, as the locals call it...apparently McKinley never set foot in Alaska). At 20,306 feet, this is the tallest mountain in the USA. We even saw some tiny tiny climbers starting their trek up the base. With the warm and sunny weather, visibility was fantastic, but the danger of avalanche increases.
I've been to Alaska about 6 times now, and had yet to see a moose until today, when we saw four. The photo with the park bench is a cow moose and her two long legged calves. Cute!
OK, so you need a lot of trust in a marriage to ride a tandem bike... fortunately we made it. Anchorage is a very bike friendly city, at least in the summertime :)
We took a ship to see the Portage Glacier, and it was the first week of the season, so they were actually breaking through the ice with the ship to get to the glacier. No pun intended...but COOL!
The sign I'm standing next to says "May there be peace on earth" in lots of different languages. Look at those breathtaking mountains!!!
We landed in Fairbanks just after midnight and saw a really spectacular sunset. The days are so LONG here in the summer - seems like the people who live here can really forgive and forget a long cold winter when they have days like this...
Here we are at the famous Alyeska Oil Pipeline. It seemed strange to me that it was seemingly so vulnerable - I never thought you'd be able to touch it. Apparently if anything happens, computers can shut it down immediately into 100 ft. sections. By the way, gas is cheaper up here by about 40 cents per gallon!
Any score under 110 at a regulation course = new clubs. Any score under 100 at a regulation course = trip to Scotland. I shot 103 at Dungeness (in Sequim, WA). Yee hah - I'm on my way, at least to buy clubs!!! :)
The flight over to Port Townsend was spectacular. These are taken from the plane. All the mountains were out in postcard perfect views. On the left is the final approach at Renton Municipal Airport. If you overshoot the runway, that's Lake Washington ahead of you!
Sarah and her boyfriend Brian took us to brunch at Manresa Castle in Port Townsend. Beautiful place - apparently its past history includes use as a convent and a monastery. We spent the night in a hotel that used to be a brothel, so I guess we have the whole spectrum covered!
Anyway, delicious food - and great company, of course!
The last Saturday of April each year we volunteer with Rebuilding Together. Mike's company - Rainier Investment Management or RIM is the sponsor (pays for supplies) and RIM employees volunteer, along with friends and family. This year we fixed up a Boys and Girls Club in Seattle - new paint job, replacing sod in a play area, building a retaining wall in the driveway and funding the purchase of a new couch and lights for their teen room. Local Ironworkers and Carpenters volunteered their time along with us - a fun and rewarding one day project.
