Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
A canyon rim hike along the Kenai River with six kids and six adults is quite a procession. We made enough noise to alert anyone and everything to our approach. Luke still brought the bear gun. So no kidding, there we are—we look down and see bear claw scratch marks on the rocks. All along…
Luke and Amber are the best possible Alaskan hosts. If we just decided, “hey, I know! Let’s take a trip to Alaska!” … 1. I wouldn’t know what to do. 2. I wouldn’t know how to do it. 3. I wouldn’t be able to afford it. Take fishing at the Russian River for example. I…
Luke and Amber’s cabin in Cooper Landing is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The Kenai River is opaque with glacial deposits—milky azure. So beautiful. When the pine and aspen reflect off the surface it becomes golden and jade. For dinner we had salmon we caught THAT MORNING in the Russian River….
The train schedule allowed for six hours and 15 minutes in Seward before heading back to Anchorage. So Chris booked us a six hour wildlife cruise. I’ve been on my share of nature cruises, but: I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS. The Kenai Fjords cruise took us through Resurrection Bay, around Aialik Cape, and…
Chris and I decided to delight our tot with a trip along the Alaska Railroad. Recently, Chris and Isaac read about the Orient Express and Chris promised to take me on an Orient Express date. Then we saw it costs like $12,000. Luckily, Alaska Railroad was a better, wilder, frontier-ier option. So everyone was delighted…
Amber showed us around Anchorage our first day: the kids’ school in a sloped valley, where moose sometimes loiter by the front door; the ski jump school where Titus takes lessons and earned his rank as the 9th in the nation in his ski jump category; Luke’s office near the park where they ice skate…
“I just want to go to Alaska,” Isaac said Monday morning. “Good! We’re going to Alaska after breakfast!” He bolted upright in bed. “Today we’re going to Alaska?” “Yes! This morning!” “This day we are going to Alaska?” “Yes!” Delight. And now here we are at the last frontier! Astonishingly, kids were great on the…
