Visit Alaska in the Winter?! Definitely YES! -Part 3

Time to get outside (besides being in a car) and enjoy the awesome snow around here. We got to do a few of the many winter activities offered around here during the week... snowshoeing, ice climbing, sled dogs tour, and ice skating.

First up... snowshoeing!

There are many places to go snowshoeing around here... anywhere with ungroomed/uncleared snow will do! We decided to stick close to home and go to my neighborhood park/bog.

I love this photo... neat off angle.

I suspect I went snowshoeing through here in the past... looks like the snow has filled in some tracks. :)

I kept wondering how many trees we were snowshoeing right on top of. I should really go back there and get a summer comparison photo one of these days. Looking back at the first snowshoe trip of the season through here... in November... I can definitely see a difference!

A different type of snowshoer... a snowshoe hare was recently here, hopping toward this spot where I am...

And kept on hopping past. With snow 2 to 3 feet deep here, you can really see how those feet of theirs help them stay on top of the snow.

Next up was ice climbing. My knee is still working on healing from the cabin trip over a month earlier, so I was a spectator/photographer for this one.

Gotta start off with some scenery (of course)...

Good ol' Alaska Railroad passing by...

First, a lesson in tieing in.

Ready to go! Swing that ice pick!

I made it?! Now what do I do?

The friend that "hooked us up" with this adventure... she makes this look so easy!

A swing...

 And a kick.  That's all there is to it!

Let's see this on video now...

Celine had a great idea to climb up and take pictures from up high.  So she took my camera up and got these great shots..

What a neat perspective of the view!

 Look at that ice fly!

So focused!

Our group!

And next... a sled dog tour with this year's Iditarod winner's kennel! Dallas Seavey himself wasn't there, but a few of the dogs that ran the race just a few days earlier were there.  We met in Eagle River and got a ride on Eagle River itself. As the musher was getting the dogs hooked up, it struck me that they're silent!  They're not barking or jumping to get going.  They just stood there!  The musher told us that they're not lacking excitement... it's just that Dallas has trained them to NOT bark and pull because it's a waste of energy. That guy doesn't take anything for granted! They were all VERY sweet dogs.

Waiting patiently to get going. Not what you usually see when sled dogs are first hooked up to the line, but these guys were all very happy to run... don't be fooled!

The scenic ride on Eagle River.

Must... cool... down! This March sunshine is almost too much for a sled dog. :)

I love when the dogs look back when the musher talks to them.

We're pros at this now!

My personal favorite on this team... Gizmo. So sweet.

This cold snow feels SO good!

A successful ride! Time to lay down and cool off... again. :)

We also did a little ice skating on the last day of her visit, but I don't have photos of that. We practically had the place to ourselves, with just one or two other people out there while we were. It rounded out a great week of winter fun in Alaska, that's for sure! Winter is quickly departing for another year... but we might still get one or two more winter-ish posts in before the snow is gone. 'Til next time...

Visit Alaska in the Winter?! Definitely YES! -Part 2

If you go a (very) short distance east of Anchorage, you find even more snow than Anchorage has gotten. Similar to the post I did about finding some "real" snow around here a few posts ago, we went for a drive toward the Kenai Peninsula... to the town of Girdwood. While Anchorage has had 134.5" this winter, Girdwood (about 40 miles away) has had 372.6" through April. At the top of the Girdwood's ski resort (Alyeska), they received over 800" through April. Whew! Terrain really has an influence around here.

Looking east along Turnagain Arm... many a photo has been taken from this spot!

Looking kind of west/northwest...

Cliffs with ice... they get me every time! For a south-facing wall of rock, I'm extra impressed with how much ice accumulates here.

Low tide along Turnagain Arm...

These next 3 look like they're old black and white photos... kinda neat. Turnagain Arm at low tide... with ice chunks littered about.

I like the "mood" of this one.

This photo especially looks like it's from long ago, but I assure you this is from this year. Pretty cool, I think!

Now getting to Girdwood... a winter wonderland, it surely is!

I bet this person is glad they kept up with the snow blowing through the winter...

And this is what happens when the snowfall gets ahead of you. It appears clearing their roof to lower the snow load is higher priority than getting the truck out at this point. I'm sure that's a wise decision! Notice the ladder to get up on the roof on the right side of the photo.

Being around snow like this makes me almost giddy. And to think I went to college in NC to get away from harsh/snowy winters! I guess I had to get away from it to realize how much I love it, even in March after a long, deep winter in AK!

Some kids to give some size perspective...

And my personal favorite photo of Girdwood:

'Til next time...

Visit Alaska in the Winter?! Definitely YES!

What could there possibly be to do in the winter around Alaska, you ask? Plenty! Plus, things aren't nearly as busy in the winter as they are during the summer (a.k.a. "tourist season"). A friend came to visit in March (she was here in the summer too). We seemed to find plenty to keep us busy, and even had things we wanted to do that we didn't get to in the week she was here. I originally planned to do one blog post to cover her visit, but after going through photos, I decided it just can't be done. It will be divided over 3 posts. So here's number 1... enjoy!

Since it's been a record snowfall winter, the scenery was extra impressive around here. We both took pictures along the way to document... and many are taken through the windshield (by the passenger, of course) so you'll have to pardon the streaks on the windshield. :) Might as well get started...

We went for a walk along the Coastal Trail the first full day she was here. There were many indications that we weren't walking anywhere close to the true ground level! First, we came up on some benches with signs that should probably be about waist level...



What it looks like "normally". The previous picture was taken mid-March... this one below was taken the end of May. 

If water runs fast enough... it can keep from freezing over around here. This might have been frozen during the coldest part of the winter, but the March sun is a strong one.

Standing on TOP of the railing... not next to it?!

The same general spot at the end of May...

Snow covered chunks of ice... Mt. Susitna in the background...

A great thing about Anchorage... multiple maintained ice "rinks" around town. Free groomed cross-country skiing trails (on the left side of the photo), free ice skating, free hockey... not to mention free views of some beautiful mountains (in the background... hard to see in this photo)!

Snow berms about the height of my car... what an awesome winter it's been!

On the way home, it was nice to have a passenger with me so we could get some pictures of my neighborhood. I kept driving through this area feeling like the snow piles were bigger than on my street.

One night on our way back to Anchorage, there was a beautiful sunset. We drove to the coast to see it and get a few photos. The best part is... there was practically a traffic jam on this side road as people were trying to get a good view of the sunset as well. I love it! A great "end" to the day... and a great end to this post!

'Til next time...