Earlier this year, we decided to take our next trip to Alaska. We planned it for 11 days (May 28th through June 11th): 2 travel days, 2 days in Anchorage and 7 days on a cruise (from Whittier, Alaska to Vancouver, Canada).
We took a chance going that early - most 'touristy' places do not open until May 15th. As it turned out, it was not that cold. Daytime temperatures ranged from about 48° to 59° (for the whole trip). It was cloudy and the coolest the 2 days we were in Anchorage, but as we continued south, the temperature slowly increased and the sun came out more.
I'm going to create 6 posts for the trip: One for Anchorage, one for a glacier walk, one for a train ride and glacier and 3 for the cruise (Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan [and Vancouver]).
A few miles SW of downtown Anchorage was Flattop Mtn., Alaska's most popular peak to climb. It starts at 2,256' and goes to 3,550'. It's a 3 mile round trip and takes about 2 1/2 hours. It is rated as moderate, but the last third had to be strenuous; any harder and only mountain goats could have done it. But, my son and I made it !! In the center of the photo is the start of the trail from the parking lot with the mountain in the distance
Posing on the easy part
A little winded !!
Made it to the top
The 3,550' marker
Anchorage from Flattop Mtn.; it is just right of center on the Cook Inlet (looking NE)
Another view looking east
A view of near-by mountains from the top
Evergreen along the trail with purple pine cones. They were only about a 1/2 inch long.
Tiny little flowers ; barely a 1/4 inch wide
Part of downtown Anchorage
The Anchorage Museum. It had really good exhibits on Alaska Natives, Alaska history from the last Ice Age to present and pollution (mainly in the worlds waters)
A remnant of the earthquake in Anchorage in 1964. Where the person is walking used to be at the same level as the parking lot
While on a trolley tour, the driver took us down a side road where moose sitings usually occur. As you can see, there was a mama moose. What you don't see was her 2 week old baby. Just as we got close enough to get a photo of the baby, it ran across the street into a wooded area.
Baby moose is in there, but well camouflaged.
Everywhere you look, there are these small private planes 'docked' on the water. Our trolley driver told us that Alaska has 1/4 of all these types of planes in the U.S.
Even more
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