Canada – Friends! Axes, Downhill Mountain Biking – and more Friends!

Lane and I had long been looking forward to our arrival in Canada. We had planned for a YEAR to see some friends we had met in Paris the previous summer. And also added on another stop to see friends we made in Vietnam.  As you know, there were only a couple times on our trip that we had ‘familiar faces’ so this was definitely going to be a treat. We had no idea. HA.

We flew into Vancouver from Anchorage. A gloriously short direct flight. Love those. HA. We arrived too late in the evening to get a ferry so had arranged to stay overnight at the Red Rock Casino, which was very very nice!

The next day, we slept in, had a nice lunch, then hopped on the connector bus to the ferry. It was a lovely ferry ride, and I met a lovely Polish woman who had been living in Canada for 25+ years. She was planning a trip back to Krakow with her sons to visit her parents. It was fun to talk about how lovely Old Town Krakow is, with its architecture, lovely people and amazing food. HA.

Arriving in Victoria ferry terminal, we didn’t know what to expect – a little nervous would we even recognize them? Would we get along as well as we had that one day in Paris? HA. Yes, we really were going to stay 3 nights with women we had spent only ‘most of’ a day with on a bike tour in Paris. We clicked THAT much.

Well we needn’t had concerned ourselves. Emily ran up to us, and there were smiles and hugs all around as we joined Pat at her car and piled our big bags in. Conversation was easy, and joyful, in the car ride, and really for the next 4 days we spent with them.

Pat was an amazing hostess, making us feel so comfortable, and, as she put it “The rest of your trip was travel, I want these few days to be vacation for you”. Here’s a woman who knows travel, and knows how to make people feel welcome.

Within a short time of our arrival, the house was full of family and friends. Pat was hosting a dinner in honor of her visiting granddaughters (from northern Alberta). Her son and his family joined, along with a variety of other friends and family. It was a wonderful group of people, I enjoyed talking with them SO much. It was great to feel the hug of a family gathering. And they made me feel like I was home.

Later in the evening, Pat and I enjoyed some wine together. Talking as women do. About all the really important things in life. People we have loved and lost. The future for ourselves and those we care about most. It was so wonderful to have this connection – so quickly developed but yet so complete.

The next morning I woke to coffee ALREADY MADE – ha. What a treat! Then we headed into the downtown area for an iMax movie and museum exhibit on Egypt, followed by lunch at the street food vendors ‘out back’ of the museum. We were joined by most of the previous night’s crowd.

That afternoon and evening we spent at home with Pat and her granddaughters, Emily and Sarah. We all got along wonderfully.

The next day, we were so so lucky, Pat’s son was available (and the boat was fixed JUST in time) to go to a nearby lake for the day. Another family friend had a camper at a campground on the lake, and we spent the day swimming, wake boarding, eating, talking and laughing. The weather was Alaska-perfect. I guess Canada perfect is the same! HA. Cool, dry air, hot sun.  Moving from sun to shade was the difference between being a tad chilly, or being nearly too hot. Doesn’t get any better. In her typical ‘you’re on vacation’ fashion, Pat had packed all manner of food and drink for ‘us all’ which included myself and Lane, Pat, her teen granddaughters Emily and Sarah and her little granddaughters, in the 7 to 9 year range, and their dad.

 

 

Saying goodbye was hard. It was so nice visiting with friends. We shared the ferry ride to Vancouver with Emily and Sarah then proceeded to get our rental car and move into our airbnb for a couple nights.

While in Vancouver, we visited Stanley Park and took a bike ride around part of it. I had intended to do it all, but the weather wasn’t great – and THAT PARK IS HUGE! HA! After that we wandered a nearby neighborhood and had some amazing Japanese! YAY! Hot Rock beef, noodles, all the foods!!

 

Also while wandering Vancouver we came across this gorgeous and unique hotel. I noticed it for it’s look, then the name struck me. There is a song by one of my favorite musicians, Cheryl Wheeler, and it’s called Sylvia Hotel (the album name as well) so we took a photo and I wondered if it was THIS hotel she was singing about. I looked it up later – Guess What? IT IS!! This is THE SYLVIA HOTEL. Love it.

 

 

Aside from some relaxing and some good Indian food, that was about it for Vancouver. On to Squamish!

Squamish was just a stop along the way, but I had heard it was THE PLACE to do some rock climbing, so I booked us a guide and we spent a great day climbing the cliffs. According to our guide, these were ‘easy’ and ‘not steep’ – ha. well they looked pretty steep to me! We learned some new skills and broke a sweat, and ate wild blackberries on the walk back down the hill – so WINNING!

Above – that’s ME all the way at the top. This is considered an easy climb, with a gentle slope. HA looks pretty vertical to me! Although there are lots of places for foot and hand gripping.

 

There’s Lane!

 

We didn’t spend the night in Squamish, though it looked like an adorable little town and I would have loved to spend more time. But we were booked to be in Whistler, so off we went to finish the drive. It’s only about 2 hours from Vancouver to Whistler, which is really great for an awesome ski and mountain bike location. Plus, there are shuttle buses that run from the Vancouver airport up to Whistler. Once you’re there, many many places are available to stay ‘in the thick of things’ so you don’t even NEED a car. I am definitely coming back for a snow season!

Lane and I checked into our adorable Airbnb near the center of Whistler mountain resort. I had a bit of a hard time understanding how to get around and park, which turned out to be justified – because hardly anyone drives in this area. It’s all bikes and walking. Hence the lack of parking. HA. We found the grocery store and YES, the liquor store pretty easily. Stocked up for a few days and got settled in our new home, which was a lovely little studio with a murphy bed and a convertible couch. Oh, and a patio. I love a patio, as you know by now.

One day in Whistler we slept in, then wandered the town. It’s like a strip of stores and restaurants and bars. We were looking for the best and easiest way to try out downhill mountain biking and we finally found it right at the base of the mountain. Whistler Mountain’s own bike rental with lessons and all. Perfect. Normally, they don’t allow children under 16 to do the lesson we were signing up for. I asked if Lane would be OK, and the girl we were working with called a manager, who instantly appeared and he laughed. He said “that’s no 13 year old – that’s a full grown adult! I think he could take me!!” HA. So, Lane was ‘in’ like Flynn.

Downhill mountain biking was a bit harder than I expected. They make it look so easy on TV (and at the competition which was running while we were there). First, just getting the bike on the lift to the top was a bit nerve-wracking. I mean, the lift chairs don’t stop moving. You need to pop your bike up on the back wheel, roll it into place on the back of the lift chair, then hop into the lift chair behind you. All pretty quickly. And those bikes are HEAVY! I mean, disc brakes people!

At the top of the mountain we were shown some basics of how to ride (neutral foot position, how far to lean on the handlebars, and basically don’t even think about sitting down). Then how to take a turn, how to ride over bumps. Then they took us on a practice track where, you guessed it, 5 and 6 year old kids were wizzing around us. HA. How humiliating.

Then, finally, after about 30 minutes in the heat (gosh I never imagined it would be so hot), we headed down the trail where, thankfully, it was shaded. We were both pretty nervous at first, but we started to get the hang of it pretty quickly and got more comfortable. It took us a good 45 minutes to navigate down the whole course. We stopped occasionally, but mostly we rode down, taking turns and bumps. It was really fun but more exhausting than I thought, keeping control of the bike and trying to hit those curves just right.

We got to the bottom and our lesson was over! WOW. 2 hours went really fast. We considered adding some time, but we were both beat – just as well we wouldn’t have to get the bikes back on the lift again! Yikes.

After that, we had a nice dinner and headed home for some sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, we rented some trail bikes to ride around the lakes path that is well-known in the area. It was a gorgeous day, and the lakes are beautiful. There weren’t too many people around, which was nice. We saw some nice sights, and I even spotted a snake on the trail in front of me at one point.

After our ride, the bike rental place recommended a japanese place nearby – and wow was it amazing! All this food for something like $20 CAD!

After that, we were headed to the town of Kelowna, where our friends Jim and Jackie live. We had met Jim and Jackie on the tour of Vietnam, and we got along wonderfully. When they heard we were coming to Canada, they hoped we would visit their town, and I’m so glad we did. It was gorgeous!

I spent a bit of time at a ‘lake beach’ near our Airbnb. So peaceful, hardly anyone around and such nice tiny little waves. HA

Baby Waves at the lake

 

The first day we were in town, I thought we would go zip-lining, but then I read about a place with axe throwing. With the weather being kind of smoky from the forest fires, it was recommended to do something indoors, so Lane opted for the axe throwing. We enjoyed it thoroughly! So much so that we decided to do it again the next day – and we talked Jim and Jackie into joining us!!!

On the second day, we paid a little extra to throw some specialty axes and some knives as well.  It was really great. Jim and Jackie liked it too.  Before we left the facility, we peeked in on the ‘rage room’. I had no idea what this was or what to expect. Well, it’s an interior room, with all plywood walls, where you can have a fit and break things. When we saw it, there was a pile of computer parts in the corner, fully smashed. HA. What a good way to get out your frustrations!!

 

 

 


My face when I missed. HA.

 

 

 

Jean Axe Throwing in Slow Mo

Laney Axe Throw in Slow Mo

Laney Specialty Axe Slow Mo

We had a couple nice meals with Jim and Jackie – as locals they knew which places were good (always a big help). One day, we were in the area for the Pride March of Kelowna and that was a fun experience as well!

On the final day in Kelowna, we went bowling, where I bowled the absolute worst games of my life. HA. Oh well.

Next, on to Jasper! Our last stop before heading home.

Driving across the western part of Canada was absolutely beautiful. In parts, unfortunately, our view was hindered by the forest fires and the smoke but at times it was quite clear and just stunning!!

On the way from Kelowna to Jasper we encountered two things. An elk on the side of the road, and an Anne, also on the side of the road. HA.

Seeing the elk was amazing. A fair number of cars stopped to watch. One couple was completely obnoxious about getting too close and taking photos. There’s always one right? Lane and I half-hoped it would charge them. HA.

 

After that, we encountered Anne. A young backpacker girl hitchhiking on our road with a sign for Banff. I said to Lane, “she needs to be with us” – mostly because I just couldn’t bear the idea that she would ride with someone else, possibly someone ‘unsavory’. So, we stopped, moved some things around, and got on our way.

Our encounter with Anne was similar to the (only couple/few) other times we encountered hitchhikers on our trip. For starters, she was young (college age), and so full of life and wonderful adventures. She explained how she had been planting trees in western Canada as her summer job. Hard work she said, but lucrative. Guess how much she made planting trees? They pay her per tree…………… 11 CENTS! CRIKEY! And she says she hustled and makes a lot. WOW. Well, Anne lives and goes to school in the Toronto area, and she has spent a few months in the USA. Her mom is originally from South Africa, and when Anne was young, they spent a year there, before Mom decided to come back to Canada and have another little girl. Mom is a doctor and has always been a single mom – no dads in sight. Brave woman I say (and I’m not even thinking about the social repercussions). HA.

Anne explained how she loves to hike, and how she finished her tree-planting job 10 days ago and just completed an 8 day hike BY HERSELF in the wilderness (national park). She carried everything she needed on her back for a few days at a time, after which she would stop in a town and pick up supplies. How did she manage water??? – this was my biggest question. Well, she uses water purification tablets. Though, she told a story that ONE TIME the tablets were accidentally and unknowingly exposed to air, and therefore useless, but she didn’t know it. And she got sick. REALLY sick. And was all by herself away from civilization. WOW. She survived, but clearly could have died. Now, she also carries a ‘life straw’, which is a special straw you can drink from any old nasty puddle of water and it’s OK. This is in addition to  the tablets (which I’m sure she now checks regularly for damage to the container).

What a cool and interesting person!!! LOVE THIS. It is truly one of my favorite experiences in travel is the people and their stories!!!

She took this photo of us. Wish I had taken her photo too but I was a little embarrassed to ask (creepy old lady ha).

waterfall

After driving through the Jasper National Park, we arrived in the adorable town of  Lake Louise, we checked into the Lake Louise Inn. Lane was tired so I headed out to dinner myself at the adorable Station Restaurant. It was SO lovely, and a couple trains arrived while I was there.

Walk along the stream on the way to the restaurant.

View from my table. That’s a train right there! Yes, it was a little noisy when they came and went, but they all stopped, so not too bad. Not like a train rushing by at 80 mph!!

YUM fresh trout!

AMAZING salad!!

View on the way to the restaurant.

The next day, Lane and I took the shuttle bus to Lake Moraine, which I had heard was as nice (or more) vs. Lake Louise, but less ‘commercial’. Well, it was GORGEOUS. WOW. We climbed the rock structure (small mountain?) nearby then rented a canoe and paddled around the lake. Part way through our paddle we saw a bumble bee struggling in the water and Lane wanted to save it. So we pulled it out and left it on our bailer bucket until it dried out. Lane was really worried it couldn’t fly but once it’s wings were dry, off it went! We were so happy. I was so pleased, since when we left home Lane HATED bees. HA.  He’s still a bit afraid but better, especially with bumble bees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

That night, I headed to Chateau Lake Louise – a very posh and fancy hotel right on the lake (and too rich for our budget, ha). I decided to have dinner there at the bar, at a friends recommendation. Well, it was lovely, and as usual I met some very nice people. A father/daughter who were traveling from the US.

My wonderful salad with crab cakes

It was hard to capture the beauty of the place. Very elegant. Check out the chandeliers!

The view at Lake Louise was stunning! Unfortunately, some smoke dimmed the beauty a bit.

And the gardens at the Chateau Lake Louise were STUNNING!

After that, it was a night near Calgary (in Canmore), one night in Calgary and a flight home!

I took advantage of the small, quiet ambiance of Canmore to hit a spa for a nice massage, pedicure, etc.  So so nice!! Lane took the time to catch up on some ‘homework’ and talk to his friends online.

This is us, getting ready to board the last flight – HOME!

Here we are, arriving home in Philadelphia!

YES, we still like each other! HA

 

Alaska – Fishing, Pine Trees and Glaciers

After Costa Rica, we were headed to Alaska – and had a layover in LAX. This was our first touch down in US soil in 13 months!! OMG!! 

Travel time from Costa Rica to Denali, our first Airbnb in Alaska, was to be 35 hours altogether. Including a few extra hours to wait for the Verizon store to open so we could get me a new phone.   After arriving at 330 am and waiting a couple hours for the rental car place to open, we spent a few more hours outside McDonald’s soaking up the WiFi. Then shopping at Target. Some food, and a few essentials that we needed. A few non-essentials too. Ha. We missed American shopping. A bit.  We also stopped in a laundromat to get some wash done. I think that might be the first laundromat we used on the whole trip! Huh! 

Denali

With all that done, the drive to Denali was beautiful and uneventful.

 

Our Airbnb was a camper trailer on the property of the owners. It was adorable and perfect for us. It probably could have slept 6 but it was nice for just the two of us. 

 

 

View from the trailer.  

Those hosts had a small greenhouse onsite and we ended up getting some Swiss chard and some rhubarb out of the deal. Awesome. Ha. And Lane loved the chard! Win! HA. 

 

The next morning, we got up early and rode the transportation bus into Denali National Park. We rode to the visitors center hoping to see some wildlife. We saw some caribou and a marmot, my favorite was the ground squirrels which would poke their heads up and stand on their hind legs sometimes when we drove by. They reminded me of gophers. Ha. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also saw two grizzly families. Both were a mom and two little ones. One set of Cubs was a year old. The other was this year’s cubs. So so cute.  Unfortunately, they were too far away to get a decent photo with a cell phone. But very cool. 

The next day we visited the Husky Homestead where we got to hold puppies and learn about dogs that race in the Iditarod. It was very cool. Now I want to attend an Iditarod!! Ha. 

 

That night, partly seeking Wi-Fi, we ended up at a wonderful restaurant where we had dinner as well as a rhubarb dessert, which was glorious! We were seeking Wi-Fi because, although available in the advertisement for the Airbnb, the fact was we needed to sit outside and near the hosts home to receive a signal. It was not available in our camper. ah well. teenage coping skills.

View from our outside dinner.

 

Inside – we moved in for dessert because it started to get chilly!!

Rhubarb something – was like a bread pudding with rhubarb. so so good!

Amazing trout dinner…

Talkeetna

The next day we headed down to Talkeetna. We wandered around this adorable town, enjoyed a lunch at the brewery, and then bought polarized sunglasses in preparation for our fishing trip the next day. 

BBQ pork sandwich and halibut fish n chips. SO SO good.

The next day we were up early for our river fishing trip. The much-recommended trip, the Indian River Tour.

Wow!! What a day of fishing that was!!  First, you’re told to show up at 7 AM for breakfast, but I didn’t expect it to be so lovely! A great breakfast of coffee and juice and eggs Benedict awaited us when we arrived. Next, our fishing guide Josh suited us up with waders and boots and then we embarked on a short car ride with the boat to put the boat in the water. We had a rather long ride up the Susitna River it took about two hours to reach the spot we were looking for, which is where the Indian river merges into the Susitna. 

We hopped out of the boat and fished from the shore. Within the first 20 minutes, we had caught six fish of five different species including pink salmon, tiger salmon, Grayling, rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden!! The catch continued to be amazing with nearly every cast yielding a fish or at least getting a bite. We were exhausted (but happy) from pulling in probably 40 or 50 fish that day! What’s not to be happy about? Fish and beautiful weather. It was a glorious sunny beautiful day with the air just cool enough, and the water, of course, was quite cool, keeping us from being hot.

Above, grayling. Josh was nice enough to hold up the dorsal fin. This is actually pretty big for a grayling. They don’t get that big I guess.

Tiger salmon. NICE one Lane!

 

 

 

Saw this boat as we pulled back into the boat ramp. Doris, my mom, is with us always, and sometimes she chooses to remind us.  On this day, of all others, it makes sense.

This photo is a little blurry. Lane likes it because his fish is bigger than mine. HA. In the iPhone ‘live photo’ version, Lane’s fish wiggles and wobbles and eventually jumps out of his hands. He looks at the camera with empty hands and LAUGHS and it’s literally the greatest photo ever. It represents the joy of the day, the carefree attitude, and our love of fishing. It’s a truly epic photo and I tear up just thinking about it.

 

Is this great or what? If you look near Lane’s reel, you see the ‘seam’ – where the waters come together. The clearer water on the left and in the foreground is the Indian River. In the background/right is the Susitna. The fish like the ‘seam’ where the water from one river has met the other but has not yet mixed together. In this ‘seam’water, we could many times SEE the fish. SO SO SO SO COOL.

The return trip on the boat was just as pleasant as the one up. Even though, at times, Josh advised us to hold on tight. Parts of the river are difficult to navigate and some of them are shallow. There was occasionally a risk of running aground. But we skated through successfully and without any issues. Upon returning to the B&B, not the one we were staying in, the host again greeted us and started to prepare dinner. Lane, of course, had selected steak and I selected salmon. It was a wonderful home-cooked meal including some broccoli and some couscous.  Our host also provided wine and soft drinks. It was a lovely evening just the three of us having dinner. The view was spectacular.

Also while in Talkeetna, we went on an ATV tour. We visited the original homestead house of a family who established themselves here back when the Homestead Act was in place. They drove for 5 days in a van with 5 kids!! (with a camper built onto the pickup – made of plywood!). They quickly put together a makeshift shelter for the winter and managed to survive, though not in comfort for sure.

Now, there is a lovely house by the river that we visited, owned by one of the children of those original pioneers. We panned for gold, shot an elephant rifle, and enjoyed a nice meal there.

 

Getting there and back was half the fun, though, on small backwoods roads. Going there and getting back we had to cross a bridge, on the ‘pedestrian/ATV’ lane, and I swear there weren’t 6 inches of clearance overall! Yikes.

 

 

That’s Lane ahead of me.

 

Little tight, right?

Getting ready to go!

Approaching the house – what a beautiful home, space, and view.

View from the porch to the gold-panning spot

Panning for gold! Yes, we found some. Tiny pieces and flecks. HA

Me, lining up the shot. HA. BIG gun, called an elephant gun. I don’t recall the name or caliber.

Everyone got ONE shot with the elephant gun (if you wanted more shots, you could have used a smaller gun, but, hey, why?). HA. MINE is the pink one dead center. YAY! WIN! Look out world!

 

Gorgeous porch on the back of the house, facing the creek.

 

I was so completely satisfied with the experience and overall really loved Talkeetna. In retrospect, I wish we had spent only one night in Denali and instead spent additional nights in Talkeetna. Oh well, lesson learned. I expect I will go back for some more fishing 🙂 

Homer

After Talkeetna, we were headed to the fishing town of Homer Alaska. Homer is the capital of halibut fishing in Alaska – An adorable little town where we stayed in an adorable little cabin. We had not booked a fishing trip there so we merely enjoyed the small-town ambiance, had dinner and explored Lands End which is a lookout point in Homer. I enjoyed a dinner out at a steak and seafood place where I had Alaskan King crab legs. They were enormous, of course, and delicious! Not exactly discounted in price, however. Perhaps I should have gone somewhere else but it was lovely and I met some lovely local and traveling people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seward

Our next stop was to be Seward Alaska. On the wat there, I spotted a beautiful serene lake through the trees. With an eye-roll from Lane, I pulled over for photos. HA. This happened a lot in our travels (me stopping, her eye-rolling). This time, though, he had to admit it was awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

Seward is also a halibut fishing Mecca and here is where I had booked us a trip. Our Airbnb here was to be a room shared with some local people who happened to be guides for the exit glacier tours. I very much wanted to book one of these ice climbing tours (they will drop you into holes/caves in the ice!!) however the weather didn’t cooperate for that – just as it didn’t cooperate for fishing. Net-net, we did not get to go halibut fishing. Instead, we booked a river fishing tour on the Kenai River which is a stunningly beautiful river of ice blue colored glacier water. This was to be a fly fishing trip, which Lane and I have zero experience on. Our fellow fisherpeople on the small boat was a couple – of which the woman also had no experience – perfect –  we were quite comfortable.

Well, our fears were unfounded – turns out, Lane is a natural! His first try at a fly rod he pulled in an enormous rainbow trout!

 

The rest of the day wasn’t exactly big on catches as the previous trip was, but nonetheless, it was a wonderful day. This scenery is to die for, and we saw quite a few bald eagles!

 

 

I don’t think I will ever get over the blue glacier water – in New Zealand or Alaska. It’s unreal!!

Our last full day in Seward we spent looking around the waterfront and going to a nearby sea life museum which was quite nice. We also drove up to take a quick look at the exit glacier which was gorgeous. We picked up a couple college boys making their way back from the glacier to town. We got to hear how these two, who go to college in PA and live in CA, spent the summer in the commercial salmon industry. I love meeting these young travelers – so eye-opening for Lane to see what creative options there are for summer jobs!! I never would have dreamed, but he will!!

There are some really adorable houses in Alaska. I loved this red with the background of mountains.

Lots of bald eagles in Seward.

How majestic is this? WOW. Wish I had a better camera.

So I found this fascinating. I had no idea the transformation was so dramatic. Above, salmon in the ocean. Below, the same species of salmon, in the river. CRAZY transformation!!

I can’t name them all but the bottom one is the pink salmon, with the hump. The next one up with the red body and black face is sockeye. The striped one is Chum aka Tiger salmon. I am pretty sure the top one is Coho salmon, which leaves the middle one to be chinook.

Love seeing these puffins.

Enormous seal at the sea life center.

Bottom left of this photo, sea stars (aka starfish) entangled.  Starfish orgy. HA

We also walked around the marina, which was beautiful. Occasionally, we spotted an otter napping in the water. SO SO CUTE.

 

 

 

 

While in the house in Seward I managed to make time to cook rhubarb cobbler which our host and his girlfriend thoroughly enjoyed both after dinner as well as late night! Haha. They were kind enough to take me along in the First Friday downtown celebration where free wine and cheese are served and local artists show their works. I met quite a few other guides of all kinds there, most of them are summer-only residents and they tend to winter somewhere south like San Diego or Montana. Mostly a group of free-spirited young people following work and weather and enjoying the best of both. What a life!!

 

I loved this sign…. ha

Crazy cool paint on this library!!

Big Foot handmade by the store owners. Very cool.

 

The house where we stayed in Seward. ADORABLE right? I spent a great couple hours sitting in one of those chairs on a beautiful sunny afternoon. The weather in AK was amazing. Hot sun, cool shade. Crisp, pine air. Just perfect.

 

 The waterfront near our Airbnb in Seward. I saw an otter here on the first day but didn’t catch a photo. 

The morning we left, Jack, our host, left us a 4-leaf clover that he had found in the yard the previous day. So sweet. I’ve kept it in my journal ever since.

Our travel time was slowly coming to an end – and unfortunately our time in Alaska also nearly over. I had not achieved my goal of seeing a moose in the wild so on the way back to Anchorage we stopped at the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center and saw all the animals! Not the same as in the wild, but it was a wonderful experience. I think my favorite was something unexpected. This gorgeous porcupine –  we watched him/her eat – so adorable. 

View at the AWCC

Bison in the field

Brown bear at the AWCC

 

Isnt this guy totally adorable???

 

Bear Movie

Porcupine eating

I love how the porcupine uses his/her hands. SO CUTE

That night we spent the night in a cabin at the Brown Bear saloon just outside of Anchorage. Let’s just say it was a place with a lot of character. Haha. We went to the saloon for dinner and enjoyed some original music by a band from Seattle. They had spent about 12 days, like us, exploring and playing their music in Alaska. Ironically, pretty much in the same towns that we have been in. This seemed to me to be a very Alaskan experience. A rustic bar and saloon and hotel with a live band.

 

Loved this sign. So very ‘not fussy’ Alaska. Where flannel and boots IS getting dressed up.. HA

Jenni Don’t Band playing at Brown Bear Saloon near Anchorage

 

The entire place was papered with dollars, so we added some too!

Really cool car out front. Perhaps (likely) belonging to the band.

That was about it for Alaska – next stop Canada! Lane and I were both very excited to meet up with our friends Pat and Emily, who we had met in Paris an entire year before. They were kind enough to host us at Pat’s home in Victoria.

Goodbye again USA! See you soon!