Well, not anymore… after a week in Alaska is felt great to be making it back home. Of course after a great nap on the plane… it was nice to see the bright lights of Chicago through the airplane window. THANK YOU ALASKA for an amazing week… so beautiful, so many great memories. Thanks to everyone who made my trip so memorable!!!

The last day of my Alaska Adventure had finally come… Friday morning flying out of Anchorage International Airport. A beautiful sunrise to start the day… but even more beautiful sights as we were flying. Typically I fall asleep immediately on an airplane… but not this time, there was to much to see. Crazy cool mountains & glaciers all over the place!!! Even more stunning from above!

By Thursday, we had made it to Anchorage & Theresa dropped me off for a day on my own… as she had to get back home to Fairbanks to work the next day. Anchorage is not a huge city, so I pretty much walked the entire downtown area before noon. It wasn’t very busy or crowded… perhaps because it was the middle of a workday? I hit most of the art galleries & gift shops… looking for some last-minute souvenirs made by local artists.

On the Tuesday after the pottery workshop, our adventure continued… driving from Wasilla to Seward. Beautiful scenic vistas along the way. Lots of great nature to enjoy. We had a couple great stops along the way for some hiking into the woods. It was great to get out of the car to enjoy the woods full of textures & colors… even if the weather was a but chilled, damp & drizzly. Moody skies & dramatic moments along the way. So typically Alaska… or at least more like I had expected.

So we woke up Friday morning in Fairbanks with a plan… to go find MOOSE!!!

There was a workshop “Meet & Greet” Potluck Dinner planned for later that night. So we had a good day to go see some nature, do some hiking, get some photos & hopefully find some MOOSE!!!

Theresa’s plan was to drive us down Chena Hot Springs Road to see what we could along the way. There are so many ponds, creeks, rivers, swamps, forests, moss, mushrooms… all of them ideal for a moose to be hanging out in. It was slightly overcast, misty & rainy at times, but so beautiful! This was more of the Alaska I expected. But I will say… I was surprised by all of the flowers everywhere??? Again, as an unknowing Midwesterner, I must admit I kinda thought Alaska was always cold & frequently covered with snow!!! Who knew is was no nice in the summer with flowers everywhere??? Not me.

And the wildlife scorecard?…
two scrawny squirrels, some ducks… and still NO MOOSE!!

Okay, so we didn’t see any moose… as “promised.”
But we did see some musk ox!!!

Apparently these are “a thing” up in Fairbanks…
penned on the side of the road at an animal research facility.
Close.. but still no moose!!

As part of my Alaskan search for wildlife… I was on a constant look-out for moose, bears & eagles. My host, tour guide & workshop organizer Theresa had a great plan. Her daytime job is at the local landfill. And apparently that’s where all of the eagles & ravens go to eat?! So after hours, we drove up into the landfill area, up on top of the mounds… surrounded by bald eagles, younger eaglets & ravens! So cool to see so many up close… but a weird being on top of a landfill??? I learned so much…

Continuing on our Fairbanks tour… we stopped by Pioneer Park. A charming collection of Fairbanks history with old log cabins, a paddlewheel boat, a carousel, a small chapel, plenty of crafty shops & small food venues. They even had a very nice history museum… which was even cooler as some of Theresa’s family were shown in the museum as her roots take her back to being a native Alaskan!

Continuing my “Welcome to Fairbanks Tour”… we also stopped by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). We’ve all heard about the Alaskan Pipeline… but who knew parts of it were above ground? Not me!!! As a Midwesterner, I guess I assumed it was all underground. Even crazier, it is built with these support beams that allow the actual tube to “slide” around throughout the seasons. Wait, what?… it moves??? And oh, but wait there’s more… the weird “tuning fork” pylons are there to help keep the ground under the pipeline cold enough all year long so it doesn’t sink into the melting ground. And, the weird “missle” thing is used to run up & down inside the tube to clean it out!!! So much going on here… I had no idea!!!

After Theresa picked my up at the Fairbanks Airport, we went out to lunch and then North Pole, Alaska. Okay, so it might not be the “real” North Pole… but this cute little town is all decked out for Christmas year-round!

This gift shop seemed to be the main attraction. Complete with a huge Santa Clause, oversized Christmas Tree, reindeer & some painted tiles around the store. Cute… quaint… thematic… but it all looks like it coulda used a nice re-hab a few decades ago!