March 3, 2014 Final Full Day in Alaska

Staying up late working on photos and following the race becomes the way of life when following the Iditarod from Anchorage.  As we woke up, we immediately went online to find out who was in the lead.  There is a tremendous amount of info available about this race:  the order of who is in the lead and what place each musher is, how fast they are traveling, what mile marker and check point they are nearest to, as well as news bulletins and blogs and FACEBOOK posts.  Some fans around the world take these two weeks off form work in order to follow the race nearly full time.

We got our fix, and saw with the nice weather that we could spend the day driving south on the Kenai Peninsula to go to The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, about an hour drive form Anchorage.

On the way, we stopped at Judy’s Diner, and because it was full were asked to join a local couple there for breakfast.  There we got the chance to hear some of what it is like to live here, as a commercial fisherman who is now on disability. This couple lives in a home that his father built in 1940.  Delightful to have the chance to visit.

The drive south was lovely, to say the least, especially as we drove along Turnagain Arm, a fjord with some of the world's greatest tidal changes.  We drove and oohed and ahhed, and pulled off for stops and photos often. 

At one place, Beluga Point, the wind was blowing so hard that we were really chilled in just minutes.  This is coldest that we have been since arriving in Alaska.  It was the definition of wind chill.  We watched the tide flow rushing out of the Turnagan Arm, exposing extensive mudflat with many chunks of ice that had been left as the water streamed away.

We arrived at the Conservation Center just as one of the young interns was getting ready to take a tour group on a walk around tour.  We had been here is the summer, and it was a treat to come back with snow on the ground.  This is a place that takes in orphaned and injured wild animals including bears, eagles, foxes, and moose.  Our guide coaxed both the Grizzly and one of the Brown Bears to come out for some bacon.  They were not hibernating.  We also saw the Musk Oxen and Elk herds.  They had an injured Bald Eagle who often communicated with wild eagles that would land in a nearby tree.  The Lynx was especially beautiful. They had done some big expansion of their animal areas which was nice to see.  They are also helping to repopulate the wood bison in Alaska.  The tour was informative, with lots of photo opportunities.

Patti also had to try her hand (or her foot) on one of the Scandinavian kick sleds.  Very cool, people powered-no dogs.  But not enough snow there to really go very far.

We headed over the Girdwood to see the Alyeska Ski Resort.  Beautiful skiing and lovely views, but pretty pricey area.

The drive back up to Anchorage was lovely again, with the tides changing the water that we drove along.

Dinner was at a local Seafood restaurant.  We felt we needed to have Alaskan salmon before we went home.  Delicious!

Back at the hotel, we followed the race online, and Dick began to pack up for the journey home the next day.  We were both tired, but very grateful for the chance to travel and see so many exquisite sites.