This day was jam packed with fun as we made our way back to Anchorage. Of course the drive was stunning.
Our first stop was at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. This is an area where they rehabilitate injured or abandoned animals. If possible, they will release them into the wild. If not, they find a new home here.
This was Twix the porcupine. He enjoyed strutting back and forth over this log while we were watching. There were two other porcupines at the refuge named Kit Kat and Snickers.
A herd of deer.
Wood bison.
Elk. They screech. Loudly. It was pretty funny actually.
Reindeer.
Brown bears.
Musk Ox
Moose
Wolves.
We happened upon a group that was finishing up a tour. Their guide told them that if a group starts to howl the wolves often respond. So of course everyone started howling. These wolves were enjoying their nap in the sun, but they all got up and started responding. It was quite funny.
After our wildlife adventure we drove to the Alyeska Resort. This is a popular ski resort, but the tram runs all year to the top of the mountains. You overlook 7 glaciers from the top.
We purchased the package deal for tram tickets and lunch at one of the restaurants at the top of the mountain. It was only about $10 extra per ticket, but you got a $20 food credit. The restaurant had some cook to order foods, but also a lot of grab and go items. We basically just started throwing items on our trays trying to mentally get as close as we could to our $100 allowance. Everything was overpriced of course, but we knew we'd have plenty to eat. When the total button was pressed, our grand total was $100.00. We were pretty impressed with ourselves!
After lunch we went to hike the Winner Creek Gorge Trail. This is a pretty long hike, and along this hike was a hand tram to cross the gorge - basically a tram you pull yourselves across. I thought this sounded like an interesting adventure, and I knew it was only about a mile or so from the end of the trail. We opted to work our way backwards to the tram, cross the gorge and back, then return to the car. We were about halfway along on our hike when we saw the note that the tram was closed. There were a couple of incidents over the summer where people were not following the safety guidelines. I knew of these, but I had also read what these individuals had done. I was still confident that we could at least check it out and see if it was something we wanted to try. Because it was closed we didn't hike quite as long, but it was a beautiful time together. We didn't see anyone else on our hike, so it's a good thing we didn't also see any large wildlife!
We made one last souvenir stop in Anchorage. This place has the largest chocolate fountain in the world. It is only for decoration; they don't let you eat from it. :)
Our time in Alaska had come to an end. We tried a couple more night to see the northern lights. The KP index was pretty high the last two nights we were there, but the weather did not cooperate. Tomorrow morning we had a 6AM flight, so we had an early morning wake up call!
We had some sleepy girls on the flights home. At one point Kayla was holding Brooke's head up while she slept!
This birthday trip was nothing short of amazing. We had the best time as a family in one of the most gorgeous places. I don't know if I'll ever go back again, but after visiting different areas of the state over our three trips up there, Alaska still holds a special place in my heart.
