Alaska to California Part 4: Washington

Our ferry docked in Bellingham, Washington, and this was the end of the ride for us. We drove our car off the ferry into the mayhem that is Seattle area traffic. Gary the Elephant was pretty excited to be back behind the wheel. Our cars are older, which means they don't have the fancy technology that newer cars have. We love listening to audio books so we had to get creative. Husband's genius solution involved attaching an MP3 player to a bluetooth speaker. It worked perfectly. We listened to Education: A Memoir by Tara Westover (side note: Very interesting, but crazy book. We kept looking at each other saying "This is crazy.") The book held our attention and we often couldn't wait to get back on the road so we could listen it. 

Our first stop was to visit some old friends. We spent the afternoon and evening catching up and making plans for a future summer trip to their family lake house (H and I if you are reading this, we haven't forgotten the offer. Don't be surprised if we show up with our bathing suits one day). We had so much to catch up on that I forgot to take pictures.

From there, we headed to Mount St. Helens. This stop is out of the way, a bit of a drive off of the main highway, but it is definitely worth it. It's not every day you get to visit the site of a volcanic eruption. There is a great Visitor's Center that tells of the events leading up the eruption and also discusses the aftermath. There is a viewing platform that gives you great views of Mount St. Helens. The drive up to the Visitor's Centre was beautiful and you can get some great views of the mountain along the way.  As we drove up, we came across this valley that was covered in fog. I have never seen fog as thick as this fog. It was beautiful and slightly spooky.

Because of the fog, I was afraid we wouldn't get a good view of the mountain. The fog was isolated to that one area and as we got closer to the top of road, the sun shone brightly giving us perfect, clear weather. The landscape close to the mountain was surprisingly barren. I guess an area covered in volcanic ash makes it difficult for things to grow. Everywhere you looked you could see trees that had been destroyed by the blast. It was amazing to see the horseshoe shape that was left after the blast removed 1000 feet off the top of the mountain.

Beautiful peek at Mount Adams in the background.

Just as we were about to leave, we spotted something moving in the distance. We were surprised to see a mountain goat family hanging out on the rocks below. The babies were so cute. I wanted to take one home but Husband said we didn't have room.

If you are ever near Mount St. Helens, and by near I mean anywhere within a couple of hours of it, you should plan to visit. You will get the opportunity to experience a unique part of American history. There is a small charge to tour the visitor's center and go out on the viewing platform but trust me when I say you won't regret the time or price.

Seward and Homer

Father's Day weekend we headed down to Seward and Homer. In Seward we did a wildlife boat cruise in Resurrection Bay. We saw eagles, humpback whales, habour seals, sea lions, puffins (PUFFINS!!), and orcas (ORCAS!!). The orcas came so close to the boat. It was an amazing experience. 

 This eagle greeted us as we left the harbour

 Humpback whale letting air out of its spout

There were two humpback whales

 Harbour Seal

 A glacier (I can't remember the name!). It is over 3 miles wide

Husband with the Gulf of Alaska behind him 

 Sea lions

A lone sea lion

 Puffins! These were difficult to photograph but Husband 

was able to get one good shot.

Another glacier 

 Sea otter (I want one for a pet!)

 Orca!!

 After our cruise we hiked to Exit Glacier. We were able to get pretty close to the glacier. The blue colour found in glaciers is beautiful. I wish my camera captured it better.

On our drive to Homer, we stopped in Anchor Point at the End of the Road. This is farthest westerly point on North America's Highway system. The road ends at a beach. There were so many eagles flying around the area. One eagle was just hanging out on the beach. We were able to get pretty close to it without it flying off. Across the water we were able to see some volcanoes.

If you look close, you can see volcanoes. 

It's no secret that I don't want to say in Alaska one second longer than necessary, but let me tell you if I could live in Homer, I would stay forever! This place was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Everywhere you turned you were met with a gorgeous view. And the Spit? So fun to explore.The Spit is a 4.5 mile strip of land that juts out into the Kachemack Bay. It has a boardwalk with shops, restaurants, and beaches.

 This was the view from our room

 Bishop's Beach

I can haz sea otter?

 This sea otter likes to hang out in the harbour along the Spit.

See that strip of land? That's the Spit.

 Posing in front of my new hometown sign! 

After our day in Homer, we had to head back. As we drove to Anchorage, we stopped to get a better picture of a volcano. We also stopped at Byron Glacier again. Last time we went to Byron Glacier we didn't touch the glacier and we kind of regretted it. We had to give it another try. We made it to the toe of the glacier but couldn't go any farther because there was too much snow. We've been told there are caves as you go farther up the glacier, so we might have to try again next time we are in the area.

 Volcano

About to climb over all those rocks to get to Byron glacier,

At the toe of the glacier! 

Just hanging out in some snow pack at the toe of the glacier

We spent the nigh in Anchorage and after a quick stop at Target, we were on our way home. The view of Denali on our drive was stunning; the best we have had yet. This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice but it's better than nothing. When people ask me how I like Alaska, I tell them it is an experience I never knew I wanted until I got here. Yes Alaska can be bitterly cold. It feels like we are isolated from the rest of the world. The mosquitoes are no joke. But the things we get to experience, the adventures we get to have, they make up for all that. Most people only get a week or two to explore Alaska; we get 3 years. And when I put things in that perspective, I am truly grateful to be here. 

Denali is the mountain on the right.