In the Nick of Time

Since we had to check in for our cave tour by 8:45AM, we hit the road about 7:15AM for the 70-mile drive back to Great Basin National Park. It rained most of the way along US 50, but when we turned onto NV-487, we saw this in the rearview mirror and had to stop for a pic...

Grove of the Ancients

We checked out from the Cal and hit the road around 7:00AM this morning for the ~300-mile drive to Baker, NV and Great Basin National Park. We practically had US 93 all to ourselves!

Today's driving route: 390 miles, 6.5 hours

Unbelievable!

R checked all of the ticket apps first thing this morning and found seats at our price point, so we decided to go ahead and nab them. After reserving a spot in the Mandalay Bay parking garage using SpotHero, we were all set for the Bears-Raiders game this afternoon at Allegiant Stadium! Yay!

Before leaving for the game, we stopped to play one of the slot machines that was good to R during his March Madness trip earlier this year. Sure enough - I put $20 in and hit a small jackpot on my very first spin! 

Fiesta Loca!

Secret Tunnel

Taking advantage of the cooler temps in September (as compared to July when we usually have our family reunions in Vegas), our goal was to hike the Historic Railroad Trail this morning. We made arrangements with the hotel front desk for late check-out and then headed over to Lake Mead National Recreation Area after a quick breakfast.

Storming the Castle

When the Chicago Bears schedule was released earlier this spring, R and I talked about going to watch them play the Raiders in Vegas on September 28. A few of his March Madness buddies also expressed interest. But then we saw the ticket prices ($400+ 🤯) and decided to table that idea.

Fast forward to August when we hatched the plan to spend the weekend in Las Vegas as a stopover on the way to Great Basin National Park, regardless of whether or not we actually made it to the game in person or if any of his friends joined us. We set our price limit, and then R started tracking ticket prices on Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, and SeatGeek like a day trader on Wall Street. 

Adventure of a Lifetime

Our family vacation to Alaska was amazing! Hopefully it won't be just a "once-in-a-lifetime" adventure because there is so much more to see/do/explore...

What is still on your Alaska bucket list?

All:  Seeing Denali and the aurora borealis

R:  Taking the Alaska Railroad

Me:  Visiting the rest of the Alaska NPS units, including the remote fly-in parks

Exiting Alaska

Our cruise yesterday didn't actually take us within the boundaries of Kenai Fjords National Park, but our first stop today would remedy that. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed over to the Seward Chamber of Commerce to get the passport stamp for the park. The Exit Glacier Area is about 10 miles outside of town and is the only part of Kenai Fjords NP that is accessible by car.

☑ Unit #211 for me, #205 for R, and #156 for M/J

Cruising the Fjords

Our big adventure for today was the 6-hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise with Major Marine Tours. Since the tour didn't depart until 11:30AM, we headed out after breakfast for a look around Seward. 

At the southern end of town is the beginning of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. Established by Congress in 1978, the trail celebrates the route that first connected Native Alaskan villages and later served mining camps, trading posts, and other settlements founded during the Alaskan Gold Rush Era (1880-1920). Sled dog teams were the only reliable means to transport goods and people along the route in winter. Most notably, when a diphtheria outbreak threatened the residents of Nome in 1925, the only way to get them enough serum for inoculations was by train from Anchorage to Nenana, and then mushers and their sled dog teams (have you heard the story of Balto?) relayed the precious cargo the final 674 miles in less than 5.5 days.

 

938 miles from Seward to Nome

Roll Tide

We had breakfast in the lodge before checking out this morning. Since we had a little bit of time before our float plane was scheduled to depart, we went out for one last look at the bears from the lower river platforms.

Monsters of the Midway

For our last full day in Katmai National Park, we spent most of our time hanging out with the bears. I had asked the lodge about the possibility of a flightseeing tour to visit Alagnak Wild River, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, and the preserve portion of Katmai, but nothing could be arranged for today. Guess we'll have to come back to Alaska another time to check those units off my bucket list!

Another sign pic

Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

When making our reservations for Brooks Lodge back in January 2024, I also booked us on the day-long bus tour out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes to ensure that we had spots. Good thing I didn't wait until we got here because the tour was full, and there were several people at the check-in spot this morning hoping to take the place of any no-shows. 

Here are a few foggy bear pics that I took while we were waiting for the tour to start at 9:00AM...

Now that's a fat bear!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

After checking out of the hotel and returning the rental car this morning, we started the second leg of our trip with a one-hour Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to King Salmon. 

Cook Inlet

Anchorage Away

We didn't have much on the schedule for today, so that gave us the opportunity to explore the area around Anchorage at a more leisurely pace. From Wasilla, it took less than 30 minutes to drive to Chugach State Park. We paid the $5 day use fee at the kiosk in the parking lot of the trailhead and started the hike (~1 mile, one way) to Thunder Bird Falls.

100-foot elevation gain in the first 0.1-mile

Northern Exposure

As we were getting ready to check out of our room at the Denali Lakeview Inn this morning, we watched a moose stroll across the yard.

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat..."

Into the Wild

Because our Tundra Wilderness Tour wasn't scheduled to depart until 3:00PM, we had more than half a day to explore Denali National Park on our own. So, we took our time getting out the door this morning.

Another view of Otto Lake from our room at the inn