Girdwood, A Small Town Near Anchorage, Alaska

After our hike on the Bird Creek trail, we continued our day on the Seward Highway in Alaska.

While in Alaska, we were awed by the majestic mountain ranges.




















We stopped a few times and savouring the natural beauty of the wilderness,

We could just sit and enjoy the magnificent scenery of Alaska all day.
















We drove by some small communities.

Girdwood, is a community of  about 2000 people in Alaska.

This was where we stopped for a pizza lunch.

One thing that struck us about Girdwood was that we could see glaciers everywhere we turned in this small town.

 Girdwood is surrounded by seven glaciers!



















It has also been rebuilt from a serious earthquake from the 1960's.

R.T.
Girdwood, Alaska

Day 11 - A Scenic Drive from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska

We rented a car for our holiday in Anchorage, Alaska

Day 4 - Anchorage, Alaska

Spectacular scenery along Highway 1 from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska 

We enjoyed our scenic drive on Highway 1 from Anchorage to Seward on the day 4 of our vacation in the Anchorage area.

A nice fun stop at the Railway scenic lookout point.

 Many people crossed the railway track reaching to the beach on the other side of the area.

J. is an adventurous person.

A scenic drive from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska

Within minutes, J. started climbing and reached to the top of the rocks.

He posted for pictures for a few minutes.
I love taking pictures of him as we don't see each other too often.

There were people looking up at the mountain for wild life. We saw 2 white spots standing still there for a long time. We were not sure if they were goats.

 They were!















We continued our drive along the Alaska highway.

Hiking the steep trail at Bird Creek, Alaska

We came to a place called Bird Creek where we parked our car and hiked on a short trail.













Though the trail was short, it was challenging as it was quite steep, and at some part,  narrow as well.

As we hiked, we read about the information posted along on the trail.
















We learned about the importance and significance of salmon to other wild life in the State of Alaska.

Many people come and fish at Bird Creek, Alaska

A big catch for this sport fishing fan!

Bird Creek seemed to be the place for salmon fishing attracting numerous recreational fisherman to the area.

Not a person interested in fishing, I have not gone fishing too many times.

However, I rarely saw so many people fishing at the same spot.

 There were people of all ages, male, female and even a kid or two.

Fishing at Bird Creek, Alaska

Dressed in their fishing gear, many were ready to catch the biggest fish!

A perfect sunny day for salmon fishing in Alaska!

It was a lovely summer sunny day, a perfect day to enjoy the sun and some fishing in Alaska !

R.T.
Around Bird Creek Area
Alaska

Day 10 - A Scenic Drive to Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site, Alaska, USA

Day 3 Alaska - Mantanuska Glacier State Recreation Site, Near Anchorage, Alaska

We packed our lunch last night so that we could be ready to go this morning. I like staying in this 2 bedroom condo unit as it was convenient for preparing good meals. After we bought some groceries, it was easy to prepare the sandwiches we needed for today.

However, by the time we were ready to go on our day trip, it was almost 10am. A little later than we had first anticipated. Well, we were on vacation, a little late or early did not matter much.

I have learned now to take it easy and the most important thing is to enjoy the time with my family. 

Where we are and what we are doing is no longer important to me.  As long as we are together and enjoying the same pleasant experience, that is what matters the most.

S. was driving while J. sitting beside him helping him to navigate.



















 I could relax and do a little bit of  writing. It was a lovely ride. 

We passed by spectacular scenery of Alaska!

Matanuska Glaciate State Recreation Site, Alaska, USA

Colourful flowers, high continuous mountain ranges covering with tall spiny trees were all along the highway.


























 The best part about renting a car was we could stop and go wherever we liked.

We made 3 stops , one at Palmers’ Wendy, for coffee and tea. 

Shortly after, we did some  souvenirs shopping at a rustic shop before heading into the glacier region.

After a couple of hours driving, we came to a State Park where we didn't see any park rangers. 

There was a Fee Station where visitors only needed to drop off their parking fee or overnight camping fee in a deposit box. There was not any state park personnel in sight. 

However, there were a few warning signs informing tourists that we were in bear country and that we needed to be cautious and know what to do when encountering a bear during our hike.  

We did come across a number of vehicles and hikers and learned about the Matanuska Glacier in this area. 

 But without wifi access or any park personnel around,  we could not find any information about the location nor directions of how to get to the glacier. 








 

After parking our car, we hiked along a trail. 

Following the trail, we could see the glacier in the distance.














We found ourselves walking in dense green forests.

 Fire weeds blooming under the Alaska summer sun. 

We were speechless as we saw the scenery of majestic mountains, dense forests, glacier and fast moving river unfolding in front of our eyes!

We wished we could explore this area more and get closer to the glacier.

 By the time we drove to the company providing guided glacier walks, it was almost 3pm, too late for us.

We decided to drive back to Anchorage as J. was meeting a friend of his in the city for coffee.

After dropping him off at the coffee shop, we went to explore a beach close to our neighborhood.

We discovered the Delong Lake Park close to where we were staying.

Delong Lake Park, a beautiful park in Anchorage, Alaska 

A beautiful beach with kids swimming and splashing in lake water while others are sailing and boating.















We met some local people who were very open and friendly chatting with us about everything.

We loved the opportunity meeting and interacting with the locals.

J. also has connected with a native person and learned more about their culture. 

It was another enjoyable day in Anchorage!

R.T.
Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site
Near Anchorage, Alaska