Nature Feast: Alaska

Last August, Trent and I visited his parents who were serving a mission for our church in Anchorage. I always meant to post more photos than the few that were on my Instagram. The colors are just too vibrant to hide in my computer's catacombs. 

I am not sure if I would really recommend Alaska in late August. We chose that time because we knew there would be less tourists and flights were significantly less expensive. By doing so, we missed out on a few opportunities due to the early winter weather. Our kayak trip got cancelled because it was too cold and we couldn't dogsled because it was too warm. Nevertheless the vacation was unbelievable. Alaska is UN-believable. If you ever have the chance to tour, JUMP ON IT. Yolo y'all.

Day 1

Nature walk to LDS Anchorage temple. Richard and Sandy lived just a mile from it!

Day 2

Dane and Bridget (the very same couple we HAWAIIed with & who just happened to live in Houston while we did) lived in Anchorage too (we're made to be besties)! We drove to Whittier with their cute daughter, ate a glacier, and drove through a mountain (claustrophobic anyone?).

D&B's adorable kiddo Lynlee offering us a green-frosted Alaska cookie!

Day 3

Road trip to Talkeetna and zip-lining. While on the drive we took some nature picks and Trent graffiti-ed his name (jk it was already there).

Day 4

Salmon fishing at zero dark thirty (don't I look SUPER happy to be awake?). We caught three Salmon! It felt so self-sustaining eating our own catch. That night we drove back to Anchorage and played "Mormon Bridge" with his parents. 

Day 5

Road trip to Seward. This was the day we were (supposed) to go Kayaking. Instead we went on the Harding Icefield hike. It felt a lot like Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings. This hike is a must-do for anyone planning an Alaska trip.

Day 6-8

Spent the remaining days with the Hartman's eating at super yummy restaurants, playing card games, and hiking. This hike below is in Girdwood by the Alyeska resort and ended with a hand tram. Hand tramming was exhausting (imagine pulling your weight plus the weight of a metal box that holds you).

Big thank you to Sandy and Richard for living there at the time and giving us the opportunity to visit The Last Frontier on a budget!

PS: I think it would be extremely difficult to go to Alaska and not take at least one amazing picture. You don't have to be profesh to get these colors. And trust me, 'cause I sure ain't.