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January 29, 2015

Denali, Alaska {Day 2}

Hello, friends! I hope your week is going well. Today is my Friday 'woot woot' and I'm stoked for a short week. Today I'm heading down to Tennessee with my family [minus Le Husband, sad face] to surprise my 89 year old grandpa. We're throwing him a lil party this weekend and I can't wait to see his face when we all show up. Fingers crossed traffic is nice to us tomorrow evening, please?

I am also stoked because I have my second Alaska recap ready for y'all. Hashtag FINALLY! If you missed my first post, check it out *here*. After our super long first day in Denali, we hit the hay around 2am even though it was super light. However we were all totally exhausted so we all were able to pass out pretty quickly.

Due to a miscommunication I missed out on the family early morning run, but met up with everyone at breakfast ready for our first adventure of the day. Our first excursion was a trip to Denali National Park ranger station and then a bus ride throughout the park. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed the scenery and local talks.


Our first stop on the tour was a cabin that one of the park rangers lived in while the park was being created. The guide at the cabin spoke as though it were 1930 and told us about the scary wilderness he and others faced. After his lil speech we were able to tour the cabin, but told to stay close since we were in the park and in bear country. I'm not sure what we would have done if we saw a bear because we had received three contradictory accounts of what to do if we encountered a bear. Luckily, we didn't see any in the park while walking around.




One of the funnier parts of the day was right after one of the bear lectures, we all turned around and noticed our grandpa, T-Bone, was off deep in the woods on his own. Old man there, he don't care. Thankfully, his bright orange coat helped us locate him quickly and bring him back to the group. Mama B decided then and there to stick closer to his side, heehee!

The dirty hippie is read for the next part of the trip ;)!

The next stop in the park was at the top of a hill that gave us some gorgeous views. Seriously, the park was amazing view central and I was in awe of nature the whole time. Just look at those hills, the green grass and the mountains in the background. Beautiful, right?


While we waited for our Alaskan guide the Brady Bunch walked around, took in the sights and of course took some fun pictures. Man do we love our outtakes. #gooberspartyoffour



FRAMER!

Look out for the bears T-Bone. Keep taking pictures, Babyspice.

My 88 year old grandpa is pretty flipping sweet!


She told us a story of the Alaskan people and tribes and then told us about the four generations in her family. Her voice was exactly as you would imagine and after her talk she sang us a song her grandfather wrote for the Denali mountain. I love meeting people of different cultures and learning about their way of life.


On our way back through the park we saw other buses pulled over on the side of the road which meant there was wildlife somewhere in the fields. The entire trip we had been hoping to see something, but every other time nothing came of our stops. However, this time was different because we finally got to see a bear in the wild!!!

DO YOU SEEEEEE the bear?!?!?! If not, look at the big tree then look at about the 2 o'clock in the picture. that lil brown mound is the head of a mama bear chowing down on a baby moose. Sad, but necessary in the wild. My family was the family that helped others see the bear from our bus. This photo was taken using our huge long distance lens, no way we could have seen it with just our eyes. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day in Denali National Park

Our day wasn't finished after the park, oh no. We headed back to our rooms to change, grab a quick bite to eat and then it was off to our white water rafting excursion. Mama B and T-Bone decided to attend an authentic Alaskan dinner excursion since T-Bone wasn't sure he wanted to be cold rafting. 
Thanks to Babyspice for letting me copy a bunch of her pictures!

We headed to the excursion center where we learned the gist of our trip, signed our paper work and then put on our dry suits. Aka our space ninja outfits. We looked fabulous I tell you, just fabulous.

We left all of our phones and cameras on the bus during the trip, since we didn't want to chance losing anything in the water if we flipped. Our guide's name was Chewy and he was everything you would imagine an Alaskan raft leader to be, plus some. This was my fifth rafting trip so I knew what to expect and was honored enough to be the first mate of our boat. Aka the person in charge of stroke count when we were given instructions. The river was a lot of fun, not super challenging or scary but we did hit some crazy rapids.

One of the best parts of the day was when Chewy asked us if we wanted to float in the water alongside the boat during a calm stretch. Initially I thought "HECK NO", why would I want to put myself in 50 degree water? But after another girl in our boat jumped in and said the suits kept her dry we all went for it and it was so amazing. Definitely a moment I'll keep with me for the rest of my life.

All too soon the river was done and it was back onto the bus for our trip home. We were all bushed but enjoyed learning about the area we drove through. We even passed the bus where the kid from Into The Wild lived. Once we were home it was time for dinner where I scarfed down some amazing halibut, then back to the cabins to pack since we were leaving for Whittier the next morning. One day closer to the start of our Alaskan cruise, woohoo!

Linking up with *kristin* and *annie*

ps.com Katie brought it to my attention yesterday that y'all have been dealing with captcha on my comments and for that I am so sorry. I turned it off two years ago so I'm unsure why it's still happen. I double checked my settings yesterday and word verification was turned off. Let me know if y'all are still being required to enter a captcha, please. Has anyone else notice the new 'CHECK THIS BOX to prove you're not a robot" on your comments? That randomly showed up on mine recently. If you know how to fix it, please let me know! Have a great day!

31 comments:

  1. wow!! what an adventure! it was everything i was hoping it would look like--even a bear sighting. and what a cool grandpa!! still seeking adventure :)

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  2. Alaska is so gorgeous! What an amazing trip! Have fun in TN this weekened!

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  3. It's my husbands Friday too, I'm a tad jealous ;) How fun that you get to surprise your gpa! Alaska is just gorgeous, I WILL make it one day!

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  4. How beautiful is Alaska?! I've been twice. Once in the winter with hardly any daylight and once in the summer with hardly any night. Let me tell you, going during the winter was my favorite. That sun up all the time is a B!

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  5. So gorgeous! B and I want to go to Alaska so badly. One day soon, hopefully! I love that you are representing in your pink up there:) And HOW FLIPPING cute is your wandering grandpa? The cutest! Glad he didn't wander too far, though!

    This may make me sound stupid, but I didn't realize that bears ate other animals? Baby moose? Sad:( I thought they ate fish and stuff... Guess I need to go back to middle school science. Oops.

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  6. amazing trip...thanks for sharing your adventure with us
    kisses

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  7. first, your grandpa is hilarious. second - that is funny and scary that you received such different accounts about what to do if you saw a bear. i would cry / run. lastly, i *think* i can see the bear in the picture but i'm not sure, and i don't mind because i kinda don't want to see a bear eating a moose hahaha. poor baby moose :(

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  8. This is definitely a place I would love to visit someday, it's so pretty!

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  9. I'm so glad your Alaska recaps are back!! I still can't get over that it stays light out pretty much all night in the summer - that is just so crazy to me. Yay for today being your Friday! Hoping for no traffic and a wonderful visit with your grandpa!

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  10. Oh yay, this will be a special weekend!! Have fun and travel safe!
    I'm so glad you're doing these recaps! Goodness, Alaska is GORGEOUS!! I've been hearing more and more about the Bears there and how many people go missing a DAY because of them, yikes!! But I still wanna go cruise Alaska someday :)

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  11. My husband wants to go to Alaska so, so bad! Your pictures are breathtaking. Plus, your sweet grandpa... how cute is he?!

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  12. How fun!! And oh my goodness your grandpa is adorable!

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  13. Jealous. and yay for grandpa! I think the robot thing is standard now.

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  14. wow such amazing pictures! Alaska looks stunning

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  15. Safe travels to Tennessee. So awesome that you're surprising your grandpa...can't wait to read about it! He looks like so much fun in the Alaska pics! Speaking of Alaska, I never imagined I'd want to go there (I HATE cold)...but your pics are stunning! It looks so beautiful and peaceful...I guess until you run into a bear!

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  16. SO beautiful!! Hahaha your grandpa looks like a fun guy! :)

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  17. Love Alaska and love your photos! Isn't the daylight in the middle of the night crazy?! It always threw me off. :) Hope you have fun in Tennessee!

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  18. So much fun! I used to live in Alaska, the pictures made me miss it!

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  19. So so SO incredibly gorgeous. Alaska is still really high up on my list of places I'd love to see!! The views are breathtaking. I love bears, I would be the one getting way too close if we ever saw one ;) And yes, your Grandpa is SO ADORABLE!

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  20. Your grandpa is the absolute cutest!! What a beauiful trip...

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  21. Aw I bet your grandpa was beyond excited! Alaska is a dream-destination!

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  22. Alaska is beautiful! Looks like such a fun trip!

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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  23. Denali is beautiful! And so are you :) Glad Grandpa didn't wonder off too far haha!!

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  24. Aw it looks so beautiful! Alaska is definitely on list of places to visit. We have friends in Sitka as well as Anchorage so really we just need to plan it!

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  25. These pictures are beautiful! I know its a silly thought, but whenever I think of Alaska, I think of it covered with snow...I love that in your pictures it is so lush and green! I went white water rafting once and I was terrified at first, but it turned out to be so much fun! You're so brave that you jumped into the 50 degree water! Looks like an awesome trip!

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  26. Your trip sounds completely awesome! With the move to northern BC one would think we would be close to Alaska but it is still almost as far away as it is from where i live now (1800kms lol).

    Your post makes me want to visit. Please do not take so many months to write the next update.

    Your grandpa looks awesome for his age.

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  27. I looove Alaska. I keep saying I am going to go back sine the last time I went.

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  28. Holy gorgeousness!!! I want to visit there, but I hope we never get stationed there, haha. That pink sequin hair and is so feisty!

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  29. What a fun time in Alaska!! Have an awesome trip to see your grandpa!! Happy friday girlie!!!

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  30. Gorgeous pics you guys look like you had a blast!

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  31. The scenery is unreal!!!!!
    I heard you're supposed to play dead if a bear attacks. But let's be serious... who the fuck is gonna lay there and play dead while a bear is ripping their ass apart?!

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