Okay, a little bit of housekeeping to start us off here. Today is Little Man’s birthday. He is 14 now and I have no idea where the years have gone. It seems like yesterday he was a whacked out on Orapred sleep deprived weirdo, but is seems that was over 10 years ago. So, happiest of birthdays to Little Man. He is growing up so fast. So incredibly fast.
Now onto today’s post. Last week the fam went on our third “adventure vacation.” 2 years ago it was a biking/multi-sport camping trip to the Redwoods in California, 1 year ago it was to Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and Zion in Utah and Arizona for the same kind of camping trip, and this year it was a week-long adventure vacation in Alaska where we camped and hiked and kayaked. This year was the biggest of the 3 because everything in Alaska seems bigger. I would not put it as the best (I think Redwoods will be a tough one to beat), but it was super fun.
Anyway…. This vacation has lent itself for today’s topic… Alaska. So this week thanks go to Bruce, Lsig, Brett, Chris, Nicole, and my wife since they sent me some great questions. Without further ado, let’s answer some 20 Questions!
1. Have you had Baked Alaska?
Nope, I tend to stay away from flaming food.
2. Where did you go? What did you do while there?
We went to the Kenai Peninsula, Matanuska River valley, and Denali National Park. We did crazy amounts of stuff. We did hiking, sea-kayaking, and a glacial sightseeing cruise in Kenai. We did a glacial hike on the Matanuska Glacier and some insane zip-lining in the Matanuska Valley. Finally, we got to pet dog sled dogs, some calm river-rafting, a wildlife bus-tour of the backcountry of Denali that culminated in a 2 to 3 mile hike along virgin Alaskan tundra. All this while camping for most of the time with a too-short 2 day stint at a lodge.
3. Ever try blubber?
Are you calling me fat? I think you are calling me fat. Why would you call me fat? I am now hurting.... in my big fat insides.
4. How cold was it?
No too bad. It ranged from a low of 44°F (6.667°C for my non-US friends) to a high of 78°F (25.5°C for my non-US friends). It was pretty great actually.
5. What was your favorite thing about the Alaska trip?
Hmmmm… that is a tough one. The geologist geek in me absolutely loved the glacial hike on the Matanuska Glacier.
6. Would you go back?
I would definitely go back, but I have more things that I want to do elsewhere prior to going back to Alaska though.
7. Was it baked?
It was not baked.
8. What was the coolest thing you saw?
3 Humpback whales feeding. Easily the whales.
9. What surprised you?
How much of a frontier it really was. There were parts of the state that were absolutely primitive and I did not expect that at all. They did not have Frosted Strawberry Poptarts? WTF?!?
That and I had never seen the color of glacial streams before. Glacial streams have a bunch of very fine particulate matter suspended in the water called glacial flour. It colors the stream water different tints depending on what kind of rock the glacier is specifically grinding up. For example, the streams and even the waters of Resurrection Bay near Seward, Alaska were all this vibrant green blue because the glaciers feeding into that bay are grinding up slate.
10. Any Alaskan delicacies you discovered?
Nothing specifically Alaskan. I had some great salmon, but that is not a fish that is solely associated with Alaska.
11. How about Baked Alaska?
Nope...still did not have any Baked Alaska. Is that required or something?
12. Did you do everything you wanted?
I think so. At least everything that was offered for this particular trip.
13. If it was a movie, how many stars would you give “Alaskan Vacation”?
4 out of 5.
14. What was the most Alaska thing that happened while you were there?
A bear wearing flannel attacked a moose with a salmon, why do you ask?
15. What would you do again?
I would love to do the zip-line again. It was a ½ mile (800m for my non-US friends) long and about 250ft (around 75m for my non-US friends) tall and you get up to around 50 to 60 mph (or 80 to 95kph for my non-US friends). It was really fun… not so fun to watch your kids do it though.
16. So, is Baked Alaska good or not?
Did not have it, I do not know.
17. What was the most surprising fact about Alaska?
I guess it has to do with scale. I did not understand the scale of the place. Everything there is just bigger, craggier, fjordier, wider, etc…
18. What was your favorite wildlife?
I loved seeing a grizzly bear mama with her cub from the backcountry bus. Whales were the coolest, but a mama bear and her cub was a favorite.
19. What are you grateful for from the trip?
These trips in general tend to help the kiddos not be on the screen as much… not only while on the trip but there is a time after the trips that they just do more outside as well.
20. So baked Alaska?
I know, right?
To recap:
Such an amazing trip
So amazing
Really amazing
But I’m back
And now I have boatloads of work to get done this week
One thing still needs to get done tonight
Another needs to be done by Thursday
And even another needs to be done by Friday
On top of all the normal amounts of work I have
I drew some on the trip though
That’s good
I need to finish up some of them there drawings
My back hurts
My hip hurts
I think it has to do primarily with the sleeping on the ground stuff
Pretty sure that is what it has to do with
Because I’m old
I tried to not watch the full Thor: Ragnarok trailer
I tried really hard, but it is so good
Now, I have to get some work done
Stop keeping me from my work
Have a great week everyone