Craig and Sandy Monson Events: Alaska Trip, May 2010

GRIZZLY BEARS IN DENALI

We left early Monday morning, May 17, 2010. We flew to Denver, then Seattle, then Anchorage Alaska. We were met by Robin and Richard and then went to our hotel in Anchorage. The layovers were productive because I finished writing a draft of my report for DFCM. I also worked on a presentation I’m making in June for the Utah Government Auditors Association.

The next day we drove to Alaska and checked into our beautiful cabin. The landlords were very gracious and the place was nestled in woods with a beautiful stream running through it.

That afternoon we went on a flightseeing trip to Mount McKinley. The mountains were awe inspiring and being in a floatplane was a fun experience.
The following day we went to Denali National Park. The highlight of the trip was seeing two grizzly bears. These grizzly bears were huge. You don’t get a feeling for how big they were looking at our picture, but when we looked at them through our binoculars, they were immense. We also saw Dahl’s sheep, but to see them you’ve got to blow up the picture a lot. We also saw Caribou.

The next day we went to the Matanuska Valley to see the Matanuska Glacier. It was interesting though a bit pricey to see; we also went to a reindeer farm where we petted and fed some reindeer.

The next day we drove to Seward, stopping along the way to sightsee. One of the sites was the Exit Glacier which was a very interesting place to see. The Glacier has been receding for a long time and they marked it’s location during various time periods.

This morning we went sea kayaking in Resurrection Bay. It was a great trip. We saw sea lions sunning themselves as well as dolphins. We are really enjoying this trip. There are some amazing things to see and do.

We then boarded the boat and began our voyage. Our cabin was great as was the food and service.

The first day we cruised at sea. Sandy and I went to a cooking demonstration where the cook, from Seattle, presented a demonstration on cooking cold pea soup and salmon which was delicious. That evening they had a show with some great singing.

The next day we went to Glacier Bay. The cruise ship went into the bay and we saw this amazing glacier. Some parts of the glacier fell off and we got some good pictures. Glacier Bay is a pristine wilderness area, accessible only by plane or boat.

The next day we stopped in Haines Alaska. We rode bikes to a beautiful stream and lake, mainly seeing Eagles along the way. The bald eagle is a stately, beautiful bird. When they are sitting in a tree they look like royalty.

The next day we docked in Juneau Alaska and saw some spectacular sights. We went on a whale watching tour. We saw Orca and Humpback whales. It was amazing. I got a movie of a humpback whale diving into the water and another picture of a humpback whale with its mouth open.

The following day we were in Ketchican. We walked through the town, went through a museum and walked to a city park. That afternoon we went on the “Duck” which is a bus taking you around the city and converts into a boat. It was fun.

The following day we were at sea going to Vancouver. We got some wonderful pictures of sunset and I had a neat experience where I saw a school of porpoises leaping and diving near the boat.

All in all we had a wonderful time. All our schedules were met and the weather was gorgeous every day except the day we flew home. We enjoyed being with Robin and Richard. I feel we were greatly blessed on this trip.

Inside of our "Rustic Cabin"