When friends come to visit, I like to take them to do things. Like see dead whales.
Or go up hills.
Carve pumpkins.
Make them look at tall things.
Make them look at pretty things.
Make them go up more hills.
Make them take selfies with me.
Make them like it here.
I showed them some glaciers and told them that the water was cold.
I guess that some people need to figure things out for themselves.
We got out early one morning and joined a kayaking group in the cold, but beautiful waters of Lake Michigan. The weather continued to be spectacular. Our group hugged the coast exploring caves and occasionally getting our breath taken away by plunging into the lake.
When we headed out for dinner we went to a world famous Door County specialty, the fish boil. Scandinavian immigrants brought this tradition to Door County. It is a great way to feed a lot of hungry people. Fish, potatoes, and onions are all boiled together. After about 30 minutes, a thick film coats the top of the water. To get rid of the film, but keep the water hot for the next boil, kerosene is thrown on the flames. The water boils over the pot keeping the remaining water hot and ready to cook the next batch rapidly.
After returning from Wisconsin, I found out that Anchorage has its own fish boil.
Just the beginning of the trail. Or I guess it is the end if you start in Eagle River. 
One of our new favorite places to visit (along with many other Alaskans) is Hatcher Pass. We have only been there a couple of times, but they have been memorable experiences. Especially on the west side catching fish in Willow Creek.
From the Department of Natural Resources, “The 300,000 acre Hatcher Pass Management Area primarily consists of mountainous terrain in the Talkeetna Mountain Range that climb from the 1000 ft. valley floor to summits higher than 6,000 ft. The area includes more than 30 prominent summits and associated glaciers.”
It is always beautiful up there, no matter what the weather is.
First I showed up to this beautiful place.
Then I found a hole that was already made.
Then I got home a few hours later with a bunch of fish. The hard work began. I brought home King Salmon and Rainbow Trout.
If you want to see wildlife in Alaska, you can head into the bush and camp for a week stalking the animals or just sitting quietly. Or you can look for someone else pulled over on the highway. That is what we did.
We were just driving down the highway enjoying the view when we saw a bunch of people with big camera lenses looking up. Like good cheechakos, we pulled over to see what was going on. It was a bit too late in the day for my little camera to get a good picture of him, but it was cool to see.
Lately, this big bull moose has been hanging out in our yard. He ate our rhubarb and wakes us up at night. Well, he wakes the dogs up and they wake us up. It is hard to explain how big they really are. they blend in very well and sometimes we walk right past them without noticing the first time.
That is the latest news from the cabin in Anchorage. Fall is incredible here. As my fishing season winds down, we are starting to hope for snow so we can put our skis to good use. Until then, I will be looking around for large animals.
Amanda’s parents were visiting and we filled our time doing great activities. Visiting Seward was one of the first things to do. We lucked out and left Anchorage on a beautiful sunny day. With minimal clouds and wind, we hoped that the weather would stay this way all day. Headed south, the views of Turnagain Arm were fantastic.
We arrived in Seward and puttered around town waiting for our ship to sail. When we left the dock we flipped through our brochure hoping to see some animals from the boat. Before we left the harbor, we were excited to see a few sea otters.
We were surprised to see lots of Humpback whales so close to our boat. There was even one breaching which was typical in Hawai’i, but pretty rare here.
There were lots of Stellar Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks which was very interesting. There were mothers feeding their babies and even one showboater sticking out its tongue.
We saw bald eagles, coastal mountain goats, and lots of glaciers. We spent most of the trip pressed against the railings on the side of the boat. The weather was great the whole time.
There were glaciers and icebergs that were tough to imagine the size. They seemed small, but as we got closer and closer, they got more and more enormous.
After the boat trip, we needed just a little more adventure. We headed to Exit Glacier to look for Obama’s footprints. We didn’t see any, but the glacier was beautiful.
Until next time. Thanks for reading.
