At the end of the road, you will find the wilderness;
At the end of the wilderness, you will find Alaska.
Author：Le RiYue 09/14/2019
If someone says 2 cents to buy a square mile of land, you certainly don't believe it. In 1867, the United States bought the land of Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million. The average is 2 cents per square foot. The total area of the Alaska family is equivalent to 43% of the existing land in the United States. It is the largest state in the United States. The current population is 730,000. On August 24th, 2019, we boarded the Golden Princess cruise from Vancouver and will explore this mysterious land of Alaska. In my mind, Alaska is a snow and ice, sparsely populated, salmon jumping to the shore, big crabs crawling everywhere...
The cruise ship sailed all day in the North Pacific, and all the tourists were excited and enjoying. At the morning of the 26th, at 6:30, I arrived at the first stop - Ketchikan.
Ketchikan is a city facing internal passages with a population of about 8,000. This is a popular cruise ship stop along the southeast coast of the state. It is known for its many Native American totem poles and is found throughout the town. The nearby Misty Fiords National Monument is a glacier-carved wilderness with snow-capped mountains, waterfalls and salmon spawning streams. It is also home to a wealth of wildlife, including black bears, wolves and vultures.
After breakfast on board, I disembarked. The first goal was to go to Creek Street to see the salmon from the sea back to the river. Creek Street is very close to the pier and is a very special downtown street. Many tourists will come here for a stroll. But the main purpose is to look at thousands of reflowed salmon.
The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is a gateway to national forests. There is an annual ticket available, $5/person without an annual ticket. Just one block from the cruise ship terminal in the heart of Ketchikan, we also went in and looked. There are not many things, and several movies take turns showing. Explore the amazing ecology of coastal rainforests and combine the rich culture of locals in the area to discover how people can make a living in the forest.
According to the online introduction, Saxman Native Village is one of the attractions that should be visited. We took a light rain and took the bus bus. It cost $2 and it took about 12 minutes. But wait for bus to wait for more than 30 minutes. Saxman is known for its collection of Native American totem poles and is actually the largest totem pole system. There is a gorgeous Clan House, walking through the rainforest and active eagle across the street. Saxman is one of Ketchikan's top totem pole parks. (If you don't have much interest in this big pillar, don't recommend it)
3 pm: 30 pm Cruise left Kechikan and went to Juneau, the capital of Alaska.
Juno City and the municipality, commonly known as Juno, is the capital of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Strait and the Alaska Narrow Strip, it is a unified municipality that is the second largest city in the United States by area. The population is 32,000.
The cruise arrived at Juneau at 8:00 am on the 27th. Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls are the main attractions here. The Mendenhall Glacier is a 13.6-mile glacier in the Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles from the city. Our brigade, 10 minutes walk from the pier, take the bus ($2/person) to the Mendenhall Forest Park in the city. The car is about 20 minutes away. After getting off the bus, we walked about a mile to the copying center. Said to be $5 tickets, no one actually checked the ticket. Although everyone is a little tired, when you see the majestic waterfalls and glaciers, you will be refreshed. Taking pictures, taking pictures, it is estimated that each person added a hundred...
Beautiful Mendenhall Glacier and majestic Nugget Falls:
After taking the photo, several of our “young people” boarded the Nugget Glaice hiking trail. I have not been able to take a few steps to be conquered by the natural scene here. A set like a movie, like the color in an oil painting, like a grass that no one has ever touched, is too natural and beautiful. The entire hiking trail is 3.2 miles. This is the most beautiful migration path I have ever walked. Return: Just after I got off, a rental minivan was waiting to pull people. When I asked $35 to send me back to the city, we got on the bus. On the way, the old driver told us a lot about Alaska. After a round trip in the city, I returned to the boat.
The cruise left Juneau at 9:15 and went to Skagway. Skagway is a compact city in southeast Alaska, built along the popular Inside Passage. It is home to the Gold Rush era and is now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The resident population is less than 1,000 people. At 5:30 on August 28, the cruise ship was on Skagway.
Three trails were introduced online: Yakutania Point., Smuggler's Cove. and Lower Dewey Lake. I wanted to win it all. Because the big troops decided to charter to Yukon in the afternoon. So they only walked the first two.
Yakutania Point and Smuggler's Cove.
At 1:00 pm, the large army temporarily wrapped a tourist bus. Go to Yukon. (It belongs to the Canadian site and requires a passport). 6 hours back and forth, $60 per person. The glaciers are constantly appearing along the way. Every time after every stop, everyone started to shoot and shoot, and each person added at least 500 more.
It takes about 3 hours by car to reach Yukon. When entering the Canadian border, border personnel get on the bus and check their passports. Everyone was eager to take a photo in front of the Yukon brand.
On returning, when we entered the United States, did not need to check our passports. Wow!
The cruise left Skagway on time at 8:30 pm and went to Glacier Bay National Park.
Glacier Bay National Park covers an area of 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforests, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords. It is the highlight of Alaska's internal passage and one of the world's largest international parks, covering 25 million acres. From the sea to the top of the nature reserve, Glacier Bay offers unlimited adventure and inspiration.
The cruise entered the park at 6:15 on the 29th, in a narrow waters. Everyone ran to the deck to see the whales. Because the whales are far away, they can't take good pictures, sorry.
If you are adventurous, the park provides services to drop you and the supplies and boats here, and you can get close to the glacier.
The cruise leaves the Glacier Park at 6:15 pm and swims to College Fjord. This is a fjord located north of Prince William Sound in Alaska, USA. The fjord contains five tidal glaciers, five large valley glaciers and dozens of smaller glaciers, most of which are named after the famous East Coast College. At 6:30 pm on the 30th, the cruise entered the college fjord. There are large and small glaciers and beautiful scenery on both sides of the mountain. The boat is about 500 meters away from the largest glaciers. It can cover the glaciers about one kilometer wide and one hundred meters high.
Below is the true face of the glacier.
The cruise ship opened the fjord at 8:30 pm and went to the terminal station - Whittier. On August 31st, it had breakfast and people began to disembark. We took the pre-rented car and prepared to continue exploring this mysterious road.
First stop - Begich Boggs Visitor Center.
In the second stop, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center ($16/person) saw the animals in Alaska and took a few beautiful views.
The third stop, the Hatcher Pass, is the mountain pass that crosses the southwestern part of the Talkeetna Mountains in Alaska. A total of about 10 miles, along the road picturesque. There is also a former site for mining. There is a mountain lake on the Internet, very beautiful. But we are "older" did not dare to climb up, sorry!
After enjoying the beauty of the Hatcher Pass, follow Highway 3 from south to north and head straight to Denali Park. The fascinating autumn colors along the road are unbelievable...
We are about 8 miles north of the entrance to the park. 245.1 Parks Hwy, Denali National Park and Preserve. When I arrived at the place of residence, it was dark, and the accompanying staff were tired. I want to see the sky in Alaska at about 11:30 before going to bed. Just seeing a few people looking up at the sky. WOW! The Northern Lights are shaking in the sky. I don't care if the accomplices are asleep, knock on the door and call everyone. Old Xia and I will not use the "advanced camera to shoot Aurora", the rushing old summer keeps on the street... Fortunately, the power of the mobile phone, let us leave the first time to see the photo of Aurora.
On the morning of September 1, head to Denali Park. To visit this park, you must take the bus in the park. There are three options, 56 miles, 82 inches and 92 inches. We have already set a 92-mile ticket. (Be sure to book tickets in advance, you must bring your own food and drink, the park did not sell). The weather is a bit cold. Have you been affected by heavy rain? First, I saw that the bear was squatting and enjoying the wild blue plum.
Denali Snow Mountain Peak, only 3% chance to see the North and South Peaks under the blue sky at the same time. The altitude is 6190 meters. If she is height from the foot of the mountain, she is the world's highest peak. About 20 million people have reached the summit in 2019.
There are a lot of corners in the rest place, everyone wants to lift up and take a picture, the big antler is really not light, it is estimated that there are 40 pounds, almost to crush someone.
This lake is called Yingshan Lake. On a sunny day, the reflection of the snow mountain is clearly presented in the lake. Photographers can take in the most beautiful snowy mountains here.
Followed the bus for a whole day, about eleven hours.
Ending: Alaska has a beautiful view, the road is just as open, there are more RVs, and there are more salmon, but not cheap (about $20/lb for fresh fish, $40/lb for smoked fish, $35/lb for sea crab). Eating is about 30% more expensive than the local. Before the glaciers disappear, come here, the mysterious Northern Lights, the trips of the three essays, the intoxicating autumn colors and the magnificent glaciers will make you unforgettable!