mom and dad on Turnagin Arm - it was cloudy, but still picturesque
mountains dump right into the ocean
so many pretty sights
the chunks of ice in front are icebergs broken off from glacier
think our whale has friends
the birds flying overhead gave away the whales location
our captain was informed of whale activity just south of our course, so we headed down to check things out
it cleared up to be a beautiful day
salmon (look closely)
another whale we saw later
we stayed watching them for quite awhile
they were cooperative feeding and putting on quite a show
we figured out it was actually 3 humpback whales
another mountain goat
mountain goat
horned puffins
tufted puffin - reminded us of Jason
Just an otter relaxing
North to Alaska
music in the park
Me and Dad
Mom and Ryan
she liked the big daisies
mom loved the flowers all around town - including cabbages in the landscaping
mom made it to Humpy's (she saw it on Man v. Food)
mom and dad exploring downtown Anchorage
the ocean and the mountains
cabin in the woods
a nice day to view the beauty of the Kenai National Forest
Father and Son - catching up
Seward and Mt. Marathon
Almost Schmidt family reunion - waiting for boat in Seward
Seward Highway - one of 15 All-American Highways - pretty even with cloud cover
To Ryan's last night in Anchorage (he left the day after our trek to Seward)
It was raining when we picked up the folks at the airport, but we quickly warmed up with pizza and beer at Moose's Tooth
willow ptarmingan - Alaskan state bird (it turns white in winter)
this bear was zoomed in a lot, but still one of our 19 that day
rainbow (is it Hawaii?)
hoary marmot
more scenic views around every bend in the road
Alaskan Range
we didn't see Denali itself (usually clouded in), but we saw lots of pretty stuff
one road went into Denali Natl Park (and back out)
this caribou was feeding
running free (caribou are wild reindeer)
who's in charge? (caribou)
heading back south
Jason on the train back to Anchorage - getting some fresh air
now they get a treat
here they come
