Collectively, we have decided that today may be the greatest first day of vacation ever! Partly because we didn’t know what to expect from Alaska but mainly because we just had the best day. Due to the time change, we started the day early. Some of us woke up earlier that others, but all of us were dressed and downstairs at the hotel breakfast by 7:30. After breakfast, we loaded up and hit the road. This trip we are trying to alternate between planned activity/adventure days and open days. Today was an open day. Our only objective was to end the day in Hope, Alaska.

First Stop: the Ulu (oo-loo) Factory. The Ulu knife is a traditional Alaskan knife with a curved blade. The factory was great and by factory, they mean half the store is the guy actually making the knives that you can watch, and another employee showing how to care and maintain your ulu knife.

They also sold the greatest coffee mug ever – I think with this I could finally be a one cup of day coffee drinker 😂

We also got to see the Alaskan Railroad Train and Depot. We tried to work in a train ride on this vacation but with our car and the stops we wanted to see, we just could not make it work.

And then, it was off to Walmart to stock up, as well as a stop at Cabella’s for bear spray. You should have seen the people looking at us taking a selfie in Walmart parking lot.

Then it was off to the first stop of the day (provided by my new travel buddy, Chat GPT). Along the way, the views had us all in awe and then Michael spotted our first bit of Alaskan Wildlife…

We made it to Earthquake Park. According to the plaque 😁, on Good Friday in 1964, a 9.2 Earthquake hit the area in and around Anchorage. The quake lasted over 4 minutes with ongoing aftershocks. They said the blast had the force of Mt St. Helens. While the quake was centered about 80 miles east of Anchorage, the damage including 9-foot waves in San Franscisco and larger than normal waves all the way to Honolulu. And we know this is all correct and true, because they are commemorated on a plague! 😀

Thankfully, Earthquake Park was connected to Tony Knowles Trail that runs along the coastline. According to Chat GPT, it was a gorgeous easy trail along the coast that showed the rolls of hills caused by the Good Friday Earthquake. Say what you will about AI, but Chat GPT has been spot on so far in Alaska.

We also found the cutest thing along the trail – a Dog Stick Library! Feel free to borrow and return as needed ♥️

As we were walking, Micheal, now known as the Moose Spotter, said “Stop for a minute.” We did and off to our right was another moose. He was just wandering around, eating and just doing moose stuff.

MOOSE P

We also met the nicest Alaskan ladies who were out for a walk. They wanted to know all about our trip, and what we thought of Alaska and the weather. – It’s a little chilly about 45 degrees but the wind makes it feel so much colder. Definitely the chilliest Summer Vacation we have had. Back on the road, we recharged at a local copy shop, Sip.

We drove the Seward Highway. According to the everything we read, SewardHighway is one of the most scenic drives in US. And they were not kidding. As beautiful as this is, the pictures do not do justice to how stunning this place is.

There were several recommended stops along the Highway. The first one was Beluga Point. If the tide were in, we potentially could see some beluga whales. It was low tide when we visited so no whales, but the low tide did allow for some excellent pictures and walks along the water.

Traveling on, look what we found… Mom’s Cafe now serving Alaska! Thankfully we “borrowed” an unoccupied campsite to enjoy a non-moving lunch 🥪♥️

The views continued as we made our way to our next stop, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The center takes in animals who are abandoned, injured or surrendered by land owners. There were all kinds of animals including a wolverine! Seriously, who has ever seen a wolverine in real life (and lived)?!? If there was any question that wolverines are dangerous, the wolverines and the grizzly bears had the same amount of electric fences around their enclosures! And this guy was intent on the whites foxes next door!

Then we headed over to the Muskox pasture. I have to admit until today, I had no idea that Muskox existed. We did learn that the qiviut (the fur under the top coat of fur) is considered the warmest fabric in the world. I guess if you’re living outside in Alaskan winters, you better be covered by the warmest fur!

We headed over to the grizzlies next. The 2 biggest bears were orphaned after their mom was killed and the little one, Hugo, was abandoned by his mom because he had porcupine quills in his face. Porcupine quills have hooks on them and animals cannot remove. So when a baby animal comes in contact with a porcupine, the mothers will often abandon them because they know they can’t help. Watching them just sit and wait for their meal was so cute. You wanted to cuddle them up… until you remembered they could rip you apart.

Next up were the black bears who I swear were posing for pictures… at least until the side by side pulled up with the blue buckets. The zookeepers told us that the animals know what the blue bucket means… food!

Then we headed back to see the moose. These guys tend to wander into traffic and get hit by cars. One of these guys did not want anyone else to get any attention!

There were reindeers and more black bears along with bison who ran in a pasture so large we decided to drive there instead of walking.

Ornament for the travel tree purchased and then we were back on the road headed to Hope, Alaska. The views continued to be amazing, a little different but just as beautiful.

Our little cabin in Hope is so cute!

Hope, Alaska is a tiny town on the Kenai Peninsula. When I say tiny, I mean TINY! Population is 162 and a Main Street that is dirt 🤣 Before our trip, we watched a YouTube video on Hope, Alaska and discovered it is a big wedding destination for nature-loving folks who want to start their marriage in Hope. The town started as a gold rush town and the prospectors wanted to give the town a name. To pick the name, they decided they would name the town after the next person who walked off the boat… off came a 17 year old prospector named Percy Hope… and Hope, Alaska was born! There’s a social hall, public toilets, an old cafe, and gift shop open most days.

Off the main Highway is the Dirty Skillet. The Dirty Skillet was supposed to be a great dinner destination so off we went… with 3 restaurant choices, we figured the number one had to pretty good 😊

Dinner was fresh caught and grilled halibut, and it was delicious. Clearly the apple crisp with homemade ice cream dessert was wonderful as well.

Someone may have had cold feet throughout dinner because they wore flip flops in 45° weather… but that same someone was warned about the temperature before we left and said “oh no, I’ll be fine.” After dinner, we headed back to our little cabin, and passed by Creekbend Cafe and Acres. We read that they had great breakfast sandwiches and coffees. But we did not know they also are a live music hotspots in Alaska. In fact, tonight and tomorrow a group the boys know is playing – Buffalo Traffic Jam. So after tomorrow’s adventures and dinner we’re headed down to a free concert! Seriously, what are the chances?!?!

Tomorrow is our first adventure day, but it’s going to be pretty hard to top Day 1!