Last Day in Alaska
Tuesday the 26th of July is our last day in Alaska. Hard to believe we have been here 2 full weeks and fly home tomorrow.
Janie fixed the last three eggs with the leftover brat and bagel for breakfast. The expresso machine makes expresso for sure! A little Airborne and all good for the morning fuel up. Colds all sound better for everyone!!!
Kent provided an update on flooding in St Louis today along I70. It sounds like 8-9 inches of rain around Lambert.
Checked in for our flight to KC and realized we have two connections (MPLS and Detroit) arriving in KC at 9:10 p.m. 12-hour travel time once we take off, so 15 hours total with airport and travel time. Ugh. The Whites are going home through Chicago and while leaving later get in about the same time to St. Louis.
We headed out to a hike along Eagle River with the plans to hike, lunch, and Brewery. Upon arrival realized with the road out, we can't get to the trailhead. So we opted to do another route from where we hiked earlier in the trip. So we started on the South Fork Falls trail and turned off to the Divergent trail that headed down to streams that end up in the Eagle River. When we stopped at the bridge where we saw guys sitting in the water, we could see salmon, so went down to the water's edge for a better view.
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| 3-4 Salmon hanging in slower water, but still working hard. |
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| Looking for Bear eating salmon after finding fresh scat. No bear. |
Eric connected with us and we decided to meet at another trail about 20 minutes up the road. After a pit stop at the same Shell station and the same bathroom with no toilet paper, we headed up to meet Eric at Thunderhead Falls.
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| Thunder Falls Hike |
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| Gorge below |
Then Eric took us up to Eklutna Lake. On the way Eric had to circle back for gas, so we headed up and came to a roadside stop close to the campgrounds. Being later we grabbed some snacks to hold us over to dinner time. Then down to the trailhead parking and explored while we waited for Eric.
On his return, he saw a moose along the road, so Sheila and Janie loaded up in the jeep to see if they could find it. No luck. Once all were back at the lake all but Janie planned a hike along the Eklutna Lakeside Trail that goes 12 miles. We planned to do about 2-3. Almost a full mile out we found the loop trail up the hillside and veered off to walk that. We found fresh Moose hoof marks and some more beat scat. Also, at the beginning a bear sitting sign. No luck seeing any wildlife.
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| Eklutna Lake - used by Anchorage for drinking water, so water lower than when full early spring time. |
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| Moose Track |
Upon our return we found Janie knapping along the shore, so picked her up and headed back to Anchorage for dinner.
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| Grandma Bear Sleeping |
Our final dinner was at Orso a seafood restaurant downtown close to the Marriott. Sheila, Janie, Kent, and Eric all got the seafood pasta with the entire sea in it. Very good. Jeff opted for the Cashew Encrusted Rock Fish plate with Yellow Raisin/Caper sauce on vegetables. All were yummy and Janie had a very fine Old Fashion.
After dinner, the ladies did some last-minute shopping for take-home gifts with Eric, while Kent and Jeff returned the Turo Rav4 with a full tank of gas. A quick picture of Sheila's brand.
Eric and the ladies picked up the men and we went to see Eric's apartment, then back to the Airbnb to hang out and do the final packing, etc. Since we had laundry the whole way coming home with pretty much all clean clothes. Probably could have brought even fewer items.
4:45 a.m. Uber pick-up planned for Janie and Jeff
Ken and Sheila get a little more sleep time wit 7:45 a.m. Uber pick up.
12-hour travel days for us all, but it was worth it to spend time seeing one of the greatest treasures of the United States of America. We recommend you have a bucket list to add Alaska trip(s) to the list!!!
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| Final Sunset |
Jeff, Janie, Kent, and Sheila
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