Alaska 2023

This trip was close to not happening, only a couple of days before we were due to set off I (Liz) was in a lot of pain and was sent to A&E (ER) to have tests. This is when our precious NHS demonstrates how wonderful it really is. 10 hours after I went into A&E I left with a diagnosis, antibiotics and confirmation it was ok for me to go on holiday (and no bill to pay!)

We drove down to Heathrow on day minus one and stayed in a hotel because we had an early(ish) flight to Seattle. After depositing the car into the long stay car park and taking the shuttle bus to terminal 5 we found a little queue waiting for us at the British Airways First Wing but it moved quickly and we were soon through security into the First lounge. Today we would be flying in Club World (Business Class) our BA Gold/Oneworld Emerald status allows us to use the First Wing for check in and First lounge. I ordered a ‘to seat’ breakfast of pancakes (on the menu it comes with bacon and syrup, from experience I know the bacon is not great and I didn’t need the syrup). They were piping hot and very tasty. Alan helped himself to hot buffet breakfast items, copious amounts of alcohol and we settled in for a couple of hours of ‘lounging’. 

It was soon time for us to go to the B gates for the flight – we were first onto the flight (after those needing assistance) we had our pre-departure drinks and after a 30 minutes delay on the gate we were on our way to Seattle. The food was good, the cabin crew really friendly (I was brought a 1.5 litre bottle of water for me to drink when I needed it) and 4 movies later those 9 and a half hours were gone. 

Seattle arrivals added a new twist on security and we had to collect our checked luggage before going through border control. Took us about 30 minutes get through and then to find the Marriott hotel shuttle which we just missed. It was only a 15 minute wait for the next one and after enduring a moaning queue jumping (I have status guy) we were quickly checked in and into our room by 1:45pm. 

We had grand plans of going for a meal, however, we were so tired we just ended up showering and catching up with social media before going to sleep at 4:40pm! 

We were woken up by an event in the atrium which our room faced but it was only 6:30pm so we couldn’t really complain about the noise. I used some ear plugs. Alan says it ended around 9pm. 

After that very early night we were awake at 1am, this wasn’t a bad thing as we planned to get up at 3am for our 7am flight. As it turned out, we were up and ready to get the 3am transfer back to the airport. This time we would be flying with Alaska Airlines. Check-in opened at 3:30am, however, the priority security didn’t open until 4am so we queued with the standard screening queue. 

It didn’t really matter because the Alaska lounges didn’t open until 5am anyway. After walking the full length of the airport looking for one we finally found one of the Alaska lounges hidden away at the C gates (near gate 16). Our flight out was in Premium (Alan wouldn’t pay $480 each for First Class for a 3 hour flight), however, our Oneworld status allowed us access to the lounge and priority boarding. The lounge was nice and bright and had a nice breakfast selection which we enjoyed for an hour before setting off for our gate. 

We were in Group A and able to put our luggage above us with no problems. The Alaska Premium flights include drinks and snacks (Biscoff biscuits and Stellar mini braids) and, for reasons we do not know, we also got a special greeting and jcoco mint chocolates?!?

The flight was good and we arrived early into Anchorage around 9:15am. It was a short wait for our checked luggage and we were pleased to see all our bags arrive. Anchorage airport has its car rental desks and pick-up in the main airport buildings (I wish more airports had this) so it was a pleasant walk from luggage claim. Alan had booked all the rental cars in Alaska so if you have read about the shortage of cars available Alan is likely the reason. We ended up with a car from National, a Ford Explorer with 14,453.8 miles on the clock (to be exact). I gave him the name Gooner.

We left Anchorage airport at 10am and set off for our first destination Sheep Mountain along the Glenn Highway. We made a quick stop at a Walmart on the way out of Anchorage to get some supplies and drove towards our first stop Independence Mine State Historical Park.

The Historical Park was still snowed in and doesn’t open until June but you can drive up the scenic Hatcher Pass Road and walk up as far as the snow will allow you. I was getting a bit tired and grumpy (getting fed up with having to time eating and drinking to take my antibiotics) so we didn’t walk up to the buildings, instead admiring them from a distance.

Back on the road again we continued along the Glenn Highway admiring the Matanuska Glacier which was beautifully lit by the sun (we didn’t stop because I was grumpy and wanted to get to the lodge).

We arrived at Sheep Mountain Lodge around 1:30pm and as our cabin was 30 minutes away from being ready we decided to eat in the lodge restaurant. Alan enjoyed a glass of Panty Peeler a 8.5% Belgium triple which he had enjoyed here when we last stayed at the lodge 6 years ago. Lunch was very nice, I had blackened halibut salad and Alan a bison burger.

We were in our cabin (4) by 2:30pm and I took my time rearranging our luggage ‘road trip style’. Meanwhile Alan fell asleep snoring and I decided to join him (sleeping not snoring) around 5:30pm (a slight improvement on yesterday).

Miles driven 143.7

Sleeping when the sun doesn’t set until after 11pm and the curtains don’t block out the light is not easy, but with the help of the eye mask from our flight out, I was able to get some decent sleep until 2am when we both agreed we would put the lights on and get up very very slowly.

We had breakfast at the lodge, Alan a burrito and me a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and pickled onion. We were so hungry I forgot to take photos until after we had started munching! It was good.

We had packed up the car before breakfast so we were ready to leave immediately after and left Sheep Mountain Lodge at 8:45am, setting off for Valdez. It was raining lightly as we left and the mountains we could see clearly yesterday and disappeared under a veil of mist.

We were about 15 minutes from the lodge when we saw our first wildlife sighting of the day a moose stood near the side of the highway and then another walking alongside the highway. We didn’t stop, it was misty and not the best locations to pull over.

We continued another 30 minutes along the road when the rain started to turn to sleet and then snow. At first the road was nice and clear of the snow, but as we climbed higher in elevation the snow was starting to stick to the carriageway and only the tyre tracks of slush could be seen. Those that know me, know I’m not a fan of driving on the white stuff and I had visions of a stressful drive all the way to Valdez. I even suggested we should head to Fairbanks instead. But as we hit the outskirts of Glenn Allen the white faded quickly and were back to green. I looked at the Traveler 511 website cameras along the Richardson Highway and there was no white stuff (phew).

We refuelled at Glennallen and turned towards Valdez and did the beautifully scenic drive to Valdez, it was misty again across Thompson Pass, there was snow but not on the highway. My favourite section through Keystone Canyon did not disappoint though, it’s high sides framing the cascading Lowe River and highway. We stopped briefly at Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls, the rain was still coming down lightly.

On our way into Valdez we stopped off at the Solomon Gulch Salmon Hatchery, to see what wildlife was around and found our first bald eagle and sea otter of the trip, but saw no signs of the early salmon run.

We continued on the hotel, for the next two nights, the Best Western. Our room wasn’t quite ready, so we waited in the lobby on the comfortable armchairs for about 30 minutes.

We were checked in at 2pm and headed off to the Roadside Potatohead for our main meal of the day. I had the pulled pork po’boy and Alan had a salmon roll, we shared two sides, rosemary & garlic fries and a salad. All was delicious and the portions so large we couldn’t finish it all.

Next we went for a walk around the harbour and then to check-in for tomorrow’s boat trip on the Lulu Belle.

Beaten by the stressful drive, feeling down about having to time eating with taking antibiotics, I was ready for another early night and we were asleep by 7pm.

Miles 200.3

Today we would be doing our first wildlife boat trip with a return visit to the Columbia Glacier on the Lulu Belle. We did this trip with captain Fred in 2017 and knew what to expect, constant stories and corny jokes. He didn’t disappoint, we listened to the same stories which I’m sure he tells every single day he takes the Lulu Belle out. There is no doubting his boat piloting skills are top class and he gave us plenty of time to view the wildlife we encountered and the glacier itself. It was once again well worth the money. There were less people on the tour this time too, just 16, which allowed us to spread out and meant no elbow pushing when we encountered wildlife.

The slightly earlier in the season trip rewarded us with slightly different wildlife – we saw two different transient orca pods – transient orcas eat mostly marine mammals rather than a heavy fish diet, so they are smaller and more agile in the water. We found our two pods, one near a raft of sea otters and another near a sea lion colony which had pups. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on whether you like to see cute animals meeting their end) we didn’t see them attack anything, they were too busy trying to outrun the Lulu Belle.

We saw the aforementioned sea otters and sea lions, as well as harbor seals and their pups out on the ice as we got nearer to the glacier. Lots of sea birds, but no puffins nesting this time, maybe the late spring has delayed their nesting?

The ice from the glacier was more prolific too, I don’t remember captain Fred cutting through quite so much ice last time. We saw a decent glacier carving as we arrived at the glacier front, but other than a few small ones in the distance that was it. 

The amount of time we spent with the orcas and the extra time getting through the ice meant our trip out ran from 10:30am and with a return to Valdez at 8:30pm. The Lulu Belle takes full advantage of this by selling food and drinks (nothing is included in the tour price). We ate on the boat so when we got back to the harbour we went back to our room and slept well after all that fresh air!

Today was a driving day and we moved from Valdez to Fairbanks. Thompson Pass was once again very misty. We stopped at Worthington Glacier and the sun came out briefly.

We refuelled Gooner at Glennallen and then continued north. We encountered more snow across Isabel Pass, with only a little settling on the carriageway itself. We made a brief comfort break at Delta Junction, taking another picture of Alan being attacked by the giant mosquitoes.

As we got nearer to Fairbanks we drove by the Eielson Air Force Base where we happened to witness two fighter jets taking off. We joked about racing along side them in Gooner, Top Gun style, in reality they were gone before we heard their sound wave!

We arrived into Fairbanks just after 2pm and checked into the Best Western. We restocked our supplies at Walmart and grabbed ourselves a subway for our dinner. I had managed to pick up the start of a cold (sore throat) and after transferring and editing the 700 photos Alan took on on our Lulu Bell excursion, I decided we (I) needed an early night.

Miles 365.9