Alaska has been the pinnacle of our all-50-states quest for as long as we can remember. Not to be confused with our all National Parks, all High Points, all other miscellanea…
The 49th state admitted to the union, but our 50th and final state to visit together.
We have now spent quality time in every single state, and the last one on the list just happens to be the biggest, most remote, and most unapologetically wild one of all.
Amazing to look at the map, and see just how much of the lower 48 that Alaska absolutely dwarfs.
Everything’s bigger in Texas?
Biiiish, please.
Texas crushes Alaska in oil output, but that’s pretty much it.
Overall size (Alaska is 2.5x larger bishes), guns per household (64.5 per 100, just behind MT and WY – probably much, much higher as folks out here aren’t telling Uncle Sam what’s in their closet), airplanes per person (1 of every 58-78 people in Alaska has a pilot’s license), moose per liter of maple syrup… Wait, that’s Minnesota.
There’s something a little surreal about touching down in Anchorage and realizing that we’re finally here.
After a quick overnight at an airport hotel to unwind from an entire day of travel, first stop on the list is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway.
The AWCC is a nonprofit sanctuary for injured and orphaned animals, which means you get close encounters with animals that you would likely never encounter.
And in Alaska, that means serious animals.
Neither of us enjoys zoos with animals kept penned up in small enclosures in climates other than their natural habitats. Sure they expose children to the wonders of the animal kingdom, but they just seem cruel.
Rehabilitation and sanctuary for these animals in their natural environment feels much more humane, and we felt that the thirty bucks per person entry fee definitely was money well spent.
Sleepy Time
It looks like this little Arctic Fox missed his naptime!
Seriously Grumpy
This Muskox looks about as grumpy as they come. I guess if my Indian name translated to Ugly Moose and Ugly Bison I would be too…
The Beluga
Colette saw a Beluga Whale surface as we were driving down the Turnagain Arm, and now I’ve seen one too.
Danger Bison
If I was a bison, this would be my name…
Not Moosing Around
Moose laying near buildings and on lawns is a common occurence in Alaska, this one just happens to be within the Conservation Center.
Color Me Up
A brilliant mural by Dawn Gerety at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Turnagain Arm
Looking out at the Turnagain Arm
The bears absolutely steal the show.
Alaska is home to both black bears and brown bears (grizzlies), and the AWCC has both.
Brown bears in Alaska can top 1,000 pounds, and being anywhere near one – even on the other side of a sturdy fence – recalibrates your sense of scale in a hurry.
These are not the polite little black bears we’ve encountered in the Lower 48, which will still kill you easily enough. Alaska bears operate at a completely different level.
While I thoroughly enjoy black bears in Mother Nature like our encounter two weeks ago – I like my grizzlies sleepy, and on the other side of the fence.
How I Like My Grizzlies
Sleepy, and at a distance!
Watchful Eyes
The body is sleeping, the eyes are still watching
Back To La La Land
Mister Grizzly decides to go back to sleep and ignore us
I Love My Stick
It was cheap entertainment to sit and watch this black bear twirl his stick around like he was performing in a circus.
From the wildlife center we continued south toward the Kenai Peninsula and stopped at Anchor Point, which sits at the end of the Sterling Highway and holds the distinction of being the westernmost point on the North American highway system.
It’s the kind of geographic trivia that sounds made up until you’re actually standing there looking out across Cook Inlet at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, and then it feels like one of those must-have obscure trivia details.
The real surprise at Anchor Point was the bald eagles.
Lots of them. Lots.
Bald eagles in Alaska are roughly as common as elk at our place in Estes Park or manatees at our place in the Keys.
The national symbol of the United States, and Alaska treats them like background noise.
Every hundred yards along the shore, surveying their domain with absolutely zero interest in us. We were the background noise to them. Impressive nonetheless.
We’ve since made our way to Homer, which deserves – and will get – its own post. Maybe good, maybe bad.
But as first impressions go, Alaska set the bar impossibly high.
Big animals, bigger landscapes, and an attitude that makes the rest of the country feel a little bit small.
Welcome to Alaska.
Fifty states. Go. See. Do.
Turnaround
Why waste effort moving when you can swivel your head all the way around?
Classic Bald Eagle
The profile we all think of for Bald Eagles.
Raising The Kids
A bald eagle with two grown chicks fishing along Anchor Point. For a size perspective on these massive birds, that’s a crow in the foreground.
More Bald Eagle Chicks
There were twenty plus eagles along the beach, most within camera distance with 400mm.
In The Surf
A bald eagle in the surf at Anchor Point
Bundled Beachgoers
It’s a beautiful beach, but bring your cold weather gear because it’s seriously cold out here.
What A View
An eagle sits on the beach at Anchor Point. I believe that is Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in the background.
Bald Eagle – This Is Amazing
Not sure what he's doing digging in the sand, but shows just how impressive these birds are! This video really is amazing though. I shot this in 4k, click the gear icon and select the highest resolution you can.
Thanks for sharing!