Alaska - Our visit during July, 2013 - Part II

Part II
Sunday, the 14^th July:
We spent our forenoon at the Science Centre at Anchorage. The children enjoyed the several scientific exhibits playfully. Sanjay and Balaji went for a ‘dinosaur show’ while we went for ‘Northern lights’ show in the planetarium theatre.

Alaska is known for the Northern Lights – Aurora, a strange phenomenon of a natural display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collisions of energized charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere).

We also went around the Science Centre looking at various exhibits about life in Alaska, its history and heritage and later developments.

In the evening we went for buying souvenirs from a gift-store. Later, we walked along the Downtown hoping to catch the entry to the walking/biking/hiking trail along the bay, but we couldn’t locate it. And so, we spent our time in a few parks, the children enjoying their park time more than our planned hike.

Monday, the 15^th July:
We vacated from our hotel after our breakfast and headed towards Seward. We took the same scenic Seward highway along the Turnagain Arm.

On the way, we stopped for hiking to Flattop Mountain. This is a 3510 feet high mountain forming part of Chugach State Park, with an elevation of 1280 feet from the parking lot. It was generally cloudy and misty around the mountains. There are several levels to climb on this mountain. One could walk or bike.

 

 

 

We could view Anchorage from the first level. We went up to the second level too. Lakshmi and Sahana stayed back. We couldn’t try to hike to third and further levels for want of time. Besides, Sanjay started complaining about his hurting legs. After all, he was just four years old.
From the Flattop Mountain, we drove further on the Seward highway and on the way we stopped to view a small waterfall. We drove all the way to the end of Turnagain Arm and then to the other side of the Arm and then towards South to reach Seward. The drive on the other side of Turnagain Arm was really very scenic with mountains, rivers, and lakes. Two of the important places we passed through were:

·        Moose Pass situated on the shores of Upper Trail Lake 30 miles outside of Seward. Iditarod trail begins here and was used to transport gold and supplies. There is abundance of moose in the area and prompted the name for the place.

·        Cooper Landing, considered as the ‘Gem of the Kenai Peninsula’, ‘a Emerald’ in summer and ‘a Diamond’ in the Winter, is one of the finest, most diverse outdoor recreation area Alaska has to offer. Conveniently located in the middle of the Kenai Peninsula, nestled in the majestic Kenai Mountains along the beautiful turquoise waters of Kenai Lake and the upper Kenai River. These waters are uniquely tinted blue-green by suspended ultra-fine glacial silt. Fishing, rafting, hiking, sightseeing, horseback riding, mountain biking, sea kayaking, and gold panning are popular activities of the place.

We reached Seward in the evening. Our stay was arranged at Windsong Hotel on the banks of the Resurrection River. The view of the distant mountains, some of them snow-capped, from the banks of the river was mesmerizing.

                                                                                                                          ………………..Continued in Part III