Day 9

Day 9 Lions and Tigers and GRIZZLIES, Oh my!

Today we started out in Tok and everything was wonderful because we are IN ALASKA. My mom said she could see better today. Obviously it’s because we’re in Alaska. I slept fabulously last night—better than I have this whole trip. Why? Because we’re in Alaska!

We. Are. In. Alaska.

I love everything about this place. I love the way the trees are such a vibrant dark green, the way the rain falls like a mist. We stopped at a creek earlier, in case the salmon were spawning even thought it’s a little early, so that John could see them. But alas, no salmon. It’s okay, though, because he got to see the creek and how clear the water is as it rushes over smooth river rocks.

Today, I saw something I’ve never seen before. We were all looking out the window (well, minus Josh who was napping and my mom who missed it) and we saw this mass of blondish/brown. After a second it finally registered in our brains that it was a grizzley! Nine years. Nine years I lived in Alaska and I NEVER saw a grizzly. I told John he must be a good luck charm because he’s seen almost every animal you could hope to see up here. The grizzly saw us and then whirled around and ran back into the woods. He was enormous and I was excited to see him, but I hope I never see one any closer than we were.

The drive today was only 328 miles, but it took all day because we took our time a little more than we did other days. We stopped for lunch in the booming metropolis of Glennallen and ate at the Caribou Inn. It was yummy! My dad got fried halibut (just like the night before…he’s into variety) and John and I got reindeer sausage. My mom got soup, which was good too, just not as unique to Alaska.

After lunch we drove and drove until we finally got into south central Alaska. I love the whole state (see gushing in paragraphs above), but south central is home. I know my home is currently in Georgia, and I do love the south too. But this is one of the places that I feel at home and comfortable instantly, even if I haven’t been back in a while—in this case, nine years.

The road followed the sides of the mountains and while it offered incredible views of the steely blue rivers rushing by below, it also provided some lets-hold-our-breath-and-hope-we-make-it moments, since the RV is big and the road was a little on the small side.

We got to Anchorage in time for dinner (food is a big theme of our vacations) and picked Alison and Chad up from the airport late, late, late.

And then the real vacation began.