My cousin David and I went for a quick trip around Mt. Baldy in the Eagle River area. It was gorgeous! The fireweed is really pretty. These flowers bloom from the bottom and work their way up the stalk. So the legend goes, once the flowers are at the top and then bloomed out, the first snowfall will be about 6 weeks later. Apparently this is a fairly accurate measure!
My cousins, their dog, and I went hiking to the Eagle River Visitor’s Center Beaver Dams today, and it was incredible. The sky was slightly overcast and it misted most of the time we were out, but that only made it that much more mystical. People told me I wouldn’t like Anchorage and that the city was way too big, but it doesn’t take that long to get to ‘real’ Alaska! We trekked to the beaver dams; alas, no beavers. We did see bear scat on the way there, though luckily it wasn’t fresh. We had bear spray just in case though, which is only one new and foreign piece of a new way of living.
Also, we saw a ton of Devil's Club. I don't believe there is poison ivy in Alaska, but Devil's Club is just as bad in it's own way. Not only is it poisonous, but the merest touch will send you into intense pain! There are tiny, sharp thorns on every inch of the surface . . . I plan to stay away from the plant entirely.
We had fried and baked wild halibut for dinner. Why doesn’t everyone live in Alaska? Someday I want to catch one of those fish myself! Road trip to Valdez next summer anyone??
(sidenote: Down in the L48 everyone pronounces Valdez like Val-dehz . . . think Exxon Valdez. It seems like this is just one more example of how much the L48 doesn’t know about Alaska. Alaskans pronounce it Val-deez. Just a piece of free random information for those that find that sort of stuff interesting.)
-Megan
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