Note our ship in the background.
Alaska Sealife Center opened in 1998, funded in part by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Settlement Fund.
It gave us a chance to see the creatures close up that we had seen in shallow water during our trip and others that hang out in deeper lairs.
Puffins
Seal, sea lion? Can you see ears?
If you can it is a sea lion not a true seal.
The view from the back deck.
We took a very wet boat ride around Resurrection Bay to Fox island
Dolphins porpoising in the rain as we crossed the bay.
Sea otters didn't mind the rain.
Rocky cliffs.
There were a lot of puffins hanging out.
Note the rain streaming off the rocks.
Sea lions hauled out on the rocks.
Some were marked and a few had radio transmitters.
They didn't mind the rain.
And some sea lions swimming.
An eagle in the rain.
Did I mention it was raining?
We went to Cabin Night, a dinner theater at Denali park.
They didn't have enough actors for the theater part that evening so some of the audience were drafted.
On to Denali
Actually we got our first sight of Denali from Anchorage about 130 miles away.
We got a lot closer in the next few days.
The top was shrouded in the clouds.
We were there in late August and the colors of the vegetation rivaled autumn in the eastern mountains.
Other than the pines none of the vegetation was more than 3 feet tall.
These inch long leaves made us think of the tiny ferns we saw in Ushuaia.
A sign near the lodge where we stayed.
They just wanted to be sure we knew who we might meet as we roamed the area.
Along the road leading toward Denali we saw all the types of major animals that inhabit the park
Dahl sheep. We saw so many we lost count. Easily more than 70.
These were crossing a stream bed along the road.
An eagle circling near a herd of young sheep.
Other young sheep on the mountainside.
We saw 14 Alaska Brown Bears (aka Grizzlies) in one day.
Caribou
A pack of wolves.
A moose
And some other residents.
A couple of marmots, a owl hawk and an eagle on a rocky outcrop.
Rafting the Nenana river
The guides saw to it that we were properly outfitted with dry suits.
Then we set off. The river was glacier fed but it had warmed up to 34 degrees F here.
Some of the waves were impressive.
We were told that one area of turbulent "squirrelly" water was caused by several railroad cars that had fallen into the river.
Nancy did enjoy part of the ride, flat water near the end.
Sightseeing by rail
A nice ride with a great dinner but we didn't see any wildlife.
Wasilla is proud of its role in the Iditarod dog sled race.
No mention of any other reason you would have heard of it.
Hanging out at the lodge in Talkeetna
More wildlife in the Anchorage area
