Beware of Bears and Babies

I really don't know.

We originally planned on hiking the Albert Loop Trail in Eagle River yesterday, but had to change our plans once we found out it was closed due to bears. Another 10 miles up the road from Eagle River is the Thunderbird Falls Trail, an easy 2 mile walk out and back. The view of the falls from the observation deck was pretty awesome, but the view from the base of the falls was even better.

From the observation deck.

We couldn't get close enough to the base of the falls without wading through the water to get a good picture. If we had actually bothered to get proper footwear, we would have. Unfortunately, you'll have to settle for this view.

Walking back up the trail towards the parking lot we spotted the baby in the tree. Alaska is a weird state sometimes. On the way home, we decided to stop off at the Eagle River Nature Center to see if there was another trail we could hike with the Albert Loop closed.

We decided to take the Rodak trail with the hopes we could see some salmon in the water and maybe some beavers. We didn't see any beavers. Sometimes, I think Alaskan wildlife is keeping it's distance from us. I guess, in the case of bears, that's probably a good thing. The walk on the Rodak trail follows a bit of the Eagle River. The views in the river valley were spectactular.

The first mountain snows appeared last week

Finally saw some wild salmon!

Taking a Hike

This is Flattop. Took 1.5hrs to get up.

Yesterday we decided to hike Flattop Mountain. Everyone told us it's a great, easy, day hike. It's the most popular hike in Anchorage, due it's close proximity to the city and fantastic views. On a typical summer day the trail is packed with tourists. We figured since cruise season is almost over, there wouldn't be too many people out and about. It wasn't packed, but we had to wait a while in the parking lot to find a spot.

We took our time.

This was about halfway up.

The trail starts at 2000' and features a 1500' elevation change to finish at a cool 3500', and a walk of 3.1 miles out and back. The hiking book Abby and Brent gave us listed the hike as moderate to difficult, harder at the end when the hike changes from following a trail to scrambling up the mountain. Turns out the book was right. A mile into the trail the going gets rough. The trail essentially disappears into the side of the mountain, leaving us to pick and climb our way up the rocks.

The final climb only took about 20 minutes and was probably the most fun segment. I don't think I'll ever outgrow playing on the rocks. The views from the top were unbelievable.

Looking down towards the Turnagain Arm

This marks the top of the mountain

It was an awesome hike. Probably not the best one to start out with, especially since we're both out of shape, but definitely worth it. Next week we'll hike again, but something much flatter. Hopefully next week we'll see some wildlife when we hike the Albert Loop Trail.

To you it was a great view...

1 Fish 2 Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

As you may know, Alaska has a certain affinity for seafood. We've been trying to eat more of the ocean's bounty since we've been here (it hasn't been all that difficult). Nearly all the grocery stores and smaller markets have a great seafood selection. A few places even offer live shellfish - I'll be getting an oyster knife very soon. We've had two standout seafood dishes so far, one cooked for us, one I cooked. The first, and our first Alaskan Salmon was a fantastic dinner cooked by a member of the provost office (a formerly retired historian) and his wife (a retired archivist). They made us Green Shawarma Salmon. It was perfectly cooked and delicious. Our hosts insisted on seconds; I felt rude asking for a third helping and held off until dessert.

Last week we bought some Halibut fillets. I put a few sage leaves on each fillet and wrapped them with prosciutto to bake. I melted a unhealthy amount of butter, fried some sage leaves, and covered each fillet with the butter-sage sauce. De-lic-ous. Next up - deadliest catch.

 

In Brett we Trust

Not sure if I missed the memo and I'm playing catch up or if I'm on the cutting edge (I guess the former) but it seems everyone is adding Brettanomyces to their beer these days. Russian River has been doing it for years, with delicious results. The fairly new, and a bit obscure Anchorage Brewing Company seems to be making a name for themselves doing the same. Their limited release  Bitter Monk 2IPA is fermented a second time in french oak chardonnay barrels and then bottled, where it is fermented a third time. The beer weighs in at a surprisingly mellow 100 ibu's nicely balanced out by the brett. The 9% abv is also a surprise in a beer with such a light mouth feel. The Bitter Monk is grape-fruity up front, with a sour finish, topped off with a nice bitter note from the 4 varieties of hops used.  If Anchorage Brewing ever starts running tours I plan on checking it out. If not, I plan on continuing to buy their beer.

Mile 0

Last weekend we hit the road and headed south for Seward. After beautiful 2.5hr drive down the Seward Highway, through Chugach State Park and onto the Kenai Peninsula, we arrived in Seward.

The rain let up long enough to see this rainbow along the Seward Highway

Sadly, it was pouring rain almost all day, limiting what we were able to do. We didn't see much of the Pacific, or glimpse Mt. Marathon, or see the day's catches down at the docks. We did, however, find the original starting point of the Iditarod. The annual race now begins in Anchorage and runs a much shorter 1112 miles. Kelly and I tackled about 1.5 miles of the course last weekend. Stay tuned as we rack up the rest of trip.

Blast off!

Kelly and I found Jupiter yesterday! We were out for an ordinary walk along the Tony Knowles Costal Trail and as we rounded a corner, we came face to face with the gas giant. We noticed that Jupiter seemed a bit small. After closer inspection we realized we were following the Anchorage Lightspeed Planet Walk. Starting at the Sun in downtown Anchorage it is a 5.5hr walk to Pluto. From the start, it takes as much time to get to each planet as the light from the Sun does. One of these days we'll start at the Sun and begin our journey through the solar system. We might bring out bikes to up the speed to warp 5.

The House of the Midnight Sun

On Thursday, Kelly and I headed down to Midnight Sun Brewing Company in Southern Anchorage to start checking out the local beer scene. Midnight Sun offers free tours on Thursdays, and growler fills starting at $9. We had dinner and some 6oz taster pours before the tour. With beer names like Kodiak Brown Ale, Sockeye Red IPA,  Arctic Rhino Coffee Porter and Panty Peeler Tripel, We knew we were going to enjoy our outing. The food was decent and the beers were delicious. We especially enjoyed the special release Black Light Cream Ale and the Pride - a beer with Brettanomyces yeast added to sour the beer - one of our favorite styles. I got my $9 growler of Black Light and we waited for the tour to start.

Kelly enjoying Pride

About to sample some Sockeye Red

Our tour guide gave us samples of unfinished beer. We got to try Kyoto, which is part of a limited release series designed to incorporate brewing styles and ingredients from all over the world. Kyoto is brewed with rice and seaweed. Unlike those corporate brews, the rice actually added a nice nutty flavor to the beer. The seaweed wasn't very present aside from making the beer super clear.

You can guess where the beer comes out

The current location for Midnight Sun is their second. They used to share a building with Knight's Taxidermy, the shop featured on Mounted in Alaska. As a parting gift, Knights made Midnight Sun an Alaskan Tap Handle.