Northern Exposure and other Alaskan adventures

 As you all might know, our son, Levi, who attends the University of Texas, Austin, rode from Austin to Anchorage this summer. The Texas 4000 is a 4500 mile bike ride that takes place every year over the course of 70 days from May to August and is a fundraiser for cancer research with 70+ riders participating. We met Levi and the team on August 7th in Anchorage, Alaska. It was both emotional and joyous. Needless to say we were thrilled to see our son in one piece and happy after 4000+ miles across America and Canada. We are so incredibly proud and in awe of our son and the entire team.Alaska is not a place I had a huge desire to visit. However, we jumped at the opportunity to make this trip a family vacation and meet Levi at the finish line.  By the way, I was wrong about Alaska; it should have been on my list...not only on the list, but at the top of the list. Anchorage is not much to speak of, but if you go 20 minutes in either direction, it is truly magical. They say everything is big in Texas, but with that said, everything in Alaska is HUGE. The vistas, the glaciers, the whales, even the flowers are super-sized and glorious. The mountains have a jurassic appearance. Simply put, it is stupendous.Below are a few places that we ventured. I highly suggest that you take a glacier boat ride which of course includes whale watching. We even saw a couple of whales. We fished for salmon, and our guide Alan, with Phantom Tri River Charters,  was awesome. The river and surrounding area is gorgeous. Plus we caught tons of salmon. We also hiked through a Crow Pass trail.We had an exceptional dinner at Jack Spratt in Gridwood. Located in a ski community, we enjoyed beautiful views with delicious and inventive fare. I highly recommend the 40 minute drive from Anchorage.The best breakfast of the trip, hands down, was at Snow City Cafe. They had the best hashbrowns, safe to say, in the world. We went twice, and even with an hour wait, it was well worth it. Oh did I mention the blueberry pancakes the size of your head?Put Alaska on your list; you won't regret it. xx, AnnetteMore Northwest adventures coming next time!Check out my instagram feed for more pics and info about our Alaska trip.Photo Credit : Me