Thursday, August 29, 2013...Today was a big travel day, as we left Talkeetna Lodge and headed to Alyeska Hotel, near Girdwood, Alaska.  This was our first "misty" day, so it was good to be traveling on our motor coach and enjoy the sights from a dry environment.  Since we knew we would be stopping in Anchorage for lunch, we decided to have a light breakfast at the lodge and hope that we could get back to the Snow City Café for a more filling meal!  We were successful in our quest to enjoy a delicious chicken salad BLT and carrot cake at Snow City...then some more time to check for souvenirs in Anchorage.  At the Federal Building I was finally able to find jigsaw postcards with scenes of Bald Eagles and moose to send to my grandkids! 

 

Along our drive to Alyeska

Mountain range en route to Girdwood, AK

Turnagain Arm was so named by the Capt. Cook's crew,
as they had to turn again, and again in order to find a
passage to the Pacific Ocean

 

Then it was time to board our bus for a short ride, past beautiful scenery to the 4 Star Alyeska Hotel.  We made our way through the beautiful lobby to the elevator which took us to our amazing 7th floor room.  You could immediately see why this hotel consistently receives a 4 Star rating!  The view of the well-landscaped grounds with ponds, fountains, gazebo, fire pits and tram were a lot to take in.  Our tour package included a free tram ride to the top of Mt. Alyeska, but with the misty rain we decided to hold off for better views the next morning.  It was time to eat (again), and we discovered that the bar offered immediate seating, and the same menu as the restaurant, so we headed there.  Pat & I shared two delicious items...wood-fired pepperoni pizza & honey mustard grilled chicken club sandwich.  Then it was time for some exercise.

 

 

Four Star Aleyska Hotel...amazing!

 

 

Exiting the lobby to the back of the property led us to the Wheeler Trail.  This 2.7 mile trail is actually a segment of the Historic Iditerod Trail.  We were surrounded by majestic Sitka Spruce, as well as lush natural vegetation, flora and fauna.  There at been warning signs about bears in the area, and even though we didn't encounter any bears, there was evidence where the bears had laid on and crushed the vegetation.  There were also cone-shaped clusters of red berries that we were told the bears love to eat.  What a wonderful place to hike!

 

Here's our hiking path...Wheeler Trail:

 

 

After returning to the room I was able to have "FaceTime" with my five grandkids and daughters, Trish & Sarah.  It was great to talk with and see Micah, Zaiah, Jonah, Joey and Abby! I held my phone up to the window for them to see Mt. Alyeska, the tramway, the pond and grounds there and they said, "That's Alaska??!"  I assured them that there's a LOT more of Alaska...they were so funny! 

 

Aleyska Tramway

"That's Alaska?"

Now it was time to rearrange everything into our suitcases and get ready for our last "bag pull" at 8:00 AM the next morning. It's difficult to believe that this was our final day, of five, on land and we would arrive in Seward, Alaska to begin the "cruise" section of our Alaskan adventure tomorrow afternoon.