Alaska Vacation: Hiking and Conservation

Alaskan getaway wasn’t already fillin’ my camera lens with lots of photo goodness, wait until you get a load of these… Even though day 1 was filled with some sort of magic in the air …or maybe that was the glacier-iced Rita?? 🙂 Probably both. Either way, it was so pretty and spiritual and I wasn’t even mad I didn’t see a whale (well, mostly;) — but Day 2 y’all, Day 2! I think this was my favorite. We started off the morning with a group walk which turned into a run by some, not me, along the mud flats. It was such a refreshing way to start off the day with a light 4 mile jaunt and being one with nature. ** We came back to our ‘Erich B&B’ to shower, change, and be off to our next adventure stop of the day; a (self guided) tour through the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood (reservation for 2, please) and found our way up to the start of the Winner Creek Trail. We made it down to this hand tram where you manually crossed over the a creek over hundred feet below with a pulley system whilst *safely standing in a metal cage. *NOPE* I was going to peer-pressure myself into crossing, only for the pure satisfaction of that selfie!!..but ‘sadly’ we were on a time crunch to make it back to the wildlife conservation. We huffed it back on the trail another 2.5 miles and carried on to the 3rd and final stop of the day, the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation. This place was so incredible to me. It was so beautiful, peaceful, serene. Something about being surrounded by miles of mountain peaks and monstrous-sized animals was so amazing. I could’ve easily spent hours there, in the quiet moments of watching these beastly creatures meandering through the fields. There was this one moment, however, where one of the bison wasn’t really feeling my #natgeo moment of trying to get close and personal, as she huffed and slightly charged toward me. To throw her a bone though, she was a fairly new mama just protecting her babe. I feel you mama, I feel you… [caption id="attachment_2926" align="alignnone" width="6016"] Baby bison and mama[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2927" align="alignnone" width="6016"] bebe bison <3[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3017" align="alignnone" width="2448"] Y’all…if that’s not the stank eye, I don’t know what is[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3018" align="alignnone" width="2576"] My girl Rach <3 such a big heart, this one[/caption] Ending the weekend on such a high note, with a food gift from some sweet friend’s of Erich’s. The husband is an Alaskan native and was able to provide some fresh-caught salmon from that morning, bring it over, some with different smokes on them…I mean #heaven. We made drinks, salad, smoked salmon dip, and baked the rest. We sat around the kitchen table, talking, laughing and sharing stories. For 5 (mostly) strangers to come together and be able to spend pretty much 4 straight days together without any drama is just short of a miracle in my book – and the fact that it was genuinely enjoyable is beyond words. I’m so incredibly grateful to have been a part of the weekend, making memories, and be welcomed with such genuine hospitality really leaves me with such gratitude. Thank you Erich, for welcoming, planning, and  being the best Alaskan unicorn a girl could ask for. If you’re ever in Florida #2017, you have a place to stay with Geoff and me. <3 Thank you to everyone for the memories!! You are all so wonderful and dear to me. <3 <3 <3 Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and check out the Alaskan montage below! https://vimeo.com/182913548 Lemons to Love, Lindsay]]>