A few more thoughts on our trip to Alaska. This was our second trip there---the first was about ten years ago. And here are a few things we noticed this time, more than last--probably because the weather was better!
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1. Alaska is huge. As one of our hosts there said, if we split Alaska into two, Texas would be the third largest state. We only picked around the edges of Alaska, and we were still overwhelmed with how big it is, how much there is to see and do, and how tiny the impact of man really is on that amazing landscape.
2. The people in Alaska were among the friendliest we’ve ever met anywhere. It didn’t seem to matter if they were born and raised there, or just working for the summer, they were uniformly polite, cheerful, helpful, and fun. This is the way to be successful at tourism…and it made us want to return soon.
3. The temperate rainforest, combined with the vertical landscape, makes the idea of cross-country travel along the coast almost laughable. No wonder everyone in Alaska either owns a boat or a plane. You can’t get there by land. And the dense foliage of the rainforest was astonishing. For those of us used to the open forests of the West, this was a whole ‘nother world.
4. We were insanely lucky with the weather. It was sunny enough to require sunscreen on just about every day we were there. The last time, it rained six out of seven days. This was something else, and made Alaska seem like Paradise.