Day 2 – Alaska Weather and Snickers

Patrøn the Brown Bear

Today we got a lesson in Alaskan weather while we travelled 45 minutes south to Girdwood and the Portage Glacier Valley.  We left the hotel in overcast weather and light jackets as it was still relatively warm, about 51 degrees.  We stopped at a scenic overlook just outside of Anchorage and suddenly we had high winds and colder weather.  It turns out that Alaska has very localized weather.  It can be sunny in one spot and cold and rainy 5 or 6 miles away.  When we took the Alyeska Tram ride there was a light drizzle, but when we reached the top it was 39 degrees with some light sleet.  Our next stop was about 10 miles away for a boat ride to see the Portage Glacier, but that was cancelled by wind gusts up to 90 mph.  The last touring stop was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and we were back to a light drizzle with no wind and we were only 6 miles away.  Alaska Travel Advice: Always wear layers of clothes and be prepared for any kind of weather at any time.

Jack the Moose

We met Snickers at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center when we took the Behind the Scenes tour, which I would highly recommend.  Snickers is a very big porcupine who let us feed her carrots.  The AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals and releases them back into the wild if they are able.  Our tour guide was an intern named Scott who is also a caretaker, so he was able to give us some great insights into the animals and how they came to the center.  We also met the brother and sister bears, Joe Boxer and Patrøn, Jack the Moose and we also fed Julie the Sitka deer leaves until we ran out and she started eating Megan's coat!

Animal sightings - Several Bald Eagles