Alaska

Summer 2016

Some of my most vivid childhood memories are from frolicking across Alaska's national parks to collect junior ranger badges. On our first trip to Alaska, we took a long bus ride across the state, stopping at national parks along the way to get off and explore. One of my favorite moments on the bus was looking out the window and seeing a black bear walking alongside the road just a few feet away from me.

The second time we visited Alaska, we took a one-week cruise with my little cousins. As we departed Seattle on a rare sunny day, the entire skyline came into view. We traveled through Alaska's Inside Passage, a scenic route through seemingly untouched land. At one point, ours was the only boat in sight, giving us a sense of isolation. The captain even turned off the motor for a while so we could experience the quiet and stillness of nature.

Our first port stop was Juneau. Though we had little planned when we arrived, we found a lot to do in the city. After exploring some shops and cafés, we visited Mendenhall Glacier. It's a huge slab of snow and ice, but an incredibly beautiful one. What stayed with me after we left wasn't just its beauty, but the evidence of global warming. The visitor center emphasized how dramatically the glacier has receded over the years. I left wishing I had been able to visit earlier and see it in its full glory—a sight that can never be experienced in quite the same way again.

In Ketchikan, a small town nestled in Alaska's natural beauty, we explored the cozy downtown and watched a live lumberjack competition. It consisted of a series of challenges involving people chopping wood at an alarming rate. It was great, but also a little scary, to watch.

In Skagway, we took a train ride through the mountains. We looped along steep mountainsides and through tunnels that seemed to last forever. It was the best train ride I've ever taken.

On the way back, our cruise ship entered a narrow passage to see another glacier at the crack of dawn. We got very close and enjoyed the view from our cabin. The light was still soft, making for an incredible view of the water and ice.