Brant’s Alaska trip

I was able to go to Alaska again for work this month and it signifies the end of my travel for work. I have accepted a new position within my office as Assistant Director for Transfer Credit Evaluation. It will be a lot different from the recruitment stuff I have been doing for the last 4 years but I think it will be a good change. If I am lucky they will ask me to go to Alaska again since I now know the ropes. It was a great trip even if it was very tiring. I was able to visit several different cities which was awesome.

Ketchikan…The Rain Capital of the United States

  



On the ferry with the airport behind me.



Ketchikan really does get more rain than anywhere else in the country and as you can tell I got the true experience. I was only there for a day but it rained the whole time. Still it is a beautiful place. I don't really like seafood much, but I promised Jana that I would at least try some Alaskan Halibut while I was on this trip so I got that out of the way on the first night as I went out to a local restaurant and ordered a halibut BLT. It was actually pretty good. I also had fish again the next day while in Ketchikan for lunch I had some yellow-eyed rock fish which is another white fish and it wasn't too bad either. I am still not a seafood lover, but I think Alaskan Halibut is not too bad. I did have some other seafood later in the trip and I can tell you that I still don't like shrimp.

Sitka

They say that all of southeast Alaska gets a lot of rain, but the day I spent in Alaska the clouds parted and I was able to enjoy a beautiful crisp fall day in Sitka. I really enjoyed Sitka a lot. Sitka is where they held the ceremony when the U.S. officially bought Alaska from Russia. It was interesting also to see the Russian influence that is still there. Sitka actually has a Russian Orthodox Church right in the center of town. I enjoyed learning a little more of the history there and of course having some time to walk down to Totem Park where they have 11 standing totems in the woods and just enjoy the beauty of the area.

Juneau

This was the best stop because I had an extra day to enjoy the area. Thank you so much Natalie Shumway for putting me in touch with your relatives there. They were awesome to show me around. Rick took me for a hike near Mendenhall Glacier along with his friend Bud who is pictured with me near the waterfall. This waterfall is actually just a small one. There is a much larger waterfall near the base of the glacier but we decided to hike around the top of the big waterfall and see the glacier from a different perspective. It was so much fun. Of course, a trip to Alaska isn't complete unless you see a bear so lucky for me just at the head of the trail we hiked there was a black bear cub sitting right there just off the path digging for grubs in the foliage.

Anchorage

I didn't have as much time to explore in Anchorage but I was able to go down and find the temple. When I went back in March I had more time in Anchorage and got this picture of me in front of the Cook Inlet.

Fairbanks

While I was in Fairbanks I was able to go to Chena Hot Springs which is about 1 hour northeast of Fairbanks. I did get in but I will spare you the pictures of me in the water! It was pretty fun though especially because as you can see there was snow on the ground there and I was sitting in a hot pool even if it did smell like sulfur. It was pretty cold in Fairbanks, 12 degrees the morning I left.

My arrival home

I was very excited to get home after being gone for a week and a half and the kids and Jana were very excited to get me back home. Next time I get the chance to go to Alaska I am definitely going to take Jana with me although not to Fairbanks in October (she would freeze for sure). Hopefully it will be on a real vacation where we get to truly enjoy the trip and each other. I was very surprised to see a welcome home sign when I got off the plane. Isn't my family the cutest thing you have ever seen!