Every mode of transportation

Two years ago my coworkers Carrie and Steve took a Yukon river rafting trip together and had such a great time they decided that they had to get back to the remote wilderness of Alaska as soon as schedules permitted. Surprising even myself, I eagerly agreed to join them- surprising because I am not exactly a hardcore outdoorsy, adventure type, especially when it comes to camping. After a couple months of planning, gearing up, learning kayak rescue techniques, and worrying about bear attacks, we were off- starting with a flight from Seattle to Anchorage, then a puddle jumper to Valdez, a small town along the Prince William Sound:


From Valdez, we took a charter boat to our final destination: Columbia Glacier.


Unloading the boat:
Leaving us to our own devices- we were the only campers in that whole area:


We spent the majority of the days kayaking amongst the glacial ice and exploring the coast line (we "discovered" a river and waterfall):






We kept all food and scented items (toiletries) across the bay inlet as a preventative measure to discourage bears from bothering us in our tents. Here's a morning view from our breakfast nook:








The "froworkers"- Carrie's nickname for us since, as she puts it, we are coworkers and friends :







After 4 days and 3 intensely cold nights (with 1 night of frightening animal activity outside of our tents), we packed it up and took the slow way home- boat back to Valdez, then ferry ride to Whittier. I napped, Joey and Carrie colored:


We had a few hours to kill in Whittier so we took the 7 minute tour around town:


And then settled in for a couple beers (I think the boys were sick of pictures at this point):


And then it was back to Anchorage via train- one of the most scenic rides I have ever been on (we even saw moose!):


This trip was truly amazing- we lucked out with our weather (it had been raining for 2 straight weeks leading up to our trip and rained the day we left), we saw so many amazing things from the landscape to the wildlife and everyone got along perfectly.

I will say this though- a shower never felt so great at the end of the trip!