Alaskan Travels: Russian River, Matanuska Glacier, and Seward

When I decided that I was going to move to Alaska, I also decided that I was going to do everything in my power to be a Yes Man (or Woman)! This means saying yes to all the opportunities that present themselves. I know a couple Alaskans that have made this a way of life and let me tell you, THEY ARE ALWAYS DOING THE COOLEST THINGS! I am lucky enough to have been apart of several of their adventures and even though, it might have cost a lot of money, or it was a hassle...(or I really needed to do my homework instead)... I have never regretted saying yes to anything! Thank you Millers!

Many of you have seen the pictures that I have been posting on Facebook, so some of these pictures will be a repeat but wanted to share more information on the amazing places I have been lucky enough to visit in the last month. 

The best thing about Anchorage is that it is surrounded by beauty. No matter which direction you head out of town, you are guaranteed a beautiful drive. The first adventure I went on was a fishing trip to the Russian River. The river is about two hours south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. The highway from Anchorage south to the Kenai Peninsula is one of the top ten most beautiful drives in the US. It is officially known as the Seward highway (LOOK IT UP!). If you have ever been lucky enough to travel on this highway, you certainly will agree that it is incredible! 

View of the Seward Highway Near Anchorage

View of the Seward Highway Further Inland

The Russian River is thirteen miles long. It starts from the Upper Russian Lake and flows down to the Kenai river. When we first got to the river we could see spots of red everywhere in the water. These spots were sockeye salmon swimming up river to die. When sockeyes turn red their meat turns to mush and they are not good to eat. Mixed in with the red sockeye salmon were silver sockeyes. These are the salmon that are edible. This means that they are heading up river to spawn but haven't started yet. Fishing for sockeye salmon is quite difficult. Since the salmon are swimming up stream they are not moving very fast, in fact they look as if they are swimming in one place. By the time the salmon have reached the Russian River they have traveled 80 miles up stream. 

During this trip I was also shown that Alaska truly is the last frontier. It is as if certain rules of the lower 48 just don't quite apply in Alaska. It is not unusual for hikers to carry pistols or shotguns in case of a bear encounter. Being from Colorado, the fear of bumping into a bear while backpacking or hiking is a possibility but it is rare. In Alaska, especially during a salmon run, it is the opposite. It is rare that you won't see a bear! As we were fishing that day we heard talk of a brown bear a mile or so upstream from where we were fishing. Luckily the bear did NOT grace us with his presence! 

We end up taking home eight sockeye salmon! It is nice to have the freezer stocked with fish for a couple months! 

The next place I was fortunate enough to visit was the Matanuska Glacier. This glacier is about 100 miles (102 miles to be exact) northeast of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway. The glacier is 26 miles long and 4 miles wide. You can see the mouth of the glacier from the Glenn Highway. The Matanuska Glacier is the largest glacier in Alaska that you can reach with a vehicle. The best thing about this glacier is that there aren't any rules. It is a slippery free for all. You can climb where ever you would like. At the entrance to the glacier they have you pay a fee, sign a waiver and take your phone number so that if you fall into a crevice they can hopefully call you! Ha! It was very nice to have the freedom to explore! If you have the equipment and the knowledge you can feel free to ice climb, as well as, repel down into the crevices in the ice. I certainly was not going to go climbing! I did however, take a slippery walk on to the glacier! 

It is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. It is the most incredibly beautiful place I have ever been. If you visit Alaska this place is a MUST SEE! In fact it is #2 on the "49 PLACES TO GO IN THE 49th STATE"!

  The next weekend Paul and I decided that we would take a drive down to Seward. We heard that it was a cute coastal town that we HAD to visit! Ideally, we would have ordered a charter and gone halibut fishing... But since we are both incredibly poor after the drive through Canada, that didn't happen! So instead we spend the day drinking coffee and walking the beach. Seward is situated at the head of Resurrection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula. It is surrounded by mountains and is a gateway to the Kenai Fjords. 

My personal favorite part of the trip was visiting the beach. In Anchorage, the cook inlet is a mud flat and the beach isn't nearly as beautiful as the one in Seward. The contrast of the black rocks and the bright blue water is an incredible sight to see. Unfortunately we visited on a cloudy day so we didn't get to see the peaks of hardly any of the mountains. However, at one point during the day the clouds broke just enough to see one of the peaks. Here are some of the pictures from the Seward visit. 

I feel lucky every day that I get to visit these beautiful places in Alaska. The only thing that would make Alaska better, would be if all of you were able to see these places with me! COME VISIT!