The Final Frontier (AK #50)

When I originally established this blog my goal was to take you along on my visits all 50 states (plus DC) by the time I turned 50.  My adventure required some rethinking because on my 50th birthday I was in Hawaii, my 49th state. I wasn't too awfully upset, I was with my love in paradise and I had been to 49 states! I could have raced to get them all done by the time I turned 51, but once I had missed the goal, I just wasn't in a hurry anymore.

In September 2015 I made a bittersweet trip to my "final frontier" after I asked  Phil if there was anything left he wanted to do and he said "I want us to go to Alaska!" After a call to a friend who lives on Kodiak Island and Phil's cousin who lives in Anchorage we booked our Alaskan Adventure and left two weeks later.

It took 11 hours and 15 minutes with stops in Los Angeles and Seattle to get to Alaska. Phil had not seen his cousin Barb in 40 years, but the two of them clicked just like when they were kids. She asked if we were tired...NOPE we were ready for an adventure, so she whisked us off to her cabin on Saddleback Island in Big Lake. It was truly paradise and I think it was Phil's perfect place.

We only got to spend a couple of days before we took a train to Talkeetna where we hoped to get a glimpse of Denali. We were treated to spectacular fall colors on our train trip. Talkeetna is the town that inspired the 1990 series Northern Exposure and the town Mayor was a cat. The town consists of several blocks where climbers and air excursions for Denali are staged. We grabbed lunch and a very good beer sampler at Denali Brewing Company before the bus took us to Denali Mountain Lodge.

The lodge was only open for four more days, so it was pretty quiet. We hiked, went for a hot tub and hoped to see the elusive Denali. While we didn't get to see the great mountain, the highlight of the trip was taking the shuttle bus around the complex to see a mamma moose and her baby.

Our next destination was Kodiak Island to visit one of my craziest and sweetest letterboxing friends and her husband. Knowing my 50/50 desire, Denise had made several offers for me to come for a visit. Around Labor Day I called her and she insisted we come as soon as possible. Two weeks later we were on her porch overlooking the harbor. I am so grateful we got to go while Phil was still able to be active. We hiked, went out looking for wildlife on their boat to watch seals, scoured every road on the island looking for the Kodiak Island bear. Phil went fishing with the guys, Denise and I went to garage sales and thrift shopping. The people of this state are different than any other place I have been, they are awesome and our visit was filled with a lot of laughter.

Unfortunately the only bears we saw were stuffed, but Denise made sure I saw every one of them including the one in the local Walmart. We also enjoyed the "Touch Tank" at the Alaska Fisheries Research Center. But it was spending time with Denise and Robert exploring, meeting other people that topped our Kodiak lsland list. Phil and Denise found a letterbox at low tide, we had a $10 burger and craft brew at the Best Western and drank beer at Kodiak Island Brewing Company with a guy from The Deadliest Catch, a government official and the local director of the Baranov Museum, located in the oldest building in Alaska, a circa 1805 Russian magazine.

I remember the people they were hearty and hardworking yet laid back and welcoming. They are truly special. It wan't until we returned from Alaska that I realized Phil had gifted me with this extraordinary experience of visiting my final frontier with him.