North, to Alaska

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Visiting Alaska has been on my bucket list for a long time. I kind of always thought I'd go in the summer, prime tourist season, but when an invitation to my college roommate's daughter's wedding arrived in the mail a while back, with a date set for late October, I decided weather wasn't everything. I wanted to be there to celebrate with Mary and her family. (I padded the trip by a day or so on either end, so I could spend time reconnecting with Mary - one of the perks of being retired!).

Turns out Mary is an excellent wedding planner - the list of activities included a morning of sight-seeing for the visitors. This time of year, it doesn't get light until 9AM - so the crew left long before dawn.

As we drove, I was watching out the side window from the back seat. At first, all I could see was the intense unrelieved blackness of countryside beyond the range of city lights. Then, I could see black on black; the mountains in the background taking shape against the imperceptibly lightening sky. A short while later, I could make out reflections in the water of the bay between us and the mountains. beautiful. Since I was being driven by Karla, one of Mary's local cousins, I didn't have to divide my attention between the scenery and the road - a treat in and of itself.

We drove about an hour and a half south, and there, I was able to get my first glimpse of a glacier. I wasn't able to get right up to it; it was an hour's hike away, and part of our crew were non-hikers, but it was majestic nonetheless. Totally worth the drive. A stark visual of the effects of global climate change, the grandest glacier in the area had retreated beyond the view of the visitor's center built just to look at it some 30 years ago. *sigh*

On our way back into town, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conversation Center, run by a group dedicated to the preservation of wildlife. There, as we were making our rounds and ogling the animals, a group of brown bears wandered right up to the fence. I was taking photos with my phone, but stopped to just lean on the fence to watch them amble by. As I put my camera down, one of them stopped and turned to look me in the eye. We stood there for a few minutes, me watching the bear, the bear watching me.It was an awe-inspiring moment - the bear's face just an arm length from my own. I stood there, barely breathing, until she decided to move on. Power, grace, majesty. It'll be long and long before I forget the sight of those unreadable eyes taking my measure.

Oh, yeah. The wedding. It was a beautiful celebration of the launch of their life together. I like weddings - the public announcement of hope; the commitment to do what they can to make their connection last for a lifetime. Most of the group stuck around for the next few days. We hung out together a lot, ate amazing seafood; I made new friends.

Turns out late October is the perfect time of year for a trip to Anchorage!