Time to Go Home...Alaska 2024 Last Day

It's our last day and we are always sorry that we have to leave! But we have seen a lot of Alaska we had not seen before. We were so happy to see a total of 6 moose, a mama with her baby, the Homer Spit, and how visually the Exit Glacier had receded since the last time we visited. We got to experience some new places to stay, we learned about moose fencing, we experienced some new hikes, we discovered that we really enjoyed boondocking and that our budget was majorly enhanced by doing so. There are so many things to do and see in Alaska, you could spend all summer and lots of money doing them and then still not cover everything there is in Alaska. Every person has their own agenda for experiencing Alaska. Some want to do lots of excursions and don't mind spending the money to do tours, cruises, and fly ins, but we had to keep it simple and basic to be able to go...And we really do prefer the simpler Alaska, just seeing the mountains and feeling the cooler air, seeing the freedom of the wildlife to roam in this beautiful state, that was wonderful for us. It's majestic, it's awe inspiring and we hope we can go again some day...We always say this is our last time, but we hope it isn't. It's that amazing.

very rough pavement 

Day 9.... We extended our RV return time from the usual 10:00 AM in the morning until 1:45 PM for an additional 63.00. You can get a shorter extension, around an hour to an hour and a half for free, but then the later you come back, there starts to be a prorated charge toward the daily rate or they are just going to add another day! We thought it would be worth it to take our time driving back to Anchorage since our flight didn't leave until 9:40 PM that night. You need to add extra time sometimes for road construction, which is ALWAYS going on in Alaska, if you are on a timetable. Seward Highway from Seward to Anchorage is really rough this year...

So we slowly took our time and enjoyed some pull outs for the last time like this one: The Kenai Mountains turn out where the beautiful purple lupines were abundant. Hard to believe these are invasive but they ARE everywhere in Alaska, lol.

We stopped at Potter Marsh where we have seen some amazing shore/wading birds and even a moose in the past, but today, being a rainy day, we didn't see anything but a super friendly robin and this cute little girl all ready for a rainy day and some puddles.

Potter Marsh is very beautiful and worth a stop even if you don't see as many birds or wildlife on the day you visit.....Lots of long boardwalks that take you all over the marsh.

There was a magpie in the parking lot. He's a big, beautiful bird, that's for sure!

Even on a rainy cloudy day, Alaska is still majestic in its beauty....

We wish we had explored the Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Viewing Trail, but we ran out of time. It looks really interesting! We'll just have to plan another visit for a longer period of time next time!

Or this is something maybe somebody else will be able to experience and write about...At any rate, the time passed by so quickly on the drive back...We topped off the gas tank and propane tanks within 5 miles of Great Alaska Holidays, which is required by contract, and then headed in.

We checked the rig back in, (everything was A-OK with the rig), and the shuttle transported us to the airport for a many hours' wait. Sparky never minds waiting at airports. There are always a lot of things to see, especially at the Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. It's like a museum, a friend said. Humongous taxidermies polar bears in glass cages, a sculpture of a salmon school swimming upstream made of a thin green glass slivers, paintings high up above your head of Native American tribes of Alaska, and a life sized taxidermied moose for size comparison with many other cool things to see that represent Alaska. We ate at the Norton Seafood House and the food was great! (terrific clam chowder) Sparky jumped on every photo opportunity to remember Alaska, much to Eldy's chagrin. But he's such a good sport!

And that, family and friends, is our Alaskan holiday visit...made all the more special by the quality unit we received from the Great Alaskan Holiday team, including a repair job that required a special visit from a tech, (thank you, James!) that went above and beyond the normal business hours to ensure that we could still have our vacation. We'd like to give a shout out to Alaska Airlines employees at the Anchorage hub, Denise and Betsy, who treated us as if we were first class passengers even though we weren't. (Eldy needed a little extra assistance with his bags and walking after hip surgery recovery..he's not completely there yet) Not to forget, we want to thank the wonderful managers we met at the KOA, who really made our last few days' stay special by caring about their campground. AND, if you are going to fly, we highly recommend Alaska Airlines out of Chicago to Anchorage. There is more legroom on Alaska in coach than on any other airlines, or so they say. We paid a little extra for premium seats in coach for even more legroom, to endure the six hour non-stop flight back to Chicago, and it was well worth it!

We hope you enjoyed our tour of Alaska, geared more towards the nature side this time...We hope you will continue to check back now and then to see what we are up to! So-o-o..We will see you down the road.....Bye for now, Alaska 2024.....

Eldo and Sparky