Alaska !

Alaska ! The great land. The last frontier.

Over last many years, I have watched numerous nature related shows on PBS/Discovery channel. Some of them multiple times, especially if they are about Alaska or Africa. The calving of tidewater glaciers making thunderous sounds. Cute Sea Otters playing on the floating broken ice. Thousands of Kittiwake living in a colony on a sheer vertical cliff. Bald Eagles smoothly gliding across the sky. Endless forests of Spruce and Birch trees. The giant Mount McKinley towering in the harsh Denali National Park. Dall Sheep standing on slopes that seem impossible to navigate. Migrating birds. The unbelievable life cycle of Salmon who come back to their birthplace to spawn and die. And of course the bears. Alaska is bear country, and I am totally fascinated by bears. I can watch them all day, especially if they are fishing.

I have watched these scenes over and over again. Dreaming, that one day I will be able to experience all this. And now I can say that I have. I watched the glaciers calving, heard the thunder. Observed the otters playing in ice cold water. Watched the Kittiwake colony in amazement. Saw the majestic Bald Eagle taking off from the peak of a tall tree. Saw the migrated Sandhill Cranes. Took aerial shots of Mount McKinley and its glaciers. Saw the Dall Sheep moving around the scary slopes. I was lucky enough to see one of those few wolves in Denali and the illusive lynx. Saw how the salmon turn crimson at the end of their life cycle.

Yes, and to top it all, I saw the bears. Saw them sprinting across the fields. Saw them digging up roots. Was thrilled by seeing a sow and her two cubs. Watched them taking their signature stroll. And I saw one fishing and eating a salmon in the Kenai river. That was a sight I will never forget.

This was a dream come true. And I still want more. I have yet to see the two largest land carnivores in the wild. The polar bear and the Kodiak bear.

I came back less than 24 hours ago. And I am already missing Alaska. At least I have the photos. Hundreds of them. I will upload them as soon as I am done sorting.