30 in 30: Day 16

This was our last day in Alaska and I am beyond sad to be leaving tomorrow morning.

I remembered that I really liked Alaska when we first came here in 2004; I did not remember just how incredible this state is. Our first five days here this time were awesome. But today was otherworldly.

Today, I fell completely in love.

Daily Stats

Starting Mileage: 9,749

Ending Mileage: 10,199

Miles Traveled: 450

States Visited: AK

We drove from Fairbanks to Anchorage and we took a scenic highway, which offered unbelievable views throughout the entire day.

It will not be another seventeen years before we return to Alaska. If we didn't already have travel plans in the works for this coming winter, we'd be coming back here! I mean, JUST LOOK AT THIS PLACE!

We also saw FIVE moose this evening! FIVE!

First, we spotted a mama and two babies on the side of the scenic highway! We pulled over so I could take pics, but the babies got spooked by the cars racing past, so they retreated to the woods. The mama watched them go, and then returned to grazing. We watched her for quite a while and she eventually crossed the road and continued eating. I couldn't believe our luck!

they're hard to see, but
there are two babies with her

she watched them scurry
back into the woods

Then as we were entering Anchorage on the regular highway, we spotted a mama and a baby moose walking in the opposite direction on the grassy median! I obviously didn't get any pics, because I was in a focused panic watching them as we drove past. I breathed a sigh of relief when we saw the traffic stop for them so they could cross the other side of the highway to safety!

That brings our total to TWELVE moose in Alaska! One in Anchorage on Monday, three in Denali on Tuesday, three on our way to Chena Hot Springs on Thursday (in addition to the one I took the video of, there were two others swimming in the same pond that were too far away for me to get pics of), and then five today! After being disappointed because we didn't see any when we were in Yellowstone, I am feeling SO fortunate to have seen twelve moose in the wild!

Oh, Alaska, I'm going to miss you terribly!

Happy Tails to you!