I spent Memorial Day weekend in Alaska, and while the sun was not up at midnight, it was up at 11:30. Flying up to Anchorage from Seattle, I witnessed a reverse sunset; as I traveled north, it continued to get lighter. It was a very unique experience, and could have afforded me a very nice view if it were a bit less cloudy. It was still dusk when I made it to my hotel 45 minutes later. The following two days were spent on day cruises, one from Whittier, and one from Seward. The first day was beautifully sunny, and the second a bit dreary, but the second offered much more to see. The first boat ride was into Prince William Sound, which has plenty of scenery and tidewater glaciers. The second, though, was through Kenai Fjords National Park, and offered numerous whale, orca, otter, seal and bird sightings (and of course photographs). Although we only saw one glacier on the second cruise, I thought it was more photogenic than those of the previous day. Overall, despite the gloomy weather, which is very common there, the cruise was amazing.
The third day was spent exploring the remainder of the Kenai peninsula. Upon first glance, there wasn't really much to see there. Homer, the supposed bald eagle capitol of the world, was a great disappointment. Not only did I not see any mature bald eagles, the entire Spit area was not much more than a gigantic trash pit with some RV parks thrown in for good measure. I was pretty put off by the place. However, a ranger at the visitor center there told me about a great place I could find bald eagles: Anchor Point. This small state park is home to a few of the birds, and has a few nests as well. At first, I managed only to find some a great distance away in a field, but eventually my perseverance paid off. One of the eagles allowed me to get quite close to him, and I got some great photos. Then, as I was getting ready to leave, I saw more of them by the water, picking at some fish on the shore. So, I spent some more time photographing these birds, until eventually they left. I then made my way back up to Anchorage.
The next day, I climbed Flattop Mountain near Anchorage. Supposedly this is the most climbed mountain in Alaska, but much to my surprise, the last few hundred feet required climbing up some fairly treachorous rock. The view at the top was decent. You can see Anchorage down below, and other nearby mountains as well, but it was far from stunning. After climbing back down, I went to the Moose's Tooth, which was recommended by friends as an excellent pub and pizza place. The pizza was indeed quite good, and though I am no connoisseur, the wheat beer I tried was also very tasty.
The following day, I woke up early and trekked all the way up to see Mount McKinley. The drive was definitely worth it. The 20,327 foot monster dwarfs the surrounding fourteeners; it is truly a sight to behold. Photos do not do the mountain's grandeur justice, though I certainly tried! I was glad that I woke up early, though, because when I reached the mountain the weather was nice, but soon the clouds rolled in, and I took my leave. On my way back south, I stopped in the small town of Talkeetna, took in the small town, and had an excellent vanilla malt before leaving for Anchorage to catch my plane.