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A Gardener on an Alaskan Honeymoon

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The Alaskan honeymoon is over and I’m back at my dining room table writing another blog post.
There are lots of orders to pack and things to get done. With only a few days of summer left I’m embracing each and every one with much love. It’s been a great year for me—and an amazing summer.
An Alaskan glacier.

Going to Alaska was a bit of a surprise. I’d never visited but it has always been a dream of mine. Back when I was 18 I’d thought very seriously of going to college there to study environment science and biology. When John suggested it—since neither one of us had been there—I was so excited.

Alaskan taiga and stream.

My father always visited Alaska in early September. (He’s a salmon fisherman and that’s what you do if you fish.) I never understood why he went, and why he always seemed to miss my birthday, but I understand now.

It’s a place that gets under your skin. I want to return each and every September for my birthday now. I get it.

Alaskan birch forest, (Betula neoalaskana).  
We only saw a tiny portion of what the state has to offer. I have been to Texas and I can say now that they have nothing on Alaska. It would be far easier to survive down there than in Alaska. I think that’s a huge part of the charm. It really heightens the senses and makes you feel alive and small in its vast landscape.
Alaskan landscape.

There will be more posts to come. I have a party to prepare for right now and I must continue to work hard.

I still hear the sounds though of planes in my ears and my eyes are yet filled with the vast expanse of beauty which I’ve just witnessed.
Alaskan landscape.

I hope to find my book about the native plants of Alaska. I oddly misplaced it before we left but since it was my honeymoon I let it go. (Don’t think I just looked at plants! I won’t even begin right now to tell you about the amazing food.)

Lastly, there were the animals. We saw a lot of them but we knew it would be difficult to see grizzlies in the wild since we were traveling by car. I had even mentally prepared myself to see no bears so that I wouldn’t be disappointed. Then, to my delight and surprise—during the cruise out to the Kenai Fjords National Park—we saw a black bear cruising the beach of a small island not far from the open sea. I was quite pleased.

Ok. More on plant life soon.