Alaska the Brave

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Alaska's blue flag littered with stars has long intrigued me. The state's reputation of being far away, far out, and just plain hardcore lured me to visit. When summer vacation rolled around, we decided it was time to fly up North to a very special state of the Union.

Of course the flight to Alaska was uneventful. But the town of Anchorage was wild! We saw mulleted men and women everywhere! Everyone drove big, loud trucks. And the sun never, ever set.

The vacation turned into a creepy movie due to the lack of darkness. Somehow, the extended dusk-from 10 pm to 3 am- was scarier than the pitch black, yet starry nights of my past travels.

Alaska's wildlife is SCARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY! There are bears- grizzlies are everywhere! Jeff and I saw 9 bears- several Mamas and a gaggle of cubs- from the Denali bus. The bears were playing- but, goodness, gracious, I was happy they weren't playing with us :) There are wolves! There are massive moose that can trample you. There are wolverines (well, they look scary but are harmless).

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Alaska is big! We were up there for 11 days- and it was NOT enough time...It tooks 5 hours to get from Anchorage to Denali.

Alaska's parks are amazing because they are gigantic. You lose your sense of time and space in Alaska. You gain a sense of zen and quiet. The trip let me relax in a meaningful way. The trip reminded me to be thankful for the smaller things in life- the stars, fresh fruit, and the liberal Bay Area.