Guess that means I’ll have to come back.
There is something about this land that has seeped deeper into my nostalgia and appreciation than other lands. I always enjoy my travels, but it is rare for me to desire a return visit before I’ve even left. That whim usually hits months after I’m gone, if ever. There are too many new places to see to be returning to old ones.
Anyway, there it is. My three weeks of backpacking, baseball, bears, beer at the Salty Dawg, camping, exploring, farming, fishing, Frisbee, hitchhiking, kayaking, reindeer hot dogs, and writing exceeded my expectations. And to experience it all with such a good friend was the sweetest, fluffiest whipped cream topping a girl could ask for.
Alas, one thing remains unchecked on my Alaska to-do list: biking the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail in Anchorage. We do it today.
We rent bikes from Pablo’s Bike Rental and do a nice 15-mile cycle. It would have been longer, like the full 22-mile roundtrip extent of the trail, but we ran into a big, burly bull moose at mile 7.5 who didn’t really feel like letting us pass him on his trail.
Josh came ripping around a corner, saw the moose 10 feet away, and hit his brakes so hard he nearly flew over his handlebars. Still, from what I hear, that was a better alternative than a confrontation with these majestic yet temperamental creatures.
We finish the day with homemade manicotti and coconut cream pie. Then, with the sun still shining at midnight, Josh and I bid farewell at the airport and I fly home.
Home, home. I have a home (read: small downtown studio apartment) now. But that’s a whole new adventure…
Pre-ride stuffed French Toast from Snow City Cafe.
They named a cove after me. How nice.
Me, Josh, and our bikes.
The moose that ended our biking journey.
My rental bike. It was beautiful. I wanted to take it home.
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