All photos and video ©Tara Opsteen-Van Dyke
Journal
Hello, everyone! Today we finally got our first views of Alaska, and all I can say is WOW! We drove south out of Anchorage and got on the Seward Highway. We followed this along Turnagain Arm, which is a branch of water off of the Cook Inlet. The Cook Inlet is part of the Pacific Ocean (like the bay of Green Bay is part of Lake Michigan). The mountains were so beautiful along this entire drive! Our first stop was Beluga Point. During the spring, summer, and fall, Beluga whales can be seen in these waters. We also stopped at a few pretty spots to find some geocaches. We found two--I wanted to find at least one in Alaska! Another stop that we made was at a little pottery studio in the woods, surrounded by mountains. The artist was there, and he showed us his work. We bought a few pieces, which will be special treasures from Alaska. Further down the road, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage. This place takes in injured animals and helps them heal. We saw bison, moose, lynx, elk, Sitka deer, and some others. It was a beautiful setting.
From there we continued south, surrounded by the gorgeous, snow-covered mountains. At times we couldn't see the peaks because it was cloudy and snowy most of the day on the Kenai Peninsula. If you remember from our Great Lakes study, a peninsula is an area of land that sticks out into the water, but is still connected to land at one end. Door County is a peninsula. When we got to the end of the Kenai Peninsula, we also got to the end of the Seward Highway. We stopped and walked around, enjoying the beauty of the Kenai Mountains across Resurrection Bay. A special treat was finding the sign for the beginning of the Historic Iditarod Trail. Watch the newscast below to learn more about this.
On the way back north to Anchorage, we once again passed Turnagain Arm. This time we noticed that much of the water that had been flowing into the Arm was now gone, leaving behind muddy looking rocks. This area is known as the "Mud Flats," and it was quite easy to see why! But where did the water go? Think about this and see if you know. It is something we will talk about in our upcoming Solar System unit.
This evening, the three of us walked from our Bed and Breakfast to downtown Anchorage to attend a reception for the teachers attending the conference. It was hosted by Exxon-Mobil, which is an oil company that makes a great deal of gasoline for our cars. They also spend a lot of money on education, including helping teachers use the Iditarod to teach about math, science, and technology. It was a very nice evening, and I was able to meet Linda Fenton, this year's Teacher on the Trail. And I know you all remember where she's from!
Well, I should probably get to bed. It's 11:00 P.M. here in Alaska. What time is it in Wisconsin? Do you remember the time difference between Wisconsin and Alaska? By the way, our luggage was delievered to us before breakfast this morning, so all is good! Enjoy the pictures and newscast!
Mrs. OVD
From there we continued south, surrounded by the gorgeous, snow-covered mountains. At times we couldn't see the peaks because it was cloudy and snowy most of the day on the Kenai Peninsula. If you remember from our Great Lakes study, a peninsula is an area of land that sticks out into the water, but is still connected to land at one end. Door County is a peninsula. When we got to the end of the Kenai Peninsula, we also got to the end of the Seward Highway. We stopped and walked around, enjoying the beauty of the Kenai Mountains across Resurrection Bay. A special treat was finding the sign for the beginning of the Historic Iditarod Trail. Watch the newscast below to learn more about this.
On the way back north to Anchorage, we once again passed Turnagain Arm. This time we noticed that much of the water that had been flowing into the Arm was now gone, leaving behind muddy looking rocks. This area is known as the "Mud Flats," and it was quite easy to see why! But where did the water go? Think about this and see if you know. It is something we will talk about in our upcoming Solar System unit.
This evening, the three of us walked from our Bed and Breakfast to downtown Anchorage to attend a reception for the teachers attending the conference. It was hosted by Exxon-Mobil, which is an oil company that makes a great deal of gasoline for our cars. They also spend a lot of money on education, including helping teachers use the Iditarod to teach about math, science, and technology. It was a very nice evening, and I was able to meet Linda Fenton, this year's Teacher on the Trail. And I know you all remember where she's from!
Well, I should probably get to bed. It's 11:00 P.M. here in Alaska. What time is it in Wisconsin? Do you remember the time difference between Wisconsin and Alaska? By the way, our luggage was delievered to us before breakfast this morning, so all is good! Enjoy the pictures and newscast!
Mrs. OVD