Let's go to the top of the world ,ALASKA

A summer evening Sept 4 1998 , We flew from San Francisco to Anchorage(Alaska) and successfully landed with exciting feeling just before Arctic Zone. It was not that Cold and took a napp at the Airport.

Got up in the early morning Sep 5 1998 (Day-1), and headed towards Alaska Rail road depot to start a wonderful train journey of our lifetime (Country's most scenic Rail route).

All boarded into the Wildlife Express,an exclusive rail car designed with our comfort in mind and it was a fully narrated tour between Anchorage and Seward (Another coastal city) via a corridor designated a scenic railway. Travelled along the magnificent Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, through mountains and tunnels, over gorges,and with in a mile of three majestic glaciers. A glacier forms when more snow falls each winter than melts the next summer. The accumulation of snow above presses down on the layers below, and compacts them into ice. Ice near the surface of the glacier is often hard and brittle but, due to the pressure of ice above, the ice near the bottom of the glacier becomes flexible. This flexible layer allows the ice to move. Depending on the amount of ice, the angle of the mountainside, and the pull of gravity, the ice may start to move downhill. Once this mass of snow and ice begins to move, it is called a glacier. Watched wildlife including Dall sheep, moose and Beluga whales. Tour guides are Alaskan students who have studied not only the history of the railroad,but the geography of the scenary around us,the vegetation,the wildlife and interesting bits of Alaskana. They shared points of interest with us along the way and did their best to make our trip enjoyable. Each coach features reclining seats and large picture windows. During the trip we were able to move about the coaches freely and shared tour guides knowledge regarding the "GReat Land" . Alaska is the Last Frontier and they took us to a remote part of North America. Difficult to explain it, It's nothing but a heaven!!!

No trip to Seward is complete without a day cruise. Already we made reservation for a cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours, Alaska's #1 Wildlife and Glacier Cruise. They picked us at the railroad station and transported to their door.

Cruise was fully narrated by their captains with good experience in Kenai Fjords National Park. Very smooth & fast cruise , which allows extra time to view the wildlife and glaciers we went to see.The vessel has walk around viewing decks and inside seating that also offers a great view and enjoyed deli style luch. Got enough fruits to eat and drinks to drink with little dancing.They stopped in many different places to see various animals like Orcas,Tufted Puffins,thousands of Seals,hundreds of sea lions,Black Oyster Catcher, salmon,etc. All its scenery is wonderful - broad river like reaches sweeping in beautiful curves around bays and capes and jutting promontories,opening here and there into smooth, blue,lake-like expanses dotted with islands and feathered with tall, spiry evergreens, their beauty doubled on the bright mirror-water.Mountains are seen right ahead,rising in bold relief against the sky, with jagged crests and peaks from six to eight thousand feet high, small residual glaciers and ragged snow-fields beneath them in wide amphitheateres opening down through the forest valleys. No excursion that I know of may be made into any other American wilderness where so marvelous an abundance of noble, newborn scenary is so charmingly brought to view as on the trip to Kenai National park. The fine weather we enjoyed, we seemed to float in true fairyland,each succeeding view seeming more and more beautiful,the one we chanced to have before us the most surprisingly beautiful of all. Never before this had I been embosomed in scenery so hoplessley beyond description. Finally came back to Seward and walked in Seward Downtown to find a good place to have dinner. And Invited by a chinese retaurant and that was an excellent dinner. Just before sunset ,relaxed for a while in a park facing the calm bay and great mountains covered by snow and light blue glaciers in the background with colorful sun light and able to see campers with full of joy and forgot all their worries and some even did fishing. Watched small planes flying here and there. And finally we headed towards our motel and that day is a memorable day for us and we will never forget those exciting moments.

SEP 6th (Day-2), We didn't know that that day was also going to be an important one in our life time . Went to a Rental Car company and picked up a car which we reserved already to explore Alaska to get experence like touching the blue ice & glacier with the hand. Because one of Glacier called Exit Glacier is easily accessible by road trip and not too far from Seward and that was the way to reach Anchorage back via a beautiful icebergs filled lake called Portage lake.

After traveling for few miles we took the exit to Exit Glacier and reached the exact area after 1/2 hour beautiful drive. And it was very cool seen, with blue ice with good shine like blue jewel. Walked thru a nice trail and it was so nice to walk with other groups. After spending few hours there, we drove back to the Seward highway towards Anchorage and took colourful pictures in different spots. The whole land was wonderful to see and some areas have falls and we can see all colours in the real nature and listened to the nice music and camcorder was on almost all time during our journey and it was nice to shoot with excellent music in the background and good scenery. And Reached the Portage lake and ready to aboard a 1hr cruise called PTARMIGAN in Portage Lake to Glaciers and river of moving ICE. And for this section I dont need to explain too much since the following pictures are very much self explanatory. Crystals of glacial ice are so dense that few cracks or air bubbles exist to reflect light. Ice crystals in the glacier reflect only the short blue wavelengths of light and absorb wave-lenghts of other colors. Therefore the ice appears blue . Blue color is usually more intense on overcast days.

Drove to Anchorage and we were on time. Decided to watch 45mins movie called "Alaska the Greatland" through a dazzling OMNP theater motion-picture experience. The unique 180-degree wraparound screen unfolds the majesty of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery and people before our eyes. Filmed from helicopters, trains and river rafts, this new technology projects 70mm film onto a huge dome screen, bringing Alaska alive in a three-dimensional illusion above us. That packs a lifetime of adventure into an unforgettable 45-minute experience. . And enetered into another theater and we were the only group in the theater and they invited us with pleasure and the name of the show is "SKY SONG". We just wondered with the name and finally we found that it's a still picture show with nice background music and explains about the grand "AURORA"-Northern light ,which give clear picture about Alaska's natural colourful nights and they are are shimmering sheets of light in the sky.

The reason for Aurora is about 100 kilometers high, electrons streaming down Earth's magnetic field lines into the atmosphere collide with the atmospheric gases. In the collisions, the electrons give energy to the atoms and molecules, which then give off this energy as light. This is similar to the way fluorescent and neon lights work. Oxygen gives off green light. Nitrogen gives off red . And ordered some Pizza for the dinner from the Hotel in Which we stayed and took rest.

Another interesting day SEP 7th (Day-3), morning we prepared well for personal seaplane takeoff which can land in water. And enetered into Lake Spenard airport surrounded by small flight tour companies. And already we have choosen a company called "Ellision Air" and made reservation for the flight for four of us dedicated for us. And we were the dummy co-pilots for that trip. The whole scenery was magnificient.

Prince William Sound is truly special!! Having flown 3hrs there, we believe it to be one of the most pristine and scenic coastal regions in Alaska. Mountains, rising from the sea, give birth to numerous tidewater glaciers. Protected icy blue waters provide ideal habitat for viewing marine life such as Steller Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Sea Otters, Eagles, Kittiwakes, and Salmon, as well as occasional Humpback or Killer Whale. Prince William Sound tour , show us much more than boat tours and in a shorter time. That particular trip includes a landing and rest stop and the conditions permitted to accomplish. And requested pilot to go all they way near to huge Iceburgs and took excellent pictures. "This was undoubtedly the highlight to our trip to Alaska" .On that afternoon we had to leave from Grand Land ALASKA ,reached the airport to fly towards San Francisco with full of memorable feeling and surely those three days are important days to remember in our life.

My thanks goes to My friends, John Muirs book 'Travels in Alaska' and all web sites from which I've taken some pictures (+ Our own pictures). Pictures & Cam coverage are available and you will get it if you are interested.

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