12 years.  50 states.  1 family.

When I was about 10-years-old, my family took a historic vacation… visiting Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Virginia, and more.  We saw epic battlegrounds, historic houses, and captivating monuments.  That trip was the start of an adventure.

Following that trip, my family realized just how amazing it was to fill your vacation with as many sights as you possibly could, because really… when would you realistically be to that place again?  That trip out to the eastern part of the U.S. was the start of a 12-year expedition to travel to all 50 states.

We wrapped up our 50^th state this past month… Alaska.  I feel like when most people think of Alaska, they think of cold, secluded, and beautiful.  Well two of those descriptions were accurate for our trip.  I won’t say it was the most beautiful place I’ve been, because there are just too many to count, but it was unique nonetheless.  We arrived in Alaska, and the skies were so clear.  The horizon was lined with mountains, and it was exactly what I had hoped it would be.  Beautiful, quiet, and relaxing.

Day 1: July 15, 2019

I’m backtracking a little bit here to go through our itinerary. 😊 My family and I flew out of Indianapolis on Monday, July 15^th at 6:30ish in the evening.  We were flying to Seattle, WA via Alaska Airlines.  The flight was about 3 hours long.

On this trip, for really the first time ever, the airport had 0 issues!  It was such a blessing.  A few weeks before the trip, we all went and TSA pre-check.  So, that cut down tons of time through security.  PLUS – for a 6-day trip and 4 people – we didn’t have ANY checked luggage.  We use luggage from a brand called “AWAY.”  Best. Luggage. Ever.  It comes with a charging battery, straps and zippers to ensure your items aren’t moving around, the bag locks with a code… it’s awesome.  Here is a picture of mine.  They have various sizes and styles here.  I highly recommend these bags for travel – they are amazing!!

Day 2: July 16, 2019

We flew out of Seattle at about 6 AM.  Of course, time hadn’t really bothered us yet because we were still set on Indiana time about 3 hours ahead.  So, we went to the airport and got ready for our flight to Anchorage.  It was about a 4-hour flight from Washington to Alaska.

Upon landing in Anchorage, we called for an Uber to drive us to an Enterprise a few miles down the road.  We immediately went searching on Pinterest for some ideas for food.  We ended up at a pizza joint called the Moose’s Tooth.  SO FREAKING GOOD.  Wow… if you’re in Anchorage, I definitely recommend this place.  Some of the best mozzarella cheese bread ever & super delicious pizza.

After lunch, we headed to Seward, Alaska to stay for the next couple of days.  We drove along Seward Highway, also known as Alaska Highway 1.  On our route, we pulled over to enter Whittier, AK.  There, we hopped out to begin a short hike to Portage Glacier.  It was a little over a mile hike to view the glacier, but it was actually a pretty rigorous hike!  It was a very rocky path and all uphill.  The elevation is 800’.  The glacier was beautiful, the only unfortunate part of the hike was that we didn’t get as close as we thought we would but still beautiful nonetheless!

After hiking back to the car, we made it to Seward.  A small, quaint little town that is a port to many Alaskan cruises.  Seward had a very local feel, but also several tourist shops to entertain visitors.  We stayed at a Best Western there.

Day 3: July 17, 2019

We started our morning by waking up for an 8 AM check-in for a 9 AM boat tour.  Our boat tour was on the Orca Song with Major Marine Boat Company.  What a beautiful ride!!  I’ve gotten sea sick before, so I was initially worried about that… but it was an amazing tour!  We rode from 9 AM – 12:30 PM along the Alaskan coast and entered into the Pacific Ocean a bit.  On this tour, we saw sea lion, seals, puffins, otters, and a whale!  The view was beautiful, the mountains were perfectly visible, and the staff was great at making sure everyone had a great view.  Definitely recommend if you plan to visit Seward any time soon.

Since the boat tour took place in the morning, we spent the remainder of our day traveling to Kenai Fjords National Park.  The visitor center is in Seward, but the entrance to the park was about a 15-20 minute drive outside of the town.  We parked our car to hop out and hike to Exit Glacier.  We walked on a paved road for about ¾ of a mile to the Exit Glacier Overlook.  This was a very easy hike, great view of the landscape and glacier.  However, the overlook did not get you close to the glacier.  We then hiked an additional .8 mile to “Exit Glacier Washout.”  This was not a paved path, but very easy to walk.  This path got you very close to the glacier.  It was an absolutely magnificent view.  On our way back, we noticed signs along the path with years on them.  We realized that the signs represented how far the glacier stretched at that point in time.  It was fascinating.  What an impactful way to show how the climate is changing and affecting landmarks, such as the glaciers.

Upon arriving back to Seward, we ate at Ray’s Waterfront Restaurant.  It was very highly recommended by the locals in Seward.  Soooo sorry Seward folks, but it was not that great ☹.  The restaurant is a seafood casual eatery.  I’m not a seafood person, so I had a salad, my mom had fish and chips, and my sister and Jessi had crab legs.  Our overall consensus was that Red Lobster has better quality food.  Again, sorry Seward folks, but that was our experience!  Maybe others had better!

My sister and I ended the evening with walking around downtown Seward.  We looked in the tourist shops.  They had quite a bit to look at.

Day 4: July 18, 2019

Today, we traveled back to Anchorage from Seward.  We took the same route we did originally, along Seward Highway.  However, on this route, the mountainous view was now a bit hazy on our drive back.  This was due a forest fire (not really sure where) happening in another part of Alaska, and the wind had blown the smoke down our way to cause a hazy look in the view.  So, not as clear of view on the way back, but still an amazing and smooth drive.  Along the way, we stopped in Girdwood for a quick, ½ mile hike to Virgin Falls.  It was a very short, simple hike, but there was no clear path and lots of tree roots, so it may not be ideal for some hikers.  Otherwise, very easy and a great waterfall at the end!  Got back in the car and stopped in Chugiak, AK to hike to Thunderbird Falls.  Jessi and I hiked over 2 miles to see the falls from an overlook, but then to head down to the bottom of the falls along its creek.  This hike was very uphill, downhill… great workout!

We celebrated our hikes with burgers in Anchorage!  My mom found a post on Pinterest that recommended Tommy’s Burger Stop.  It. Was. Awesome!!  Delicious burgers and yummy Cajun fries!  After dinner, we spent time exploring shops in downtown Anchorage.

Day 5: July 19, 2019

Today, Friday, was our most anticipated day!  We were scheduled to take a private flight to land on a glacier in Denali National Park.  Our check-in time was at 12:30 PM, so we were trying to kill time before we had to be at the airport.

We drove to Earthquake Park in Anchorage.  Earthquake Park used to be a neighborhood of houses back in the day.  In 1964, a 9.2 earthquake struck the park and destroyed everything.  The park now has trails that provide informational displays of how the geological effects made its toll on the area.  We hiked for about a mile on the well-paved trail.  It was a great trail with a lot of bikers, walkers, and runners.  Really great environment.

Following our walk, we drove down the street to prepare for our scheduled airplane tour at Rust’s Flying Service.  So, this is really the only disappointing part of our trip.  Other than what I’m about to say, our trip was WONDERFUL.  So, we pulled into the parking lot of Rust’s Flying Service to get a call from Rust’s saying that our flight was being cancelled.  Naturally, we were disappointed, so we went in to the office to find out more information.  They were not able to tell us anything about why it was cancelled, if we could get a later flight in the day, etc.  It was extremely disappointing… and I knew something was wrong.  Later, we did find out that a flight in Homer through this same company was scheduled to come back to Anchorage.  It had flipped upon takeoff in Homer in a lake.  The press release was mentioned on the evening news that night, and one person died in result of this malfunction.  It was extremely devastating news to hear, especially knowing that we were going on a flight with this very same company.

We were so determined to land on a glacier in Denali, so we scheduled another flight with a company out of Talkeetna.

Day 6: July 20, 2019

After finding out the news yesterday about the flight with Rust’s, we were a bit apprehensive to fly on a small plane to Denali.  However, we were so excited to land on a glacier, we were determined to find another way up.  We drove 2 hours to Talkeetna, AK to fly with Talkeetna Air Taxi.  It was AMAZING.  Completely and totally worth it.  The staff was amazing, the view was breathtaking, and the glacier was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced.  Not going to lie, the flight was a bit rocky on the way up, and I was actually unsure if I even wanted to land.  We landed, and I expected to be cold and sort of miserable, but it was completely the opposite.  Let me back up, there were 11 people total on the flight.  10 passengers, 1 pilot.  He flew around the mountaintops of Denali National Park.  Our pilot was apprehensive to land with incoming weather, but he managed to find a good spot and land us properly.  We unloaded onto the glacier, and I was in awe.  We were thousands of feet in the air, and we had no idea.  We walked around on this small sheet of ice among hundreds of miles of mountains, and it felt like we were on top of the world.  I cannot express enough how amazing of a trip that was.  It was so worth it, and if you ever get the opportunity to head over to Alaska, go land on a glacier in Denali.  There’s nothing like it.  It was the perfect adventure to wrap up this trip.

After landing back in Talkeetna, we walked around their main “downtown” strip.  Talkeetna is a popular tourist, port spot… so there are plenty of shops and restaurants to dine at.  We stopped at the Wildflower Café.  We had pretty good food, but nothing to rave about.

Overall, amazing experience.  We couldn’t have had a better day or a better adventure to Denali.  For more information on our flight, visit Talkeetna Air’s website.

LAST DAY: July 21, 2019

Early, early, early flight to Seattle the next morning.  And then from Seattle, we flew back to Indianapolis.  When we landed in Indy, storms were coming through the area.  We had to stay on the plane for an additional hour and a half.  It was pretty brutal, and we were ready to get home.  But, we were blessed with an amazing trip and safe travels.  And what is more important, right?

We’ve been on quite the adventure.  Not just Alaska, but all over the U.S.  I am blessed to be a 22-year-old woman who has been to every state this beautiful country.  Every state has something to offer, a beauty that is unlike all the rest.  Alaska was rich in greenery, mountains, and isolation.  I encourage all of you to travel there and experience it yourself.  I promise it will be the trip of a lifetime.

For any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.  I tried to be as detailed as possible, but if I was not clear on something, please do let me know.  I appreciate your feedback and the time you are taking to read about my trip.

Talk soon,

Alli