Cheap Alaska?

Denali

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in forever. Mostly because I got overwhelmed with how much blogging there was to do that I just kept putting it off.

BUT!

I just came back from an amazing trip in Alaska and it got me thinking about some travel tips that I feel like might have been very useful for me in the planning stages. This started with me thinking about how expensive Alaska is and how much more money we ended up spending, but then reflecting on it all and realizing that we did it the cheapest way possible.

I'll break expenses/necessities down to four categories: Food, Lodgings, Travel, & Tourism. To give you an idea of our itinerary, we landed in Anchorage and traveled up to Denali National Park for three nights and then down to Seward/Kenai National Park for three nights.

Exit Glacier from the Harding Icefield at Kenai Fjords National Park

FOOD We saved a decent amount of money by having a lot of our food with us before we left. I packed it all in my bag and brought with me instant oatmeal, instant coffee, trail mix, cliff bars, and a variety of just-add-water backpacking meals. This ended up not being enough. With all of the walking, hiking, and general burning of calories, we were snacking hardcore every day. We ended up buying a variety of chips and stuff on the go as well as treating ourselves to two or three meals out, bringing our food costs to probably around $75 per person (not including alcohol). 

When I think about that, I balk at the fact that we probably spent around that much (considering that for *two* people, my grocery budget is around $100/week), but I could easily see how someone might easily spend two or three times that amount. Preparing in advance and having a lot of our meals already planned helped a lot

We ended up also spending a fair amount of money on beer, but being as I was celebrating Dana's birthday, I didn't want to give that up. Plus, the beer in Alaska were pretty good! 

On top of Mount Healy in Denali National Park

LODGINGS We camped almost the entire time. Aside from one night in a hostel that probably could have even been avoided, we spent every night in the tent. I can't stress enough how imperative this was to our trip and how it added to our experience of Alaska. I am an outdoors lover and camping is enjoyable to me in general, so I couldn't be more excited to sleep on the floor snuggled in my sleeping bag. Because we chose this method, I believe we only spent around $100 for the both of us for accommodations our entire stay. 

I also understand that camping just simply would not be a feasible option for someone else. I can speak to the readily available hostels that were in the vicinity of the places we were in, all of them decently priced. The one we stayed at in Seward was clean and in a good location, with discounts on tours and the like. We ended up staying here because we were stubborn and refused to camp at the tent camp site by the water with a hideous view of RV's. While it was only $10/night, the disdain of staring at a bunch of campers blocking the beautiful view of the teal green water and mountains fueled us to spend and extra $15 to have a bed and a shower for the night. We ended up staying at that RV parking lot camp ground the following night with no other options, and it wasn't as bad as we anticipated. 

We stayed at Riley Creek campground at Denali, and while we were assuming to move on to another campground after the first night, we were pleasantly surprised by the privacy and general beauty of the campground that we decided to spend our entire stay there. It's a family-friendly campground with tons of space for RV's and drive-on sites, but the walk-on sites are nicely secluded from the hustle and bustle, and everyone was quite quiet and respectful. We scored a site by the creek and listened to the sound of rushing water as we went to sleep for only $14/night.

The last camp ground was by far my favorite. It was about a 15 minute walk from Exit Glacier visitor center and has beautiful, secluded sites for free. That's right-- free. There were I think 15 walk-on sites that were first come first serve and we snagged one of the spots right by the glacier run-off river. Heaven!

Harding Icefield at Kenai Fjords National Park

TRAVEL We spent the most money on getting from place to place, but we did it, I believe, in the cheapest manner possible. After finding out it was going to cost us close to $2000 to rent the car for the week (not including insurance!) we decided to take busses and shuttles everywhere. While at times it was semi-stressful, it was WORTH it. 

While we didn't get a chance to just stop by a certain spot if we thought it was pretty or pull over to a section of the road and set up camp right there (as you can), we were gifted with a wealth of information from the bus drivers. We learned so much about the wildlife, wilderness, and Alaskan culture that our solo drives would have never had taught us. We took The Park Connection the entire way-- from Anchorage to Denali, from Denali to Seward, and then from Seward back to Anchorage. All said and done, we spent around $300 per person on travel. The coach was super reliable and comfortable with bathrooms, and the drivers were even kind enough to veer off a little bit to drop us off at spots that were helpful and convenient for us. 

Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park

TOURISM Alaska flourishes off of tourism, and for good reason. The land has so much to offer its visitors that sometimes it's difficult, if not impossible to explore it without the guidance of an expert. You can do kayaking tours, ice climbing glacier tours, wildlife tours, walks with park rangers, etc. 

We took two tours and they were some of the highlights of our trip. The first one was partially a necessity. At Denali National Park, private cars can only drive up to about 15 miles into the park. The next 75 plus miles are restricted, with access only allowed by the rangers, specially granted permission of some campers and wild life photographers, and tour busses. You *could* walk or bike out without needing special permission, but we didn't have the time or equipment luxury. We chose the tour that took us to Eielson Visitor Center (mile 66) and back, which lasted about 6 hours on the bus. Our guide was excellent, informative, and generous with his stops to allow us time to view wild life. If you go to Denali and you don't take one of these tours, I feel like you might be missing half of the park. 

The second tour we took was with Kenai Fjords Tours and it was simply incredible. Not only did we view spectacular marine wildlife (including 19 humpback whales!), we got to see a unique perspective of the fjords and saw many glaciers, including an intimate visit with the Aialik glacier. We took the 6 hour tour which included lunch (they even accommodated our vegetarian needs!) and topped off the day with warm, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Our captain was brilliant, and her narration made me feel like I was in a nature documentary.

Including the 10% discount we received for the fjords cruise, we spent about $180 on tourism.

Humpback whale tale in the Kenai Fjords National Park

When it was all said and done, I spent around $100/day in Alaska. For the all of the experiences, views, laughs, hikes, knowledge, and fun that I had, I feel like that's pretty good. If I were to do it again, I'd probably drink less beer and try and catch the Seward Bus Line to save a few bucks, but I really can't complain. I had a trip of a life time with one of my dearest friends, and I couldn't be happier for biting the bullet and doing it.

Now... to apply for jobs and start packing for our upcoming move to Seattle(!!!)!

Dana and me by Exit glacier along the Harding Icefield trail

Whoops.

Strathcona Provincial Park

Have you ever thought about doing something so often that you just ended up not doing it? That's where I ended up with this blog post and so many other things in my life right now. I could spew out all of the cliches about procrastination, and I really have no one to blame but myself. I get anxious thinking about doing important things, then I end up falling behind with those things in life, and then that sheer thought of falling behind with those things is making me even more anxious, causing me to think about doing them more but then I'm suddenly paralyzed. It's a cycle, I know, and the only way to do some of those things is to just do them, so I'm starting with this blog post.

Kathryn observing some lovely views of Sooke Lake and the surrounding mountains

Before leaving for home I had done a few nice day hikes with my friend Kathryn, but since then I haven't been doing as much. This is one of the less important things that I want to be doing, but something I consider very important to my mental and physical health. I'm working long days now and so when the weekend finally comes and I have nothing planned, I find it hard to leave the apartment, even for grocery shopping. I've been spending more time watching movies and snuggling with Mr. Clemens, which is nice and relaxing, but now less time seeing friends. I'm making efforts to do more of this, but without my consistent paychecks balancing out just yet, it makes me anxious to make plans for the sheer fact that I have no extra money to spend.

A stupidly easy hike for a fantastic view. 

Jon and I made plans soon after we got back to Victoria to meet up friends in Seattle. I had a weird pseudo-coming home feel the entire time we were in the city, despite the fact that I had never been to Seattle. Maybe it was because we were in our home country or maybe because I look out almost every day and see the Olympic mountains in Washington, or maybe it was also being able to spend some time with an old friend of Jon's and knowing that he and his partner were only a (albeit expensive) ferry ride away. I intend to make that first trip to Seattle one of many, and I hope they reciprocate our open invitation to come visit us on the island soon.

Our lovely Seattle hosts.

The most exciting thing I've done recently has been a trip to Strathcona Provincial Park. The park, which is the oldest provincial park in BC, sits almost directly in middle of the island and is a vast wilderness playground for anyone from families to very experienced mountaineers. I've been wanting to go to Strathcona since i found out that we were moving here, and I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner than Natalie. I find it effortlessly easy to talk to her about anything, and we seemed to be pretty suited for traveling together (except for my very quick walking/hiking pace!). I also hope that the trip to Strathcona was my first of many during our time on the island, for we only got to hit just a bit of this massive park.

Natalie at a beach close to our camp, nearing twilight

The other slightly big news is that Jon recently acquired a west suit for a steal of a deal, and has been using it nearly every weekend. He's mostly taking it out into various coves and beaches to snorkel a little bit with some thrift-store goggles and snorkeling tube, but it will also be handy to have for whenever we head back up to Tofino or Sombrio for some surfing. I haven't seen him this excited about exploring new places since we got here, and I'm glad this purchase has become a fun, healthy outlet for exploration. 

Jon taking a break from aquatic exploration 

Rewards and Snobbery

That's what I'm talking about! At Sugarloaf Mountain

I realized just now while trying to pull this post together that I've turned into a bit of a hiking snob. I'm not sure if that sounds misleading, but by snob I mean I want pretty views. I want my vistas, my waterfalls, my bluffs, my breath-taking "oh wow!" rewards for putting out the effort to get wherever I'm going.

The beautiful view on top of Mount Maxwell.

I realized this once when I went on a camping trip with some of my friends last year, and I went all the way from Boston to just outside Washington, DC. For those who are unaware, that's about a 12 hour trek. The first day we went to Great Falls National Park where we watched the gorgeous and awesome (in the truest sense of the word) Potomac River, which was easily accessible from the highway with only a short walk to the best view. The next day after camping we went on a hike that lead nowhere. Vaguely disappointed, I still had a fantastic time on the trip (it ended up being a surprise bachelorette-ish party for me!), but couldn't help but feel cheated after our lack of majesty that second day. 

I experienced this again two weekends ago during a trip to Salt Spring Island where, after driving up an awfully treacherous road on Mount Maxwell, my hiking buddies and I were treated with the foggiest vista I've ever come across. Boo!

Sad and confused foggy hikers.

Yanno, it doesn't even have to be a particularly majestic thing as a reward, it could be just some type of reward making everything-- the strife, the exercise, the drive, the frustration, the sweat-- worth it! I went outdoor rock climbing for the first time a few weekends ago, and even though I saw the gorgeous Nanaimo River (which probably brings the Potomac to shame) and hiked around there for a while, the feeling of "topping out" on my first bouldering climb trumped the sight of the Potomac River! 

Making my way up!

Maybe it has something to do with personal achievement and empowerment that I need from my adventures, and majestic views are typically the way that pat on the back is given to me by mother nature.

Natalie crossing a wobbly and treacherous log bridge!

Skjelse trying to overcome her fear of heights on a trestle bridge

Looking back on the progress we've made!

My boating treat to Jon for succeeding in his first year in his PhD program! 

Tofino Whale Fest

Thar she blows!

I've decided that Tofino, BC is one of my favorite places on this planet. As I've been to everywhere else in the world and have visited Tofino two whole times, this claim has a lot of weight. In all seriousness-- I love the rustic wildness, laid-back atmosphere, and pristine beauty that doesn't compare to anywhere else I've visited. Tofino's gorgeous coast, spectacular rain forest, and varied wild life makes it such a unique and interesting place. 

Pacific coast sunsets

Half of my love for Tofino is just getting there-- immediate road trip! It's reasons like this that I *love* that Jon and I bought a car before moving out here. To be able to get up and go on a six hour trip up island to see one of the most beautiful places on Earth is such a liberating, wonderful feeling. I love the time to have funny, meaningful, and interesting conversations with my travel friends and to enjoy the stunning scenery around us. I often forget how big and beautiful Vancouver Island is, and I'm humbly reminded on road trips like this. I often see the snow-peaked mountains in Washington and on the mainland in BC, but I rarely get to see the snow peaked mountains right here! 

Part of the Vancouver Island Ranges mid-way to Tofino

This trip was no exception in exceeding my expectations. I felt like I was walking into this thinking, "been there, done that." My first trip to Tofino was only about four months ago and I felt like I got a good sense of the place. I had forgotten how simply beautiful it is there and revisiting some of the same beaches with different people gave me completely different perspectives. We went to Chesterman Beach in November where I spent a good time climbing some rocks and taking photos, but I had no idea that during low tide the starfish, anemones, and other sea creatures almost literally covered the rocks there! I was happily surprised to find such new adventures and beautiful things to find, and realized that I've only seen a small portion of what that area has to offer.

A constellation of starfish

Of course the reason we went to Tofino was for the Pacific Rim Whale Festival, which happens every year in March to celebrate the return of the grey whale. The whale, which migrates past Tofino every year with new members in tow, has been traveling up the coast from Mexico. The whales apparently don't eat much during the winter while living the tough life of soaking up sub-equator sun rays. They do eat an obscene amount once they come up here, for the krill and other fish that they eat are super abundant in this area's ocean. Jon and I were the only ones out of our person group to go on a whale watching tour, mostly because I was the only one who had never seen whales before! It was bitterly cold on the ocean and I did get mildly sea sick while waiting for whales, but the new perspective of the island from the water and the majesty of seeing actual whales was soooo worth it. On our tour we also got to see harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters, and a few bald eagles-- over all, and excellent investment!

Whale back! We did see some whale fins, but I was too sea sick to take a photo.

I wish I could bring my east coast visitors to this place when they come to visit, for it really is quite wonderful, but the whole trip would be centered around going there, and the idea of sitting in the car for six hours after someone just got off a plane for six hours seems horribly unappealing. Maybe one day and east coaster will be strong and resilient enough to come enjoy the rustic awesomeness of Tofino-- until then, it shall be enjoyed with our wonderful new west coast friends!

Awkward surfing high-fives!

Hopping over to see some starfish

Wellies schmellies! Who needs 'em when you've got bare feet?

Another (one of so many) great reason to go to Tofino and to drive there is to visit Cathedral Grove on the way back! This grove of trees is full of old growth, with some trees up to 800 years old! It's wonderfully still and quiet here, and an unearthly color green all year round. 

At The Big Tree

Parents' Visit!

At Ogden point with Mom & Dad!

So many things happening these two weeks! Thankfully I'm off of work due to March break in the primary schools, but if I wasn't I don't know what I would have done! My parents came to visit, me and Jon's anniversary is today, we're heading to Tofino for whale fest on Friday, and then Jon's birthday is next Wednesday! Wheh! 

A lot packed into such short period of time, which summarizes my parents' visit fairly well. With only two full days and two half days, there wasn't a lot of time to spend with them, but I'm happy with the time we had together and everything we got to see! 

At Butchart Gardens

The first day was fairly low-key with a small trip to Fantan Alley and then to Beacon Hill Park and the log beach. They lucked out with very little rain for the whole trip, so they got a fantastic view of the Olympic Mountains the entire time! That following day we spent at Butchart Gardens where everything was just about coming up. I decided to get a year membership to the gardens so I can visit again in a month. Even though there weren't as many blossoms as I was expecting, my parents loved it there and I think it inspired my mom to start working on her garden! Afterward we took a short drive up Mount Douglas to catch a great panoramic view of Victoria and the surrounding islands and mountains.

At Mount Doug with Mount Baker in the distance.

On Friday we went to the Royal BC museum and then walked around the Inner Harbour to see the Parliament building and The Empress hotel. My parents loved the look of the Parliament building, especially all lit up at night! Friday was spent browsing some comic shops and other cute stores and ended with a bittersweet goodbye at the ferry terminal. I was sad to see them go, but hopefully they'll come out again while we're still here to see some more of the island! The farthest away we drove was to Butchart Gardens, and I would love to show them the wild nature of this lovely place.

In other news, I just wanted to mention was a sweet, thoughtful gift my friend Gillian gave me! She read my previous recipe blog post about my lack of avocado in my kale salad and decided to give me an avocado the next time we saw each other! Maybe because it was such a lovely and unexpected gift, but I believe it was the best avocado I've ever had.

Avocado bliss!

Christmas & New Years

Welcoming our guests with Canadian cheer!

Christmas turned out to be one of the most relaxing, fun, and different Christmases I've ever had. Not spending it with family, although at times was sad, proved to a relief in the annual routine of gifts, breakfast, family coming over, dinner at another family member's house, then bed. It was the same every year so it was kind of fun to mix it up this time around! I've also never spent a Christmas away from my family, but I was so happy and thankful to spend it with some of Jon's. 

The warm weather lead to some rather un-Christmas-y activities, like hiking to waterfalls, mountains, and stopping by the beach a few times. If anything, I think this adds to my love of Victoria and this beautiful place, because at home I think they had snow around Christmas! I love being able to get away with just a jacket and a light scarf and hat (more for fashion than warmth). Along with our outdoors-y adventures, we also got to visit the new board game cafe in the city where we played "Ticket to Ride" and we also had a lovely Christmas dinner in our apartment.

Jon Mini-Niagra Falls in Goldstream Provincial Park

Jack at the top of Mount Douglas

Jon and I on Beacon Hill Park's beach, surrounded by driftwood and seaweed

It was only a few days after they left until New Years Eve where Jon and I were invited to a Roaring 20's themed party. Even though it was fun getting dressed up and I don't think I've ever gone out before for New Years, I think we'll probably spend the night in next year. I loved spending time with my friends, but there was 200 other people in the place that made it crowded and hot. Ah well, Happy 2014!

Oh my!

Exploring the Island (part II)

A view of the Vancouver Island Ranges on a Tofino dock

I've been spending the last few weeks getting to know the island a bit more intimately. I've seen the salmon spawn again, played on the abandoned railroad tracks of the island, travelled to the Gulf Island called Salt Spring, and took a five hour road trip up and across to Tofino. I'm growing every day in my love for this place, and I'm slowly meeting more interesting people to add to my growing perspective of the world.

Abandoned railroad tracks of Vancouver Island. No rail system is in place today.

What I love so much about this relatively small island is its diversity. I can go up a fairly easy mountain hike, to finding star fish by the sea, to petting the moss on a 800 year old tree, to traversing through temperate rain forest, to gazing at snow peaked mountains, all within a fairly reachable distance of one another. I may be romanticizing the place because I just moved here (actually, I'm certain that I am), but there really is a lot to do here if you enjoy the outdoors. Jon surfed for the first time while we were in Tofino and I've been hiking more than ever. As of right now, despite being underemployed, I couldn't imagine a better place for us to be. 

The 155 foot tall Little Niagara Falls in Goldstream Provincial Park

Sail boats on the way to Salt Spring Island

One of the many tiny vineyards on Salt Spring Island

Surfers in Tofino

Starfish on a Tofino beach

"The Big Tree": Over 800 years old, 250 feet tall, and 30 feet round.

Jon hiding away on a fallen tree

Glacier run-off pool. I've never seen water so clear.

Friends, Unemployment, Plane Ticket

The Parliament Building at night

Big and small things have been happening to me here in Victoria. I guess the first biggest change is that I was laid off of my job and am currently unemployed. Thankfully Jon will start getting paid soon and we have some savings left in the bank, so we're not completely screwed. I'd also like to think of this as a sort of blessing in disguise, since I missed several opportunities to work with temp agencies that would have possibly led to full-time employment. There were also many philosophical beliefs that I clashed against with the restaurant owners (vegetarianism, feminism, sensitivity, etc) that made the job a bad fit. Also working there six days a week made it hard to volunteer, meet/see friends, or do anything besides work, due to the physical exhaustion of it all. So for the most part, this has been a good change.

About a 20 minute walk from our place

Totem pole by the sea 

Look-out point

The next development is that I've been striving to meet new people and build stronger connections with the people that I have met already. I hung out with some people that I met on a water taxi pub crawl for a game night, met a grad student and his partner of his for a dinner night a week or so ago, and just today met some of Jon's friends to go ice skating. I signed up for volunteering shifts at the local sexual health clinic, so I hope to meet some people through there, and I want to start rock climbing again. I felt like when I've been rock climbing in the past, there's always been a really healthy, supportive, and friendly group of people in the climbing gyms, so it'd be nice to also met some people through there and develop another hobby. The only issue is that climbing is pretty expensive, and being unemployed doesn't help...

Participants for the AIDS walk listen to speakers on a gloomy Sunday

Beatle friend at Goldstream Provincial Park

Mist rolling in. Only a 20 minute drive from downtown Victoria. 

Natalie and I at the top of Mt. Finlayson 

And then on top off all of this news, I've been feeling horribly home sick. Despite the fact I had one of the best weekends this weekend than I've had probably since moving here, I still have this insatiable desire to talk to friends and family from home. Hearing about the challenges that my friends are encountering and not being able to hug them or help them physically pains me, and I hate not being able to spend time with my family at engagement parties, picnics, and wine nights. Don't get me wrong-- I'm thoroughly enjoying the dinner parties, ice skating, exploring, hiking, and beer tasting with Jon and the friends that I've been making, but my heart aches for the familiar. 

So after finding out that one of my dearest friends is getting married in November about a week ago, I semi-impulsively bought a ticket home for the week of Thanksgiving. : ) Jon won't be able to come with me due to his super-packed schedule, but we decided that we'll be spending a romantic Christmas together here in Victoria.

More graceful on the ice than I.