Our first hike in Alaska, took us to Mendenhall Glacier via the West Glacier Trail. It was a brutal hike—the toughest I’ve ever done. Maybe if we had mentally prepared for it, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but I spent the entire hike thinking, Are we there yet?!
So, imagine our surprise on the way to the airport, when we discovered that there was a visitor center that would have provided us with a great view of the glacier, had we bothered to notice it. Even funnier, we drove right by it on the hike, and several more times as we explored Juneau, and never noticed it.
To be fair, we had poor phone signal and GPS during our trip and spent most of our time paying keen attention to the roads the old-school way, so we wouldn’t get lost. In any case, here are a few of our last shots from our Alaska trip at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.
After our detour, we made a mad rush to the airport, only to discover that our flights were delayed. Tristan and I once again begged Alaska Airlines to move our flights and seats around, so we could fly back together. That meant skipping Sitka, but we wouldn’t have had enough time to do any more exploring, anyway.
Selfie-King Tristan naturally put our side-by-side seats to good use.
If you’re wondering what on earth I was doing, I was going through my first read-through and edit of The Moreau Witches, before I sent them off to Elizabeth Slaughter.
And now, here is where our tales of adventure come full circle. The very morning I arrived in Atlanta, I headed straight to work for a 16-hour shift. I worked another 16-hour shift the Sunday, and then worked the graveyard on Monday and Tuesday. Expensive trips have to be paid for, after all!
The Wednesday afternoon I had my dreaded driving test, and the rest you know. Well, most of it, because something else did happen the Tuesday before that test. That was the day I attended the last ever touring Vans Warped Tour. More on that next week!
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I had hoped to close out my last Alaska post with a super amazing video (if I do say so myself!) that I made of our entire trip. I’ve been meaning to use footage from our trips to make travel vlogs, but this is the first time I actually got around to it.
Unfortunately, Google is still “processing” the video and I have no idea when it will be available for download. Whenever it does make itself available, I’ll be sure to share it in a separate post. See you next time!
Cost breakdown for this trip:
- Round trip from Atlanta to Alaska: $711.61
- Round trip from Las Vegas to Alaska: $579.80 (Tristan paid for his flight)
- Airbnb Booking: $317.99
- Turo Car Rental: ~$347.35 (Tristan paid for the car rental)
Thus, the entire trip cost me $1,029.60 and cost Tristan $927.15. Together, we shared a total cost of $1,956.75. This was our most expensive trip to date and worth every penny!
Yes, I had one of those keyboards for a tablet a few years ago, but I didn’t like the actual tablet itself: I just couldn’t get on with it at all! Not sure if I ever read that particular post, though.
Haha, I know what you mean. I’m thinking of getting the Google Pixelbook once I finish paying off this phone. It’s 0% APR so I’m in no rush. Google is really trying to make their stuff accessible for everyone! That one also comes with a keyboard, I think, but if it doesn’t I’ll still be using this.
Here’s the article. Check out no. 2: https://alexischateau.com/2018/05/01/how-to-stay-inspired-to-create/
No peace for the wicked! I am intrigued by your keyboard and little screen, as it doesn’t look like a laptop. What is it exactly?
None indeed! It’s my phone on a Bluetooth keyboard. Remember a post I wrote a long time ago about how to make time for writing or how to stay inspired? I had mentioned my Bluetooth keyboard for the first time back then, I think. It’s a lifesaver!
Any trip to Alaska is worth the cost. I had a lovely visit to the Mendenhall Visitors Center. The place was carefully monitored by a most officious young lady, whose concerns about bears raiding trash cans led her to insist that NO FOOD be consumed outside vehicles that were a) running and b) ready to leave the premises shortly. Given the number of people at the Center, I think her concerns had lots of merit.
Considering that we ran into bears while hiking, I would say she had an excellent point. The wildlife in Alaska is oddly very friendly and used to human interaction though. It’s the only place I’ve ever been where the squirrels don’t run away when they encounter humans. They just sit there and mind their own business like we’re not even there.
Why would you just drive to a visitor center when you could go on an exhilarating hike?
Kidding 😛
Hahahahaha, because the hike damn near killed us 🤣 We would have still gone hiking. Just probably picked another trail. That trail was beautiful though, especially the first half.
I’m gonna hike that trail just to find out if it’s all you’re making it out to be 😉
Oh I hope you do! I can’t wait to see that!
Haha! I’ll need to have a mic on so I can record what I say as I do the hike. It might get funny 😉
Haha, you can still use your phone like I did for the vlog. Mine recorded clearly, but the music drowns some of it out.
Yes, but you underestimate my analness; I want the sound to be perfect. So when I start making vlogs (which I will do when I’m done with this school stuff) I’m going to invest in the best recording equipment I can afford – which will probably just be mediocre gear.
Haha, well when it comes to creativity one of the things you will have to learn to give up is perfection. I’ve learned that with blogging, but I’m trying to relearn that with painting.
Awesome pics again! Can’t wait to see your Warped Tour post (: I wish we could’ve gone this year since it was the last one and we’d never been, but I wasn’t feeling well
I remember. I had asked you why you missed it. That was all the way in July though, so I hope I can remember what happened to tell the story in full and not just post pictures. 😂
It’s alright if not! I think pictures tell a story on their own- that’s why I always take so many haha
Haha, you’re right about that. 🙂
Great post 😁
Thank you!
No problem 😁 check out my blog when you get the chance 🙂