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Since we ended up having no plans yesterday, we did random stuff around town, like booking a kayak trip at Valdez Glacier Lake (today), a bike ride (tomorrow) and a cruise to Columbia Glacier on Thursday with another company (the other company called and said they're definitely shut down this week). We also visited Valdez Glacier Lake, and watched sea lions catch fish at Allison Point

I kept begging to go on a helicopter tour I read about, which landed on Shoup Glacier (I've been wanting to land on a glacier for years!) and flew over Columbia Glacier. It was expensive, but I was like "I just lived through a pandemic, I deserve this" haha. Plus, the weather was really nice! We went down to the airport where the tours are, and the guy said he could get us in today, and since we were Alaska residents, he'd give us a discount, and Jo would be free! (Ryan has to work from "home" a few days this week, so he couldn't go.) Jo wasn't going to go, but none of us could say no to that deal! Jo had never been in a helicopter or on a glacier..lots of new experiences on this trip for him haha. Oh my, it was SUPER EPIC!! It was beautiful flying out of Valdez and over Prince William Sound and into the green mountains. We saw the little you could see of Shoup Glacier when you're on the ground, flew over a mountain ridge, and squeed SO hard when I saw the REST of the glacier..I didn't realize how big the rest of it is! It was SO awesome and beautiful. Jo was amazed too, and I said "just wait till you see Columbia!!" We found a spot to land near a super blue pool..yay I've landed on a glacier now!! The water from the pool tasted so good. We walked around the glacier for awhile (Jo was nervous because a couple years ago he slipped on ice and broke his leg. Walking on glaciers is definitely not easy!) and saw some moulins (a drainage hole) and just enjoyed the nice weather! I definitely grabbed a rock right off the glacier to take home! After that we took off again and flew over a couple "baby" glaciers..the pilot said he was trying to keep Columbia hidden for as long as possible haha. Then we crested a ridge and there it was! Jo was like "WHOAAA" haha. It may be retreating, but it's still huge! It's one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, and you can definitely tell..lots of crevasses and stuff. Flying right down the face of it was AWESOME..there's nothing like the feeling of being in front of a big tidewater glacier. :D We looked for wildlife on the way back, and saw a couple goats and some bald eagles. That was such an awesome flight, absolutely worth every penny! We were all disappointed in seeing "just" the mountains when we landed LOL..I love how much you see from the air! After we got back to the B&B we played Betrayal at House on the Hill and went to bed

Today the weather has been cloudy and drizzly (good thing we did the helicopter tour yesterday!). Mom and I wanted to find some geocaches, but they were either in somewhere with construction or in the (probably) bear-infested woods..darn. We did go kayaking at Valdez Glacier Lake though. In the past couple years, Valdez Glacier has become very active..some people actually died in 2019 when they got too close to the face and it calved on them. Last year, a mile of ice broke off, making the lake much bigger. We decided to rent kayaks and take a guide, so we could stay safe. We had fun paddling amongst the icebergs, some of which were HUGE. When I kayaked there in 2014 you could see a lot of the glacier, but this time the icebergs were so tall that they blocked the view, unless you were in just the right spot. The guide said the lake changes all the time, which must be interesting. I took some pictures, but not too many because I didn't want to drift on to a piece of ice and get stuck haha. After that we had dinner, ice cream, and are now relaxing. I always love seeing the feral bunnies around Valdez, they're so cute haha

( epic pictures here!! )

26. Do you like makeup? No, though movie makeup can look cool

27. What celebrity death(s) effected you the most? Heath Ledger, Steve Irwin, Robin Williams, etc..I still miss them

1. When did you last enjoy some Asian cuisine? I had Thai food last week I think..
2. What’s something you’d like to do in South America? See Perito Moreno Glacier! It's advancing, and looks super cool!

*swoons*
3. What’s a popular tourist thing in Europe you have very little interest in? Art museums..I find them boring
4. Which of Australia’s strange animals do you find most fascinating or adorable? Koalas are pretty cute lol
5. What’s something interesting you just learned about Africa? Nothing recently that I can think of..

A couple people died this week at Valdez Glacier, because they kayaked right up to it and the glacier calved and killed them. D: I actually kayaked up to that glacier a few years ago..yikes! It didn't seem dangerous then, but I guess you never know around glaciers..sad!

Dad was just diagnosed with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His feet have been numb and tingly for a couple years, and they finally tested his blood. It's mild and treatable, and people can live for years without treatment. Still scary to read about, but I'm glad it's nothing worse. Hopefully whatever treatment is available can help him..

( Day 213: A song you like that starts with the letter E )

Yesterday we geocached around Valdez and looked in a couple shops. Caching in Valdez in the woods is kinda scary since there are lots of bears around, and the forest is pretty dense. After dinner I was tired and went back to the B&B, and mom and Bonnie went caching some more. They were gone for a long time and when they got back they said they saw three bears in the place they were a few minutes ago!! Yikes! The bears went into a river..mom and Bonnie got great pics! We all slept well :P

Today we found more caches..a couple were by the dock and we walked over there to check out the boats that were there. One of them (Kodiak) was on Deadliest Catch!! That was pretty cool haha. We also went kayaking on Valdez Glacier lake! The weather was pretty terrible, but how could we resist?? That IS a big reason we came haha. It was cool finally seeing the face of the glacier up close and exploring the caves and tunnels and stuff. It was sooo cold though haha. We also paddled around the icebergs and found a pretty sweet blue cave. Even though the weather was crappy, the clouds mingling with the mountains looked really pretty. After kayaking was a much needed dinner, a few more caches (we're so addicted :P), and now we're relaxing! Tomorrow we head home..I'm glad Bonnie came with us, she's so funny and a great friend! I'll post all my pics when I get back home :)

I am back from Valdez! It was another sunny day there when I woke up this morning! Wow..that like NEVER happens haha. Usually one of the days I'm there it's raining. Three days in a row must be a record. :P Before we left we checked out a salmon spawning (and dying D:) pond and checked out the icebergs by Valdez Glacier (you can't really see the glacier from the lake). There are companies that'll take you kayaking on the lake..we should do that one of these days. We stopped at Worthington Glacier again since the light was better and ended up hiking to it again haha! How can you not, when the opportunity is there and it's such a nice day? :P (Plus I may not see another glacier for awhile) That may have gotten my face even more sunburned..ouch. After that we just drove home, with a stop for lunch in Paxson. I love how close my apartment is to the Richardson Highway. :P I miss Abby and the other kitties though..aw

I'll post my pics soon, but here's mom's epic video of Columbia Glacier calving! Yes, that is me in the background yelling and freaking out and saying I'm shaking haha (does my voice really sound like that?? D:)

Watch on YouTube

Today in class we talked about glacier mass balance..like how much last winter's snow melts in the summer (the accumulation zone). In the late summer you can see it on the glacier..there's the ice and then there's this area filled with snow. If there's a big accumulation area, the glacier's healthy. If there's not much accumulation, the glacier isn't. When I got home I looked through my pics to see if I had any showing the accumulation/ice thing. I'll post one of mine and one I found online. We also talked about how they measure it by poking a stick in the glacier in the winter and see how deep the snow is (they do that on Gulkana Glacier). They can do it from a plane using computers too. That's totally what I want to do..that sounds so interesting!

John hasn't said anything more about going out..I hope it stays that way. Thanks for the advice on that entry too :)

( those pics )

Would you rather for the rest of your life, choose the same drink and the same meal to ingest every time you eat or have someone else always choose what you eat? Have someone else choose

Today's trivia: The holes in flyswatters are used to lower air resistance

Yesterday we drove to Valdez..really the whole point of the trip was to go to Worthington Glacier (I wanted to climb up to it since we didn't the first time) but we needed a place to stay so we just went to Valdez too. The weather was pretty nice most of the way. We got past Paxson and saw some new things I couldn't see the first time since it was so rainy and cloudy..like the Wrangell Mountains (though they were rather cloudy). Whoaa. Then we came into the mountains near Valdez and I was like "OMG GLACIERS!!!" There were a whole bunch of glaciers clinging to the mountains! Man we missed SO much scenery the first time! Worthington Glacier was pretty impressive. We started walking up the moraine to the side of it (the glacier has two "arms" and we went up to the one on the left. You'll see in the pics). Mom was freaking out..she thought it was scary. We eventually got up the moraine to the side of it and..I STOOD ON WORTHINGTON GLACIER!! WOOHOO! Haha. That "arm" looks pretty big up close like that but it's just a tiny part of it! I tasted some of the meltwater and then we walked back down to the bottom and found another trail that look you to the bottom of the glacier (and only very small streams to cross!!). Now THAT was neat..it was kinda like a big crevasse and you could touch the ice and just observe the glacier. I think it's melting slower than Gulkana Glacier. While walking to the car I saw a fox in the parking lot! And there was a cute weasel thing on the moraine! Aww hehe. Then we drove to Valdez and saw more clinging glaciers and lovely scenery. We checked into the hotel and walked on the dock..wow I was loving the feel of the town. It just felt serene and peaceful. There was some blue sky too (remember..this is Valdez haha. It always rains there). Then we ate dinner at the hotel and went to sleep

Today mom got up, went over to the window and was like "OMG HEATHER GET UP THE MOON IS OUT!" After mom got ready I got up and looked..IT WAS TOTALLY CLEAR!! At least that way..after I got ready I went outside..there were some clouds and fog BUT OMG THERE WAS A LOT OF BLUE SKY!! IN VALDEZ!!! THAT NEVER HAPPENS!! Ahhhh haha. Before we left we checked out Valdez Glacier..there were a whole bunch of icebergs it calved off in a small lake. It didn't look like it went all the way to the lake but we only saw a tiny part of it. Then we left and had a way better view of the Wrangell Mountains before it clouded up again. The icefield on Mt. Wrangell is INSANE. It is MASSIVE. It's also a volcano. And we went by these HUGE moraines possibly from Gulkana Glacier..it must have been a huuuuge glacier before it retreated. I shall post pics tomorrow!

( pic of the day )

Today's trivia: Vanilla comes from orchids