Alaskan Skies - the Float Plane Ride

This past week, Brian and I had an opportunity to experience Alaska from a different vantage point - from the skies in a float plane.

This has most certainly been something that we wanted to do, but time just kept slipping away from us.  That is until one of my SHS teachers, who is a pilot, offered & insisted he take Brian and I up for a tour around the region before we left. 

Ummm... you don't have to ask me twice!

I'm no stranger to flying in a small Cessna plane - my dad is a pilot & I grew up flying with him in his plane.  And although they are essentially the same kind of plane, adding the water element really was pretty exciting.

 The co-pilot

 From the moment we took off from the water, the sights was spectacular and the view was worth a million dollars everywhere we looked.



 The city of Anchorage (looking west) with all of its parks & trails amidst the business of downtown & midtown was no less than beautiful also!

 I absolutely loved the fact that we flew right over SHS (and Trailside ES)!  What is so much more clear now to me is why we would regularly have moose & bear visitors on campus - with a location right up against Hillside Park, we are practically in the animals' backyard.

 Seward Highway along the Turnagain Arm & the Chugach Mountains.

 Yes, that is a glacier right in the middle.  This was just one of MANY we got to see!

 Flying over Prince William Sound. 
I think this was by far my favorite part of the trip - the mountains, the islands & the glaciers!

Did I mention the glaciers?
Spectacular and unbelievable at the same time. 

 

 

 The pristine beauty is just so breathtaking.

  Did I mention the glaciers?

 

 

 

 Whittier is one of the small towns on the Kenai Peninsula where fishing is prominent, glacier & wildlife tours go out of as well as cruise ships & the Ferry depart from.  In fact, in just over two weeks, this is where we will say goodbye to Alaska from.   

 Speaking of glacier tours, here's one of the boats approaching an enormous glacier.

 

 As we headed back to town, the waters of the Turnagain Arm were out (low, low tide) and it looked magnificent.

 A huge thanks to John Fick - English teacher extraordinaire, extreme Alaskan biker, and former bush pilot - for the wonderful opportunity to get a personal tour from the Alaskan skies!