• Empty Nest Will Travel
  • Empty Nest Will Travel

Alaskan Adventures

A 15-day adventure by Empty Nest Will Travel Read more
  • Looking for the northern lights.

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    lol. We had a low chance of seeing the northern lights so we dièse tied the patio at the hotel and later drove out looking for a dark place. We wound up getting a lecture from a police officer and never saw the lights.

    These were the pics we tried to get. Just night sky.
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  • Denali

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 48 °F

    Denali National Park (NOT Mckinley) Everywhere we have been in Alaska is stunning and dramatic and intimidating. Can’t wait to get into this park and explore more!

  • Savage River

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Maybe because it was the first place we got out and explored or maybe it is just that beautiful but the Savage River was stunning and peaceful. We adopted that rock with the beautiful aspens in full gold glory as ours.Read more

  • Bear too close!

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    We saw a bunch of buses along the side of the road and, of course, pulled over to see what was up. There were two photographers yelling at a group of people to stop running and stop chasing the bears. There were 3 of them and a lot of people around.

    We wound up being maybe 20 feet from one of the bears….ans they say to stay 200 feet. Someone yelled to get back in the car and so I did. No photo of the bear but an adrenaline rush I don’t want to repeat!
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  • Moose!

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Driving back toward the visitors center to get on our tour when somehow I spotted this moose in the thick underbrush by the road. We had her all to herself to watch her munch.

  • Bus depot.

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    We booked the narrated bus tour so we could see all of the park. And the tour did not disappoint. We are about to see amazing views and wildlife.

    And bonus they gave us a very special Denali snack box.Read more

  • Caribou

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Our first big wildlife viewing was 4 lovely caribou. They were stunning on the big open field.

    We also discovered that the driver has a cool camera system so she could zoom in on the animals and show us on the bus screens. It was sooo amazing over the. Purse is the day to have this available.Read more

  • Sable pass

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    As we came to the top of the rise into Sanle Pass the sky was pretty heavy so the pictures don’t do as much justice to the beauty as I would like. But it was still impressive.

  • Polychromatic Range

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    I would love to see this on a clear day where you can see the closer, lush mountains with the more austere and snow lined mountains in the background.

    My new favorite type of river - another braided river was beautiful as well.

    This was the end of the 42 miles we can go into the park currently. In 2027, the new bridge will be complete to reopen to the full 90 miles. I can’t imagine how many more treasures exist back there!
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  • Caribou Kill…Bear Feast

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    We kept hearing from our guide that there had been a caribou kill and because of the bears on the area, we couldn’t get off the bus in that area as is typical.

    The other guides were telling her it was difficult to see from the road so we weren’t hopeful.

    But a raven gave it away. Lurking nearby trying to get some for himself, one of our bus mates spotted the bear having a feast. Sadly, this was on the other side of the bus so mostly we got to see it on our screens. Does that count?
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  • Bears and Ptarmigan

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Just after leaving the bear feasting on the caribou, we had two more bears in the distance on our side.

    And then the Alaska state bird…the ptarmigan. This one was half changed from his summer brown to his winter white so it was kind of cool to see.Read more

  • Moose jam

    September 2 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F

    We learned a new term that we actually got to use again the next day.

    This moose and her calf were causing a traffic jam and getting pretty riled up.

  • Sled dogs in action

    September 3 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Love this ranger talking about being a kid who came to the park at 8 years old and now he’s a ranger doing the same demos his uncle used to do.

    The dogs are amazing to watch and more amazing to think about the hard and essential work they do. With such joy.Read more

  • Big rack

    September 3 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    This guy had a huge and beautiful rack, which made it easier to track him quite a distance. Stunning way to end our time in Denali.