The following post features student writing.

After three days in Denali National Park, we took the bus six hours to Anchorage. Along the way, we stopped at the Alaska Native Heritage Center to learn about the various native groups in Alaska. We had the opportunity to talk to native people and see various replica homes of each group. From the Heritage Center we drove to our home for the next four days: Girdwood. Girdwood is a smaller town just about an hour south of Anchorage. Girdwood, being the gateway to the Kenai Peninsula, provided us with beautiful views of Turnagain Arm and the Bering Sea. We settled into our new hostel and got some much needed rest. The next day, we drove to Crow Creek Mine, one of the first gold mines to be established in Alaska during the gold rush. Our guide showed us around the mine and showed us how the miners there used to live. We then made our way to the creek and had the chance to pan for gold. After our guide showed us the basics, it was our turn to pan. Some people were luckier than others when panning, with some finding several gold flakes in one pan. We also tried out the sluicing, which is a more efficient way of getting gold, where we put shovel fulls of gold into a machine that sorts it out and separates the rocks and dirt from the gold. In three bucketfuls of dirt and rocks, we found around 25 gold flakes. We divided them among us so each person would get to go home with a few dollars worth of gold.

After the mine, we went on a scenic three-mile hike through the Chugach National Forest. We walked through the forest looking at the various species of flora and fauna, and even got to tow ourselves across a river via a hand tram. After the hike, we found ourselves at the base of the Alyeska North Face Trail. The trail wound up the Alyeska ski resort mountain ending two thousand feet in the air. We split up, with some of us taking a cable car to the top, while the rest chose to walk up the North Face Trail. We met up at the top of the mountain an hour and a half later and then all took the cable car back down. Those who decided to hike up earned a free gondola ride!

For our third day in Girdwood we took the train for around 20 minutes to the Spencer Glacier to go rafting on a glacial lake and river. The raft took us through a glacial lake and our guide took us up close to the icebergs to be able to feel it and to taste some of the ice. We then went down the river connected to the lake. The winding river took us to some beautiful places with amazing views of towering mountains and dense forests. After the rafting we took the train back to Girdwood and got some rest. The next and final day in Girdwood we drove to the Matanuska glacier to go ice climbing and to explore the glacier.

– Brandon H.