Day 3 of our Alaska Trip and the day began with spending a relaxing morning in Downtown Anchorage, sipping on a cup of best coffee in the town by Kaladi Brothers and checking out the lovely graffiti.
After a perfect morning, we had another amazing experience lined up at 2:30 pm. We drove from Anchorage to Palmer which is about an hour’s drive to Alaska Helicopter Tours. By 2 pm, we were there & checked in and were all set for our first helicopter ride to Knik Glacier (one of the red helicopters in the picture below was our ride for that day).
We were super pumped even though it was another rainy day, we got in the helicopter with the pilot and it took off within minutes and we were flying over the Knik River with beautiful landscape all around us. As we got closer to the glacier, we saw big chunks of the glacier floating in the river – an amazing view.
And then, we saw the prettiest shade of blue – the melt pools on glaciers and the massive glacier fractures and flew over onto to the more flatter parts where the helicopter could land. Our pilot was very informative and told us a lot about glaciers. ‘Glaciers are made of fallen snow that over time compresses into large thickened ice masses. And with their ability to flow – they flow like very slow rivers’, as per the National Snow & Ice Data Center.
Pilot parked the helicopter close to a melt pool and it was amazing for us to step foot on a glacier and experience it for real. We got off and started walking which was quite tricky as it was super slippery. But with the crampons, we were able to walk around comfortably – tested the freezing waters of the melt pools and felt the chill of light drizzle on our skin. It was incredible – truly a once in a lifetime experience.
The twenty minutes we spent on the glacier were magical and it felt like we were in a different world altogether. With miles & miles of ice everywhere, the crystal blue pools of water and not a soul around – it was surreal.
We were back after the great 30 minutes and got off the helicopter. Bought some organic chocolates and we were on our way back to Anchorage by 3:30 pm. Back in the hotel, we enjoyed Seward sushi rolls for dinner and that was the end of Day 3 for us.
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