Alaska

Greetings from Alaska!!!
Well.. not really Alaska. I am in Seattle in a hotel lobby right now. There was no internet access in Alaska, that I could find, I am sure there is some :) So we are in Seattle for an overnight layover. Tomorrow we are heading out to Maui.. it's okay.. you can be jealous. I don't know how often I will be able to send out emails, but I will try and fill you all in on what I am doing every chance I get. And feel free to forward this email to anyone I forgot.

Alaska was beautiful.. cold.. but beautiful. We stayed in a real log cabin located right on the bay, Pacific Ocean, for those of you who are geographically challenged. And I mean with in about 30ft from the ocean. We stayed at a place called the Shrine of Saint Therese, a little Catholic thing, so I tried not to be too disrespectful. Haha! We saw so much wildlife I was really surprised that anything could stand to be that cold. We saw humpback whales from our living room windows coming up to feed, they are truely amazing creatures.I could watch their tales breech out of the water all day. We also saw some harbor seals, sea lions, and yes, a ton of bald eagles!!!But the bald eagle, our country's bird, is a scavenger. Sort of ironic huh?

We visited the Mendelhall Glacier, right in Juneau and got to walk right up to it across a not-so-safe frozen lake. After returning from this trip Park Services in formed us that at any moment a piece of the ice face of the glacier could cleave off and shatter the ice covering the lake, and we would have been floating. (Sorry Mom for that detail, but I am safe that's all that matters) The glacier is currently melting as well as retreating a foot a day, so it won't be there much longer. The theme of our biology course is the Effects of Global Warming on each of the Biomes we visit. So for all you nay-sayers about global warming, rent an Inconvenient Truth, and I will have pics and details first hand when I come home.. and expect to here about it :) It's been a lot of snow and icy paths in Alaska, almost everyone has taken a spill on the ice. The mountain ranges are unreal, and they are everywhere you turn in Alaska. We also got to go out once in Juneau and I actually drank dark beer, which was a first for me. And apparently in Juneau you can bring your dog with you to the bar, so there were like a ton of dogs in the bars. Which was different, but I am sure that's not going to be the only interesting experience in bars that I will be having over the course of this trip.

Well that's all I have for now. I will try my best to update you all and send a few post cards, feel free to keep me updated on your lives as well! I will be thinking about and missing you all. Take Care!

Peace,
Megan