In May 2026 my hubby and I went to Alaska for our 35th wedding anniversary. This was a dream holiday for me, and I got to tick off another huge bucket list tick that I never thought I'd achieve - seeing the Hubbard Glacier with my own eyes.
We saw loads of amazing animals, and breathtaking scenery. Here's my favorite photo - a grizzly bear doing yoga. LOL. Look at his feet!
I took these photos at an incredible place we visited in Sitka called the Fortress of the Bear. The bears in this sanctuary all lost their mothers when they were cubs, and without this place they would have died in the wild, or been euthanised. But the thing that got me the most was the incredible people who care for these amazing animals. They've given up huge chunks of their lives to look after these bears. That kind of care comes from the heart, and I came away thinking the world needs a whole lot more people like them.
Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from Alaska.
Check out this bald eagle. Absolutely stunning birds. We saw so many of them, it was incredible to see their wingspan as they flew overhead.
This baby moose had only just been born and he was still all wobbly on his legs. He was actually a twin, but the other baby was hiding in the scrub.
We were a bit unlucky that the only rainy day we had was our kayaking day. But that also made it special. We were out there in nature, experiencing the wild. We kayaked around an island and saw heaps of eagles and fish and starfish. So special.
Here's my bucket list tick - the Hubbard Glacier. I wrote 101 things on my bucket list over 25 years ago, this one was at number 16. I always feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude when my world aligns and I can achieve one of these goals.
Another stroke of luck for us was seeing the top of Mount Denali. Apparently, only 20% of visitors have the right weather to see this incredible sight.
The breathtaking scenery was everywhere, and I took about 400 photos, so I'll share just one more. My hubby and I on our 35th wedding anniversary. I'm so lucky I found the man of my dreams when I was just 16 years old. Life has thrown us some curve balls, but one of the things I'm most proud of is our sense of adventure. We laugh a lot and he gives the best hugs. I can't wait to see what our next 35 years of adventures bring. Love you to the moon and back, babe.
Speaking of love, my hubby has given me the joy of following my dream to be a romance writer, and I get an absolute thrill from bringing two characters together.
Actually, watching those bear carers give everything to save animals that couldn't save themselves reminded me of my character Zena, the heroine of my book Escape Mission. Her story kicks off the very same way. She's volunteering at a turtle breeding ground, minding her own business and protecting a bunch of helpless baby turtles, when she stumbles onto something she was never meant to see. Suddenly she's not saving turtles anymore, she's running for her life, and the only person who can help her is Blade, a grumpy ex-army hero who also happens to be her sister's ex. If a feisty heroine, a protective alpha and a deadly secret sound like your kind of read, come and meet her. Escape Mission is available in ebook, paperback and audio, and is free in Kindle Unlimited.
My wish for you is that my books give you a wonderful escape, and that you feel the love between my characters.
Cheers, and thanks for following me on this amazing journey.
Kendall Talbot