Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I’m a little partial as I retired from Alaska Airlines and flew up there frequently. Alaska became my second home as I usually flew to Alaska several times per month. I was fortunate to have flown to Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Nome, Barrow, Kotzebue, Wrangell, Petersburg, Cordova and Yakutat. Boy, those were the days. We would fly on a 737-200-part cargo and part passenger plane depending on the route. I treasure those memories; there is nothing else like it.
After I retired, we decided to take a cruise on Princess Cruises up the inland passage and then a land trip through Denali to Fairbanks. This came as a land/sea package. We started the cruise in Vancouver British Columbia and cruised up the inland passage to Whittier. After we made our final port on our cruise in Whittier, we drove by bus to the train and then took the train to Denali. This was an excellent package. We enjoyed seeing so much wildlife, more then we could have hoped for including grizzly bear, wolverine, caribou, moose, bald eagles, sea lions, sea otters, Orca Whales, Gray whales, humpback whales, puffin, common murre and porcupine. The Princess lodges were stunning, and we really enjoyed each location.
Alaska is the largest state by area comprising more total area than Texas, California and Montana combined.
Numerous Indigenous people occupied Alaska for thousands of years before the arrival of European people. There are many Alaska Native villages all around Alaska still today.
Alaska is an outdoorsman’s paradise. You have to be a little rough and rugged to live in Alaska, the weather is extreme in some parts of Alaska it can reach -30 degrees in the winter and then in the summer be in the 70s and 80s. In the winter months in Fairbanks, it is common practice to plug your car in when it is not in use.
Things to do in Alaska mostly have to do with nature, however in places like Anchorage they have theatre, museums, concerts, the Alaska Native Heritage Center information here: https://www.alaskanative.net/ and many activities in the arts. There is downhill and cross-country skiing, riding snow mobiles and ATVs, hiking, fishing, hunting, camping and anything else you can think of to do outdoors. You can also experience the Northern Lights between late August and mid-April, or you can attend the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race in March. If visiting Chena Hot Springs be sure and go to the Aurora Ice Museum, and if you’re feeling really adventurous you can drive the Dalton Highway to cross over the Arctic circle or take a float plane or helicopter and soar over the glaciers and even possibly land on a glacier. The possibilities are endless.
Alaska is home to eight National Parks, Denali, Glacier Bay, Katmai Fjords, Wrangell-St. Elias, Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley and Lake Clark. Combined with National Monuments, Preserves and historical parks there are 23 total National sites and monuments.
Fishing, mining, energy and tourism are huge contributors to Alaska’s economy. And you can get in on the action by taking a tour and do a little gold panning for yourself with Gold Dredge 8 in Fairbanks. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot on this tour. For more information click on the link here: https://www.golddredge8.com/
One of our favorite things was a float plane trip on Wings Airways out of Juneau to Taku Glacier where we enjoyed a flight tour of the glaciers and a beautiful fresh salmon meal at the Taku lodge. We took a hike around the grounds with a tour guide and seen black bear as they linger nearby in hopes of a tasty treat from the salmon grill. This was one of the highlights of our trip. As a retired flight attendant, I had done this trip before, but it was my husband Genes first time. We would definitely do it again. For ticket information click the link here: https://wingsairways.com/taku-lodge-feast-and-five-glacier-discovery/
We also really enjoyed the Goldbelt Tram in Juneau where the gondola takes you up 18oo feet from the cruise ship docks in downtown Juneau through the rain forest to the Mountain House offering panoramic views of Juneau and Gastineau Channel. The views are spectacular, and the ride up is breathtaking as this is one of the most vertical tramways in the world. For more information click on the link here: https://www.goldbelttram.com/
We hit several ports on our cruise from Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, Icy Straight Point and Whittier. And then we went on to the land portion of our trip to Denali and Fairbanks and toured through Denali National Park and then we went to Kenai Fjords in Seward and took a whale watching excursion which was a wonderful experience. This is where we had a wonderful experience viewing Humpback, Orca and Gray Whale as well as puffins, sea otters, sea lions and more. We highly recommend that you book this excursion ahead. There were several tours to choose from, if you are on a cruise booking directly through the cruise ship is easiest, we however did not and booked privately and hired a driver to get us to the boat tour. This route was quite costly and even though the tour we took was fantastic I would not recommend going this route due to convenience.
When we arrived in Fairbanks this was our final destination, we extended our stay two extra days. In Fairbanks you can take a day trip to the Arctic Circle, take a riverboat cruise on Riverboat Discovery, information here: https://www.riverboatdiscovery.com/ , which we did, and this was part of our cruise excursion package, visit the Chena Hot Springs, information here: https://chenahotsprings.com/ , or visit the Aurora Ice Museum in Chena Resort, information here: https://chenahotsprings.com/aurora-ice-museum/ , or you can go visit Santa Claus House just 14 miles from Fairbanks in North Pole Alaska and visit Santa Clause himself, see Santas reindeer, visit the sweet shop or mail a Santa letter from the North Pole. For more information click here: https://www.santaclaushouse.com/visit.asp
Of all the places I’ve been so far, Alaska is always going to stay towards the top of my list, and it is definitely someplace I will return to again and again. This is a must do trip of a lifetime. I truly do love Alaska.
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