I recently made
an excursion to our 49th state, Alaska. It’s a vast area of pristine lakes, streams
and wildlife. The population of the
entire state is about ¾ Million people, with half the population living in
Anchorage. Anchorage is also the main
hub for air transportation which is the only way to get to Alaska unless you
take a cruise ship from Seattle or Vancouver. Cruise ships actually dock in
Seward which is about 90 miles S of
Vancouver on the Northern Pacific Ocean.
Anchorage is a waterfront town but is situated on the Cook Inlet which
because of its location, is not ideal for cruise ships.
The weather
in Anchorage is mild from late May till late August. The temperatures drops and the moisture
level rises as one leaves Anchorage and makes their way inland and uphill to
Denali National Park, home of Mt. Denali.
There are
two main methods to explore Alaska. All
of the cruise lines that call on Alaska via Seward or Whittier in the case of
Princess; have an optional add on which consists of 4-7 days of what I am about
to describe to you. The length varies according to the cruise line. However you essentially see everything that I
am about to describe. Also the level of accommodations
are somewhat different although there is no real luxury in Alaska as most of
the hotels, restaurants are “in hibernation” from October till May and only are
open and staffed from mid May till the end of August.
As I had
done an Alaska cruise in 2011, I didn’t care to repeat the open water and I
chose and international Tour Organization called Insight Vacations for my land
only package.
It began
with an airport pickup on the afternoon of my arrival and ended with a drop at
the airport exactly 6 days later. It’s
really my first time of climbing aboard a bus and hitting the road. I prefer to travel a la carte so to speak but
you really can’t do this in Alaska. This
was a fantastic experience as the bus was one of these big luxury tour buses
with seating for ~45. We had 30 people
and a guide who was knowledgeable and really added those special touches along
the way. Most of the time the bus trip
was no more than 4 hours at a time with frequent stops.
Day 1. After checking into the hotel in downtown
Anchorage we had a gourmet dinner at a museum.
Day2. We boarded the bus, got a tour of Anchorage,
the sea plane area, and visited the Alaska Heritage Center prior to heading
North toward Talkeetna, a small village on the S edge of Denali National
Park. After a tour of a bush plane
service and a lecture on climbing Mt. Denali, we checked into the Talkeetna Lodge.
Day 3 We had
the morning to walk the grounds of the lodge before heading the train depot and
boarding the Alaska Railroad. We took
over an observation car for the 4 ½ hour journey north to Denali National
Park. We lunched on the train and were
met at the Denali train depot by our trusted driver who had already delivered
our bags to our room at the Denali Lodge.
Did I mention from the time I picked my luggage off the conveyor belt at
ANC, till the moment I left 6 days later, I never moved my bag? It was done for me at each stop.
Once we got
to Denali Lodge we had a wine reception and a talk from a young man who successfully
climbed Mt. Denali; the tallest peak in N. America @ 20,310 ft.
Day 4 was a
free day and I chose to board a National Park Service Bus which actually drove
the 128 miles in and out of Denali National Park. The idea was to see the terrain and
wildlife. We saw both...elk caribou,
moose and grizzlies were seen and photographed from a distance.
Day 5 was
back on the bus and heading south for the longest ride of the excursion. We stopped half way at the home of an
Iditarod racing team and were treated to close ups with the dogs as well as a
presentation on the race and the equipment.
That evening and the next were spent at the luxurious Mt Alyeska
Lodge. A 4-5 star hotel/lodge at the
base of a ski resort on Mt. Alyeska.
Day 6 we
drove along the inlet and through a tunnel to Whiting Alaska and boarded a 500
passenger high speed ferry which is used to cruise Prince William Sound and
visit the approximately 27 glacier s that can be seen. Lots of harbor seals, otters and bald eagles
were visible.
Finally on
Day 7, we all departed the Alyeska Lodge and drove to Seward where we visited
the Alaska Sea Life Rehabilitation Center prior to dropping half our group on
the Holland Westerdam for their 7 day trip to Seattle. The rest of us were driven to the Anchorage
Airport where we arrived about 4:30 PM for our departure flights.
GREAT PHOTOS HERE
GREAT PHOTOS HERE
