Really OT: Alaska

[Doug Ralston]

I am going this summer for 10 days or so to Alaska. The trip will include 2-3 days exploration from Archorage follows by a 7 day cruise down the Inside Passage Whittier to Vancouver. I have been quite a few places by surface transportation but this is my first time flying. I am amped!

I wager some few of you have been to Alaska, so I thought you might have suggestions of 'must see', especially during the Inside Passage cruise. We plan to flightsee Denali/McKinley, and a small cruise in Kenai Fjords before the main sailing. What should I see at Juneau or Ketchikan? Is there something so compelling that the Denali or Kenai expeditions should be changed?

Be fun for me to hear about your experiences there, too.

Thanks

Doug

[Dan Herrmann]

I was going to suggest the Northern Lights, but in summer, you're probably out of luck.

[Ross Waldorf]

Doug:

We went last summer for my parents-in-law's 50th anniversary. I highly recommend taking the Alaska Railroad between Anchorage and Seward. It's quite an amazing trip, with all manner of truly spectacular scenery. Plus the Railroad is just a pleasant way to travel. That journey was a highlight of our trip, and very relaxing. Most of the port calls tend to be your typical, this-is-the-best-jewelry-in-the-world kind of stuff, which drives me nuts. Juneau struck me as a very interesting place and I would've enjoyed the chance to see what the place was actually like. It's amazing how it's just kind of clinging to the edge of the land. I took the scenic railway in Skagway, but the Alaska Railroad journey previously described is a much better version. The other thing that completely floored us on our trip was seeing Hubbard Glacier, which our ship (Celebrity Millennium) specifically cruised by. I'd say that if your itinerary does not include any close up looks at glaciers meeting the sea, that would be a very worthwhile thing to try to do. I'm not really the cruise type (a bit too commercial for me), but this was quite enjoyable just for the general scenery, which is awesome in the true sense of the word. You really get the feeling you've gone somewhere wild, which is cool. Enjoy your trip.
R

[Steve Salmen]

Doug,

Seward is a port town.  I did not take the train but drove there from Anchorage.  We went on a six hour boat tour from there.  We saw a pod of a dozen or so killer whales that swam right alongside the boat.  We saw a bald eagle repeatedly swoop down 200 ft from a cliff top into the water to catch fish.  From the boat, we went near the shore and saw some grizzlies.

[Richard Choi]

Have a great time Doug. Alaska is a beautiful place and the Inside Passage cruise is a fun way to enjoy the coastal towns. I've done the cruise twice (it is really easy for me since they sail right out of Seattle, 15 min drive and my vacation begins!).

The most incredible Alaska trip I had was taking the train from Anchorage to a Whittier in Prince William Sound where a boat dropped us off at a remote island about 14 miles away with kayaks and camping gear right next to the glaciers. The sound of glaciers breaking into the ocean was just awesome and kayaking around the floating iceberg was other worldly. There is nothing better than cocktails made with ten thousand year old ice! We kayaked back 14 miles over 3 days and that was probably the best outdoor experience I ever had. We even encountered thousands of pink salmon swimming upstream in a nearby stream and grabbed them by hand and threw them upstream over the rocks (wanted to help out ).

However, if you only have a couple of days in Anchorage, I would highly recommend Denali National Forest. It is an amazing place. Another place I would recommend is a drive to the Beluga point - the name does not lie!

During the cruise, I would recommend following:

Skagway White Pass scenic train - it goes from the port up the mountain to about 3000 feet. Incredible sites.

Ketchikan - Follow the mouth of the river and hike upstream. If the season is right you will see a ton of King Salmons swimming upstream. They are HUGE!

Juneau - tram is kind a cool (but also bit pricey)

Try the salmon bake at one of the ports. Nothing like freshly caught and prepared salmon.

But mostly, just sit back and relax. Many of the inside passage ways is quite narrow and if you have a verandah, you can just site outside your room and enjoy the views as they float by. You will have a great time.

[Guy Nicholson]

Doug,

Have never done the IP but did a week-long ferry trip to the Aleutians and back in 2005. Not quite a cruise, but close enough to say you can expect an incredible trip.

If your Anchorage plans fall through I can strongly recommend visiting Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine, which is really extraordinary scenery and was an unexpected highlight of an eight-month trip my wife and I took in 2005/06. An overnight trip to Homer would also be worth your time -- a unique little town.

You'll enjoy yourself whatever you do, but don't waste a minute more than you have to in Anchorage. It's a a fine town but the good stuff is everywhere else.

Pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/guynick/sets/72157601122508333/

[Jason Topp]

I spent a couple of weeks working in Anchorage.  I was really surprised at the high quality restaurants in the city.  I cannot make any specific recommendations (it was nearly 20 years ago) but I definitely recommend you do some research.

The only tourist thing I did was ski.  It was December.

[Richard Hetzel]

Dear Doug,

I spent almost a month in Alaska back during the summer of 1999. Great experience, life is lacking creature comforts found elsewhere in the lower 48. In fact, during the whole time I slept in a hotel just twice!

Be sure and get down to the Kenai Penninsula and also be sure and check out Homer Spit, AK. Great place!

My only regret was not playing golf while I was there. This was more of a camping, hiking and a lot of mountain biking trip, so golf wasn't really on the menu.

Here is the location of the Kenai:



This is an aerial view of "the spit":



If you can, not far from Anchorage, you can watch the BORE TIDES roll in at "Turnagainarm....awesome sight and I believe it only occurs in a few places on Earth. Just DON"T walk out there at low tide, people do, they get stuck and then drown when the tide rolls in all at the same time!

If you have time to pull off the railroad trip, that is awesome as well. I spent a few days in Denali, it was remote and incredible at each and every turn!

[Pete_Pittock]

Doug,
First time I was in Alaska was 1952. Don't short time your trip to Denali. Be flexible because the mountain can pop out or hide at whim.
Denali is the best place for wildlife viewing, also some whitewater for the adventurous. Fairbanks outranks Anchorage as a better place to spend your time. If you Kenai do some fishing. A retired pro from Tualatin CC guides up there.
Sitka for Russian history. Skagway is a must and the train to Bennett pass. I hiked the first part of the Chilcoot Trail from Haines to Bennett Pass. Haines has bald eagles. Ketchikan and Juneau bottom of interest ladder.

Because of the distances involved I would fly whenever possible to leave time for other matters.

[Ben Sims]

For a fun night out, may I recommend Chilkoot Charlie's.  www.koots.com

The Russian Room and The Bird House Bar areas are particularly enlightening. 

[Bill Brightly]

Hey Doug,

We went to Alaska several years ago - started in Vancouver and did the inside passage stopping at Ketchikan, Juneau, Hubbard Glacier and Sitka and then cruised back.  I'd highly recommend trying to catch the helicopter tour of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. We were supposed to do the helicopter trip to the glacier with dog mushing when we got there, but that part of the glacier was fogged in. So, instead switched to a North Star Trekking (I'm sure they have a website!) trip which included the helicopter tour and hiking on the glacier which was awesome! In Juneau we also did a whale watch in the morning which was great - saw tons of humpbacks and orcas.  Lunch at the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau was great, too.

In Ketchikan we did a tour of a salmon fishery, and walked around the town. We also walked through a totem pole park which was good but you may want to try some other activity they offer.

Overall, the best thing about the cruise part was getting off the boat in the different stops. Never went to Denali or Kenai Fjords, but would love to do that another time!  Have a great trip - Bill's wife (Laurie)

[Doug Ralston]

Wow! Thanks guys [and girl]. So much there. Wish I had more than 10 days to spend.

The Skagway train trip is definitely on our agenda. Too many recommendations here and other places to not think this one's a must.

We will drive to Seward and do the Kenai boat tour, found a discount which makes an 8.5hr cruise with a 2hr stop on an island to have cookout feast for less than normal 6hr trip. I am looking greedily forward to food in Alaska as I am a fish/seafood nut.

Gonna do a 'flightsee' over Denali, which includes landing on a glacier on Mt McKinley, this also on many recommendations.

Not certain about activity in Juneau yet, may let that wait till we see what is available at the time.

Considering a floatplane trip to Misty Fjord at Ketchican, which gets a lot of high marks too.

Mainly on the cruise from Whittier to Vancouver, I just want to be on deck relaxing, enjoying the views, and maybe playing a little chess with the patzers. And walking, as is my wont at most all times. I've got happy feet!

Now, what to pack ........................

Just planning is a great fun part of taking this kind of trip, isn't it?

Thanks again for all the great responses.

Doug

[Richard Hetzel]

Doug,

Bring WARM clothes, it gets pretty cold on those boat trips. I did the exact 8 hour trip with the island stop over from Seward; very nice and a good opportunity to see whales as well. It might be 65 degrees outside, but out on the water it is much COLDER.

Sounds like a great trip!

[Doug Ralston]

Doug,

Bring WARM clothes, it gets pretty cold on those boat trips. I did the exact 8 hour trip with the island stop over from Seward; very nice and a good opportunity to see whales as well. It might be 65 degrees outside, but out on the water it is much COLDER.

Sounds like a great trip!

Rich, I think, partly due to Guy's pix [nice ones, thanks Guy and Lady], that I get the need for warm clothing. The nearness of water at <40* temps and wind blowing off it WOULD make a warm day crisp. I do wonder how much rain to expect in June there. That is a big concern for an already booked flightsee, and will obviously affect any outside activities. But prepared I will try to be.

Now if I can get the patience needed for the 'hurry up and wait' of especially air travel, ....... well, I had better bring some reading material. Measure bags against check baggage, overhead, and under seat requirements. Papers. No food this flight. How much leg room? Layover adaquet for baggage tranfer? "Whattaya mean Prep H could be an explosive!? 

LOL

Doug

[Steve Lang]

  we were there during 4th of july period, pretty nice weather..

are you flying to denali out of Talkeetna?  we took a flight from there that landed on glacier up at mountain climbing camp where folks get used to elevation.. quite interesting and it was a nice day/evening so we got the pilot to fly all the way around the mountain..

we also flew glaciers out of whittier.. had them put pontoons on plane and we landed on some lakes.. best part was flying between glacier and mountains, wow!

gotta fly to see anything

[mike_beene]

Doug,there was a really nice article on anchorage and the parks and hikes right around it in the American Airlines inflight magazine in the last week or two.Bet you could get a copy from them or the website.Really a thorough article by a native that made me want to go up there.

[John Moore II]

When I went to Alaska last year, I went halibut fishing in Seward and Whittier, king salmon fishing in Talkeetna, and got to see Mt. McKinley from up there as well. I also played Moose Run Golf Course, they have good rental clubs, I used them. Very unique place. During your stay over in Anchorage, make sure to get down and eat at a place called the Double Musky Lodge (or maybe Inn). It's maybe 45 minutes outside of Anchorage, but thats "just down the street" in Alaska distance. A lot of fun stuff to do up there. But just a warning, if you get the urge to go for a hike, don't go far off the "beaten path" you can go from civilization to pure wilderness in Zero flat. I'm talking places so wild the bears don't even go there.

[Martin Toal]

Go to Sarah Palin's place. Apparently you can see Russia from it.