CarolM

If you'd like to see a quick slideshow of my pictures from Alaska, please click on the link below:

http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/573079997uVeDht

Thanks to those who helped me plan this trip -- we had an incredible time! This trip was basically a 1-week "land" trip. I planned the itinerary myself, then had Alaska Tour & Travel book some of the things for me (hotels, bus, 1 day tour) and booked the rest myself (flight, some tours). I used Alaska Tour & Travel because they gave me really great feedback, in-depth info and good opinions on hotels, and it cost me no more to have them take care of the details for me... I recommend them very much!

The basics: we are an adult daughter and mother (early 40s and early 70s), and flew roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale to Anchorage on Continental (got a $650 fare, which we thought was great). Our travel dates were June 6-13... and we had spectacular weather! We got SO lucky -- every day was perfectly sunny, and we only got some clouds on our final day (when we were indoors anyway).

DAY 1 -- ARRIVE ANCHORAGE. We got to Anchorage at 8pm, rented a car with National, and drove to our hotel, the Sheraton Anchorage. I really liked the Sheraton and it was perfect for us. I knew we weren't going to spend time exploring the downtown (it's not real centrally located) but that didn't matter for us, since we basically just wanted a nice, quiet place to sleep.

DAY 2 -- HELICOPTER / DOG SLEDDING IN GIRDWOOD. Literally one of the most memorable days of my life! We drove down to Girdwood (about 45 minutes south), and took a 1-hour helicopter flightseeing tour with Alpine Air Alaska. I can't say enough about this trip! (Plus, the company is run by VERY friendly, wonderful people.) I found out about Alpine Air on www.alaksa.org (they have pictures and videos). The helicopter flies over the Chugach Mountains, glaciers, blue ice fields... it was like being in an IMAX movie! It was beyond description! At one point we landed in the mountains and got out to walk around. Then we headed back to the hangar to suit-up for our second tour of the day, Glacier Dog Sledding. Spirobulldog, if you're out there, THANK YOU for encouraging me to go! This was so amazing! They gave us overboots, nylon pants to go over our jeans, and windbreakers, then we loaded right back into the helicopter and rode about 5 minutes to Punch Bowl Glacier, where we were dropped off for our sledding trip. Our musher guide was Mike Barnett, who was a great guy, and gave us lots of interesting info on the Iditarod and dog-sledding in general. I will say that I'm not a "dog person" so I'm surprised I found this all so interesting. We got to hold some of the puppies while Mike hooked up our sled team... then we were off on a beautiful ride around this glacier that's surrounded by mountains. After, we returned to Alpine Air, got our car, and had lunch at the Bake Shop (great sandwiches, soup, etc.). I really loved the semi-crunchy vibe of Girdwood, and wish we had more time to stay there. Next time I want to check out the paragliding tour there; mom didn't want to do it this time We then drove back up Turnagain Arm and stopped at the scenic overlooks, spotted some Dall Sheep way up on the side of the mountain, and also visited Potter's Marsh where I saw my first bald eagle, so I was thrilled. We returned the car at the airport and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel (about $20).

DAY 3 -- PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND CRUISE. This morning we were picked up by Prince William Sound Glacier Cruises for our day cruise out of Whittier. Our bus went by Portage Glacier and through the Whittier tunnel (this is a beautiful area), and got on our boat for the 6-hour Wilderness Adventure cruise (the one that goes through Esther Passage). Our driver said we were lucky and that tourism numbers have been down, so there were only 30-something people on the ship (which can accommodate over 100). Early on in the tour, were lucky enough to see a black bear on the shore (very far away), and also some humpbacks (also pretty distant). Lunch is included on the tour (crab cakes, rice, bread... can't tell you how it was; I got the vegetarian option). We spotted some bald eagles and lots of sea otters, and made our way up to Surprise Glacier. As I wrote in another post, I was actually disappointed that the cruise only stops at 1 glacier... I was under the impression that we would be stopping in front of several glaciers to watch for calving (which I was really excited to see), but unfortunately the glacier didn't calve while we were there (about 25 minutes) -- just some crumbling. Overall, the trip was enjoyable -- maybe a bit too long for me, and if I were to go again, I would consider the 4.5 hour cruise which actually stops at 2 glaciers (or maybe try the 26 Glaciers trip). The bus returned us to our hotel around 6:30 pm, so it was a long day, but a beautiful one!

DAY 4 -- ALASKA RAILROAD TO DENALI. In the morning, we used the Sheraton's free shuttle service to the railroad depot, and boarded the 8:15 am train up to Denali. I have to say, I was prepared for this LONG (7.5 hr) train ride to be boring, but was I surprised how much I loved it, and was sad when it was over! It offered up some of the best NON-STOP scenery of our whole trip... just miles and miles of extreme gorgeousness! Again, being so lucky with the weather helped, and we could see Mt. McKinley. Going over Hurricane Gultch was fantastic too, and we were also able to spot several moose along the way. We booked Gold Star ("first class") tickets, which has the glass-domed roofs so you have unobstructed views of everything, as well as access to an outdoor viewing platform. The dining car is great (nice decor, tablecloths) and had a pretty extensive menu. I enjoyed a couple of Alaska Amber beers (great microbrew from Juneau) and took lots of pictures and videos from the train. Side note: later in the trip we used the Park Connection bus that goes along the same basic route as the railroad, but we found the scenery to be FAR superior from the train -- not sure why -- some of it might have been weather (some clouds), but I still think the train is a must-do if you're going to Denali or Fairbanks. Once we arrived in Denali (at 3:45 pm) we took our hotel's shuttle bus to check in. We stayed at Denali River Cabins and loved it! We paid a little extra for a riverfront cabin, which I'm glad we did. It's right on the Nenana River. The cedar cabins are small but comfortable (they have heat and TV) and we had a double bed and a twin bed. What was nice about staying here was we could avoid the cruise ship crowds, yet take advantage of the amenities of the large hotel nearby, the McKinley Village Lodge. We used their restaurant, gift shop, and got bus pick-ups from here (it's a short walk away from the cabins).

DAY 5 -- DENALI NATIONAL PARK. This morning we took the Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali park, and got very lucky to have Lisa Frederic as our tour bus guide. Lisa is amazingly knowledgeable, and when she's not doing tours, she also runs a salmon fishing business on Kodiak Island with her husband, and later in life decided to race sled dogs and even rode in the Iditarod! (Right now I'm reading her book "Running with Champions.") This bus tour is about 7-8 hours, but again, it didn't feel like it, and was captivating the whole time. Today was my birthday, and Denali was very kind to me... we had incredible luck seeing animals, and even Lisa was shocked at how much we saw: a dozen grizzly bears, dall sheep, caribou (all these at a distance), two wolves (both close to the bus!) a lynx (very rare and crossed right in front of the bus!), several moose, lots of snowshoe hares and arctic ground squirrels, and even a couple of bald eagles, which are not supposed to even be in this area (we even saw a magpie trying to force a bald eagle off his perch... crazy Natl. Geographic moment!) And the icing on my birthday cake was that Mt. McKinley (Denali) was in full view!

DAY 6 -- TALKEETNA. We had the Park Connection bus pick us up and drive us back down to Talkeetna (about 2.5 hours away). We used this bus as a means to make our way back down to Anchorage, since we didn't want to take the train both ways, and it worked perfectly. The bus dropped us off at our hotel, the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, which is a beautiful property, with nice LARGE rooms and a fantastic restaurant. Talkeetna's another place I wish we had more time to spend. Today we were to be picked-up by Talkeetna River Guides for a 1pm river "float" trip on the Chulitna River. This is a tour I booked myself... and thank goodness I had this weird feeling to reconfirm at the last minute, because when I called, they said they weren't going out this afternoon! (Like heck they aren't!) I won't bore you with the long story, but suffice it to say that I very nicely and firmly asserted my case and catastrophe was averted! The float trip was really great -- maybe a bit long (3 hrs. on the water). They offer shorter trips, but our timing only allowed for this longer afternoon trip. Getting on our gear and into the raft, I discovered why everyone calls the mosquitos "Alaska's State Bird" -- holy moly! They're huge! I'm from South Florida, and we have mosquitos, but they're small and fast... at least these big monsters are pretty slow and you can catch them. There were swarms of them by the river bank (not once we were on the raft), but I'm glad I brought a few "Off" wipes with me! Anyway, we had one more magical moment on this trip when we saw 2 bald eagles sitting on low tree stumps in the middle of the river... they let us float RIGHT up to them -- maybe only 10 feet away! -- and I flipped! I didn't realize how huge they are, and every bit as majestic as I expected. This definitely was a good photo op (that's the last picture in my slideshow, posted above). The town of Talkeetna is really cute, but we were so dirty and tired that we didn't stop to explore or get dinner here -- in hindsight, I really wish we had 'cause it's a great little place.

DAY 7 -- ANCHORAGE MUSEUM. We took the Park Connection bus back down to Anchorage. It stops at either the airport, or the Anchorage Museum (which is where we went, since our flight didn't leave until 8 pm). If you take the Park Connection bus, you get free admission to the museum ($8). It was a very nice and convenient way to spend several hours. The museum had big lockers for us to store our bags, so that was easy. We were very impressed with the museum, which was recently renovated and had just reopened maybe a week before we arrived. We had lunch in the excellent museum cafe, which is run by Marx Bros. restaurant. Then we explored the exhibits (art, artifacts, excellent displays on Alaska's cultural history, etc.) and also watched a movie on climbing Denali. Before the museum closed (at 6pm) we took a taxi to the airport and did the LONG rides home (including hours of mechanical delays, missing our connection, etc.) We figure our good-weather, good-animal-sighting karma was all used up, and deserved a little adversity

Sad to be back in "civilization," and can't wait for a return trip! If anyone has any questions, I'd be more than happy to share more information! Thanks for reading!

Carol

misha2

Wow! I think you've inspired me to do this next summer instead of an Alaskan cruise. How expensive was the helicopter and sledding?

CarolM

Oh good! Well, I have to say, the helicopter and dog sledding WERE very expensive... but still, the total for each of us came out to be less than if we had done a cruise. The 1-hour helicopter tour was $320 per person, and the dog sledding was $450 per person. Since we did two tours with Alpine Air, I asked if they'd give me a discount, and they did give me 10% off. They also do half-hour helicopter tours. If you did only the dog-sledding, you do take the helicopter to the glacier, but it's really only a 5-minute ride each way. Anyway, this was our big splurge, but also one of the best days of my life!

Virgogirl

Carol, your pix were awesome! Sharp and well chosen. May I ask what kind of camera you used? we're going to Anchorage in July. Thanx for posting!

SledDogAction

For the dogs, the Iditarod is a bottomless pit of suffering. Six dogs died in the 2009 Iditarod. Two dogs on Dr. Lou Packer's team froze to death in the brutally cold winds. What happens to the dogs during the race includes death, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons and sprains. At least 142 dogs have died in the race. No one knows how many dogs die after this tortuous ordeal or during training. For more facts about the Iditarod, visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website, www.helpsleddogs.org .

be_6489

Great trip report. Loved the pictures.

CarolM

be_6489 and Virgogirl, thanks!

Virgogirl, I'm no pro -- I simply use a great little digital point & shoot -- the Canon SD700IS. It's really small, can slip into your jacket pocket, and takes great pictures. I like a small camera for the convenience, since I also like to use a videocamera when I travel! All the little Canon digitals are not only great, but I find them very user-friendly.

But here's my biggest "tip" and that is shoot a LOT of pictures! Get a memory card that's at least 1 Gig, and even if you think you have that "perfect" shot, take several more from different angles... go down on one knee and shoot up, move around, zoom in and out, etc.

But don't make your friends and family sit through all that junk!!! I travel with a laptop and every night I load each day's pictures onto it, and sift through, choosing the best shots. Then I delete the bad ones from my camera. If you don't travel with a laptop, wait 'til you get home before you delete, because sometimes pictures don't look so great on the camera's LCD screen, but are indeed great shots on the bigger screen.

Too much information?

kodi

Carol, what a great trip report. It's a trip I'd really like to do, and reading your report makes me want to do it even more.
Great photos!! My husband always told me to take tons of pictures.. so that is great advice ,which I try to follow.

I enjoyed your report and your photos so much.. Thank you.

Jlb2604

Thanks for all the info! I'm planning an Alaskan cruise next summer & am interested in getting married in Denali park.. Or at the talkeetna lodge or alyska resort.. I want the mountains & grass in the background.. Where do u suggest has the best scenery out of those hotels?

CarolM

I didn't stay at the Alyeska resort, but I'd say Girdwood (where the resort is) has some of the most beautiful scenery. All along the Turnagain Arm you can see mountains and water... just beautiful. I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in Alaska! Realize that it's harder to get to Denali and Talkeetna from Anchorage, whereas Girdwood is a somewhat short drive (maybe 40 minutes.) It might be easiest to make arrangements for a wedding party and guests there (in my opinion).

You can't always count on Mt. McKinley (Denali) to be "out" -- it's sometimes shrouded in clouds... and if you go into the park, be aware that you can't drive yourself in (you have to take a tour bus or shuttle bus) so that probably wouldn't work.

Conlet

bookmarking

mrkindallas

Sounds like a great trip. I'm looking into doing something similar next year. Thanks for the report!

MiamiBeachMomma

Carol-
I'm researching for my Alaska trip this summer.. Your trip report is great and I watched your movie on you tube - I'm impressed!!
You mentioned you stayed at Denali River Cabins - can you comment on that in more detail?
Thx!!