Fellow Fodorites - We're back from a terrific 2 weeks in AK. "We" are fairly active couple mid 50's (me) and mid 60's (DH). While I usually spend a lot of time reading and posting on fodors, for this trip I found I had started planning too late to have that luxury, so used a local travel agent to book much of the trip. Here's our basic itinerary:

July 7 - flew Delta from DC, changing in Atlanta, arriving 6 pm into Anchorage.
July 7-10- Anchorage - Comfort Inn.
July 10 -12 - drove (Thrifty car rental) to Talkeetna; 2 nights at Talkeetna Alaska Lodge.
July 12-16 - drove to Seward, 4 nights at Seward Windsong Lodge.
July 16-19 - drove to Soldotna, 3 nights at Kenai River Raven B&B (FABULOUS).
July 19-20 - drove back to Anchorage, 1 night Sheraton.
July 20 - flew overnight back to DC.

Also, we used the Alaska coupon book to get 2 for 1 deals on: 1. summit flight around Mt. McKinley, 2. 6-hour cruise of Kenai National Park and the glaciers out of Seward, 3. entry to Alaska Native Heritage Museum, 4. entry to Sealife Center in Seward, 5. coffee drink at Kaladi Bros. Coffee, and 6. entry to conservation center outside Seward.

Trip Report (in probably agonizing detail...)

While Anchorage's Comfort Inn is a suprisingly nice hotel, it's at the bottom of a steep hill and thus is a 2-3 block walk uphill to get to everything else. Another negative is that the Inn lies between 2 sets of train tracks, which is disturbing for light sleepers. Since our travel agent booked this for us and billed us for the entire package including car rental, Rust's bear excursion, and hotels in Talkeetna and Seward, I don't know how much of a bargain it really is.

Anyway, when we arrived in Anchorage the evening of July 7, it was fairly cold, windy, and drizzling. We were fortunate that the Inn's airport shuttle was about to drive up the hill through the downtown area, so the driver let us bum a ride up the hill. Tipped him a few bucks. Ate dinner at Snow Goose, which while good, was packed and we had to wait about 20 min. for a table. A few things we found with most restaurants in AK - they rush you through your meal because they turn tables multiples times each evening and portions are very large.

By the end of dinner, rain had stopped and we walked back the roughly 8 blocks to the hotel, stopping to shop along the way. Shops here stay open late, at least in the tourist area of downtown.

Next day was low key, giving ourselves a day to adjust to the 4 hour time change. Walked out back to watch the salmon fishing at Ships Creek, right behind the hotel. Walked up the dreaded hill for great coffee at Kaladi Bros. and then on down 5th Ave. to rent bikes to do the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, a 22-mile round trip (out and back). It was very chilly and drizzling, so we only did about 14 miles total. No wildlife, but interesting views of the mudflats, river, and nice houses along the trail. Afterwards we ate lunch at Sacks Cafe (terrific food - made dinner reservations for later that week) and then taxi'd ($25 incl. tip) to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Quite well done with an especially interesting outdoor exhibit that surrounds a small lake consisting of 5 or 6 reconstructed houses of various native groups. Really great staff of young locals from these native groups are on hand throughout the exhibit to solicit questions and engage visitors in conversations. Shuttle back to hotel and then caught Ulu Factory's free shuttle up to town for dinner. Tried to get into Glacier Brewhouse, which was packed. Didn't want to wait the hour they estimated, so walked next door and had a wonderful dinner in a much more relaxed, upscale ambiance. Lots of locals here.

Wed. we were up early for 7:10 pickup by Rust Flying Service. We flew on their seaplane (very smooth takeoff and landing on water) to Redoubt Bay Lodge at Lake Clarke to view bears at one edge of the lake where salmon flop upstream past rocks on their journey home to spawn. Hence the bears. More cold and intermittent rain here, but amazing to watch the 2 brown and 2 black bears from a safe distance. A great experience to see bear views lined up on one side of this edge and people fishing in boats along the other edge, with salmon practially leaping out of the water. After a few hours of this, we motored back to the lodge for a great lunch (and warmth!) and then it was back to Anchorage. Browsed through downtown more and then had dinner at Sacks Cafe - marvelous! Great service, and this place doesn't rush you.

Thursday morning we caught a ride with the Inn's airport shuttle to Thrifty's location not far from the airport (if you use their facility at the airport you pay higher fees). Drove north to Talkeetna (still no moose) and arrived early afternoon. Our room wasn't yet ready, so we dropped our bags with them and drove into town. Strange little town - everything happens in about 3 blocks and most of the businesses are in houses converted to storefronts. Many of the locals are pretty rough looking, as this is McKinley climbing territory, and there's currently a counterfeit $100 bill scam going on there, but everyone was friendly. Our room, while not on the mountain view side (hotel booked solid), was quite nice and the hotel is very nice with lots of wood and a 2-3 story river rock fireplace. Ate very good dinner in the nicer of the Lodge's 2 restaurants.

Next day (Friday) we hiked the trails around the lodge and then drove into town for McKinley summit flight on Talkeetna Aero Services (coupon - had booked 6 months ago). Terrific views with excellent pilot who took us all around the summit and the glacier passes the climbers walk to reach it. While below was cloudy and cool, up above the clouds it was warm and very sunny. Never wore an oxygen mask before while flying; this was quite an outstanding and unique experience, and well worth the money.

Back to the lodge to relax and dinner again in their nicer restaurant. Our diet in Alaska is either salmon or halibut for lunch and dinner!

Sat. we hiked the trails again, packed up and headed south to Seward. While the drive north from Anchorage isn't much, the drive south from Anchorage is breathtaking. Around every curve is more jaw dropping scenery, with high, snow capped mountains on either side, driving the road that follows rivers, bays, creeks, and lakes. But still no moose.

After numerous stops for pix, coffee, etc., we arrived into Seward and checked into the Seward Windsong Lodge in the late afternoon. With the sun not setting until midnight or so, you don't have to worry about rushing to drive to the next location before dark! Another beautiful lodge, even nicer than Talkeetna's, with once again, a 2-story river rock fireplace, great giftshop, and coffee joint in the lodge. Their restaurant, Resurrection Roadhouse, is in a separate building next door. Our cabin, Windflower (2 stories, housing about 6 rooms on each floor), had a spectacular view across the road to the Resurrection River and snow capped mountain right in front of the cabin. Ate dinner at the Roadhouse, again very good food and large portions (Everywhere we ate, DH and I split an entree and added a salad and soup).

Sunday we drove into town. (Windsong is on Exit Glacier Road, about 5 miles outside town.) Heavy rain finally started to let up. After breakfast in town (Marina Restaurant at the marina area), we headed to the airport for Godwin Glacier Dog Sledding. Had booked this months ago, but think we probably could have walked in and booked for later that day. Each group is either 2 or 3 people in a 3-pax helicopter, and the whole thing lasts about 2 hours. At the airport office, the staff hooked us up with warm jackets, gloves, and ski pants and gave us a briefing on what to expect.

Great pilot and easy 15 min. flight to the glacier. This was one of the most spectacular things we've ever done. Base camp is 50-60 sled dogs (an actual Ididorat team), each with his/her own igloo doghouse, a large mess tent, and 4 or 5 individual tents for staff, with latrines. After a few minutes of instruction, we boarded our sled and off we went over the snow. DH handled the 2nd sled, attached by ropes to the front sled driven by our guide with me seated in front. Halfway through, we switched and DH sat in the front sled while I mushed. Can't describe the thrill adequately - here you are on a flat area of snow covered glacier surrounded by snow-covered mountains riding on a sled. Arrived back at the base camp after a 30 min. ride, then chatted with the guides and petted the dogs while awaiting our helicopter's return with the next couple.

Back at the airport office, mentioned to the really nice worker there of our quest to see bears and moose, and she gave us directions to a place nearby called Bear Lake. Drove off to late lunch from there at Yoly's (really good food) and shopped in town for a sweater. Weather here was colder than we had expected and the same couple of warm sweaters every day is getting a bit dicey! Interesting downtown with some pretty old buildings dating back 90 or so years.

Drove around trying to find Bear Lake but somehow missed it. On to dinner at Chinook's. Good food but rushed - entree came out soon after appetizer.

Monday we drove back to town for our 6-hour fjiords cruise with Renown. They have the only free parking area we could see, of all of the glacier cruise companies. This is really worthwhile. Saw otters, sea lions, orca and humpback whales, seals, puffins, and other birds, all the while listening to alternating narrations by a park ranger and the ship's pilot. Highlight is the farthest point, where we stopped in front of a glacier for about 25 min. to listen for and watch the calving -- ice chunks breaking off all over and inside the glacier, and some landing with huge splashes into the water. Noises these glaciers make range from gunshot sounds to thunder sounds. Lunch was served aboard the boat (smoked salmon, bagels, cream and cheddar cheese, apples, and cookie, with soda. Water, coffee and cocoa served through the whole cruise. This was a very worthwhile day, and Renown does a good job of making it interesting and appealing to all ages.

Dinner at Crab House, downtown. Good and surprisingly empty, considering the madhouse the marina restaurants are at this time of day across town!

Tuesday after breakfast we finally found Bear Lake - worth the time spent as we saw some great wildlife in that area. First we drove well into this residential but very wooded area and saw a brown bear lumbering down the road. After following it a distance in the car and losing it, we backtracked to the small salmon hatchery business and watched salmon trying to hurtle themselves up a waterfall. Across the street we joined a group of people watching a mother bear with her cub eating salmon out of the small creek between us and them. When the cub crossed a tree trunk to our side, with mother not far behind, we dashed for the car. Off to lunch and then Exit Glacier. Parked our car and checked out the trail maps in the park office, selecting the intermediate trail that takes you right up to the edge of the glacier - about an hour walk that was mostly easy with a few rough parts (for those of us who suffer from fear of heights anyway).

Dinner that night was at Ray's - probably Seward's most famous restaurant. Food was good, not great, and this time the entree came out with the appetizers. Grrrrr.

Wednesday we packed and were off to Soldotna. It was less than a 2 hour drive, even doing moose patrol (watching both sides of the road for those elusive critters) (still no moose!). Did some shopping in town, got our fishing licenses at a hardware store (with King salmon stamps), and drove to our B&B. Beautiful place built about 10 years ago of huge wood logs (maybe pine?) with the obligatory 2-story river rock fireplace (impressive in a private home!). This place has 6 rooms for guests, I think. Our hostess, Steevie, set us up with waterproof outerwear for tomorrow's full day fishing trip. They had arranged this for us when we booked with them 6 months ago. Good thing - weather is again drizzling and cool/cold!

She also gave us an area map and made suggestions of things to see in the area. Off we drove to Kenai, to see dip net fishing from the beach, and to drive around the old Russian settlement from early 1900s in Kenai.

Ate dinner at Mykel's - a very good restaurant in town. Then to bed early.

Thursday we were up at 4:15 a.m. for 4:45 a.m. breakfast. Drove to town at 5:15 a.m. to meet our boat guide at 5:30 a.m. Ha - finally experienced dark in this state! Bless Steevie for her waterproof clothes and stern warnings to dress warmly. It was probably 50 degrees and pouring! Somehow, we had a good time. Our boat was another couple and our guide, Eric Loomis. If you have to be stuck in a boat all day in the pouring rain, he's the guy you want to be stuck with. We were all novice fishers but he was patient and very helpful.

DH landed a 20-lb King, the other couple a 30-lb King, a Silver, and a whopping 55-lb female King. I, on the other hand, struggled to bring in a 5-lb Dolly Varden, which we released because it was so small. What the heck, it was a totally new experience, which is what travel is all about, and we felt we had accomplished something by surviving a day in the rain and cold in a boat fishing. Eric filleted the fish and handed us trash bags of our fish, which we then took to Kasilof's processing center, in town near our B&B, for them to cut, vacume pack, and flash freeze. Arranged that they would store the box (carry-on size) in their freezer until we picked it up on our drive back to Anchorage.

Dinner that night at Louie's in Kenai. Good food and friendly folks there.

Friday we drove to Homer, about 2 hours, doing our moose patrol thing. STILL no moose! But pretty drive, with great views overlooking Homer at a stop just before town. Drove up the "spit" and had a good lunch at Seafood Restaurant (guess they didn't spend too much time coming up with that name...). Shopped around and drove up to the main part of town, and from there did some scenic drives in the hill high above town, ending with Skyline Drive, which was quite beautiful.

Back to Soldotna - you guessed it, no moose - and dinner again at Mykels. Walked down to the private dock of our B&B to watch people fishing for red salmon along the river banks. 2 nights ago was an amazing run of reds, but it had dwindled down by now.

Sat. we packed up and headed out to drive back to Anchorage, arrived at the Sheraton, giving them our box of fish to keep frozen. This was an interesting transition back to the real world for us - the Sheraton downtown is very business class and not as touristy. Spent the afternoon at the craft market a few blocks away, which I think is held every weekend during the summer. Ate dinner there at their Jade restaurant which was pretty good.

Sunday we hit the gym downstairs, packed, checked out and left our luggage with the hotel to store, and drove around to see more of Anchorage and try to find moose in the hills above town. Nada...

Picked up our luggage and fish, returned our car to Thrifty, and headed to the airport for our 8:30 pm departure.

This was a great trip with so many new experiences for us. We might have to return some day to catch me a King salmon and resume our moose patrol!

Happy to answer any questions - Claire

Claire - excellent post!
Glad you enjoyed your trip. As a local, I appreciate reading these comments so that I can recommend to our guests when they come up.

Wow thanks for the great trip report Claire!
We leave next week for a much anticipated first trip to Alaska and will also be in Seward (staying at Bear Lake, actually), Homer and Girdwood and participating in many of the same activities. We spent a week in Banff a few years ago searching in vain for moose and based on what I have read I expected to be swatting them off in Alaska but I guess we will see!!
I will pack a couple of extra sweaters based on your experiences. Did you book your Renown cruise in advance? Also, would you feel comfortable leaving a car filled with luggage in the parking lot all day during the cruise? Thanks again for the great info.

Great report - thanks for all the detailed info, bookmarking for future reference.

Tigerman - Glad to hear this is useful for locals. I know in DC, where we live and work, things change frequently, so it's good to get updates, especially on restaurants.

Lynnalan - We booked Renown in advance largely because we were using the coupon book. I believe people were just walking in and booking for that day or the next. There are at least 3 other cruise operators there that I assume so the same cruise, so you probably wouldn't have much problem booking a day or so in advance. Of course, you couldn't lose by booking now. As for the luggage-filled car, we did that a few times and had no problems. I jammed as much into the trunk as I could and laid a jacket over things in the back seat to somewhat hide things though. All day in a parking lot, on the other hand, might be a problem. We often arrive well before our room is ready, so just unload the car at our hotel and have them lock up our bags in a storage area. People seem to do that a lot and hotels never object as far as I know. You might ask Renown if they would mind locking up a few things for you. I know Godwin dog sled people held luggage in their office for the couple who did the trip before us.
You'll have a great time, esp. staying in Bear Lake area.

A tip to all readers I forgot to mention - when you're outdoors all day in the rain, like fishing, and need to stay warm and dry, put a pair of surgical gloves over wool gloves - keeps your hands warm and dry. I went through 2 pairs of so-called water-repellant gloves that day fishing until I thought to borrow a pair of surgical gloves from Eric to cover my 3rd, dry, pair I had brought along. Claire