Snooping around gathering info. Thanks!!

Our cruise stops are departing from Seward, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straight Point, Ketchikan. Any suggestions on excursions at these ports. I know in Skagway the White railroad is popular. But the option of taking the bus first and stopping at the suspended bridge sounds good. Any thoughts? If we do, do they give u enough time to walk across and take some pictures? We are also looking at taking a helicopter combined with a dog sledding. Is it a worthwhile trip? We dont want to do any kayaking or canoeing but a safe boat ride to get closer to the glaciers would be great. Thanks

I know Denali is somewhat limited due to the earthquake but we are spending 3 days there. What are the best suggestions of things to do there. We have a flight from Talkeetna to see the mountain including a glacier landing. I ve read different opinions on doing the Tundra Wilderness tour. I know seeing the Denali mountain isnt easy but we want to increase our chances of seeing it. We definitely our interested in seeing wildlife also. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

The best thing I did in Alaska was a whale watching trip in which we saw the whales "bubble net feeding." YouTube and watch. It is incredible.

In Denali we visited Husky Homestead and learned about training the dogs. There happened to be several puppies which we got to hold. It was interesting.

We did the bus tour of Denali. It was a clear day and we saw the mountain well. There was a young grizzly right beside the bus.

We visited the ranger station in Talkneetka - this is where mountaineers register before they climb the mountain. When we were there a rescue was happening on the mountain so lots of excitement there with rescue monitoring

We were lucky to visit during a heat wave with clear skies so Denali was always visible including in the middle ofmthe night around the summer solstice from a cabin we rented somewhat near Talkeetna.

On our first visit we departed Alaska Marine ferry in Skagway and had to wait a day or two to take train ride on a foggy day. Cruise boat passengers had gotten all the tickets on day I wanted to go butmit was no big deal to soend an extra day in Skagway. There was a silly play about the gold rush which wasn't too bad if you knew all the back story. Skagway is a tiny town and most cruise ship,passengers seem intent on shopping. Ifmit,s still there, one shop featured local products. I probably jse the handmade ulu knofe and chopping block daily. My favorite way to mince garlic.

I agree with sunbum that a boat ride to see whales and glaciers is fantastic. We took Major Marine out of Seward. Although we did not see a glacier calve, the boat stopped with engines off and we could hear ice crunching against boat.

Good chance to see moose in Kenai/Soldotna area. I didn,t mind not seeing bears or wolves since in NH we see deer, bear and bobcats. Never did get a sled ride even though our son was involved with mushing here in NH and later in AK. Best to read books about the Iditarod before your trip so you can better understand. Check local newspapers for other events going on. Glad we got to attend a dinner show with Hobo Jim while he was still alive. He wrote and sang the Idiatrod song. You can find on YouTube.

Just an FYI for people who are planning to drive north from Anchorage. Work on the Knik Arm Bridge has begun. Not sure how long this summer it will last, but the plan is to have traffic going south from Wasilla/Palmer for the morning commute to have two lanes and traffic going north for evening commute having two lanes. Basically, they are off loading traffic to one side of the bridge while they work on the other. So, for visitors, planning your trip against the commuters would be wise. Here's a link for info: . or google Knik River Bridge construction work.