We just returned from a terrific 17 day trip to Alaska where we vacationed with another couple. We arrived in Anchorage in the evening, and in spite of one of our suitcases not arriving, we stayed overnight, picked up our rental car and left for Denali the next morning. We decided to take the Hatcher Pass for the scenery, and it was indeed beautiful. While the road was gravel and slow, the mountains enclosed by light clouds were lovely. It did take us an extra 2 1/2 hours, but definitely worth it. We then proceeded north, stopping in Talkeetna which was a real "trip". We had dinner at Mt. High Pizza which had a wonderful selection of wraps besides the pizza. Since we had a vegetarian among our group, we were all able to enjoy a great meal. We started north again and came upon a moose and calf along the way...very exciting.We also stopped to take photos of Mt. Mckinley while we could see it. We made it to The Perch, our home for the next 3 nights, to find that Alaska Airlines had delivered our lost luggage just prior to us arriving there. We spent the next 2 1/2 days at Denali taking the shuttle bus and hiking. The shuttle stopped every hour or so for pit stops and we could get out and walk or take photos, etc. There was smoke in the air, and by the 2nd day, the smoke was obliterating the views. The shuttle bus drivers were excellent at spotting wildlife and had their own codes to alert oncoming drivers of wildlife viewing. We were lucky enough to see a grizzly pretty close to the bus, many caribou, several moose, a northern Harrier sitting right outside the bus, dahl sheep in the distance, but the highlight was finding a black wolf looking for lunch not far from the bus. We did some hiking at Polychrome (quite a view) and in the areas closer to the front of the park. The Perch cabins were cozy, convenient and "Grandma" and Leslie served delicious breakfasts with a great view of the mountains. We then left for Wrangell/ St. Elias on day 5, deciding to do the Glenn Hwy as we were concerned if the rental car would survive the Denali Hwy ( We did have permission to take it on Denali Hwy, however, it was sounding abit funky and decided not to risk it). This drive really took alot longer, but it was very pretty, especially near the Matanuska Glacier. We landed in Glenallen around dinnertime, but ended up with pizza again as no one there knew what a vegetarian ate. However, there really was little in terms of eateries around. We got to our next 3- night-home at the Riverview B & B in Gakona. What a prize this was. Homer and Carol were terrific hosts. This inn was right on the river and just beautiful. Homer and his son Patrick made us breakfast each morning adapting to our dietary preferences and with interesting conversations. We had one dinner at the Carriage House, a very old cabin with a rich history. Dinner was good, and the cabin really gave you the old "Alaska" feel of things. We spent the next day hiking in the TangleLake area; in spite of the rain, it was a nice walk with a beautiful view of mountains, water and clouds. We were unable to fly the next day due to smokey and cloudy conditions, so we drove into Chitina, another very old town left in the past. We had lunch in Copper Center at the Roadhouse and wandered and drove taking lots of photos (I hope to post some soon). We tried to fly the next day, but the owner of Ellis Air advised against it. We'll take his flight next trip as he was very nice, knowledable and honest. The next day we bid farewell to Homer and Carol and were off to Valdez via the Thompson Pass. I must stop now, but I will continue in my next post.

Thanks for the trip report. It sounded fun!

Great trip report. I'm looking forward to the next part. Sounds like great service from Alaska Airlines.

Well, I'm back for part two of this report. The drive down to Valdez was incredible. We had a nice sunny day, and saw a couple of eagles perched in trees along the way. As we got closer to the Worthington Glacier, one view was better than the last. The glacier is very close to the road with a great parking area. The walk right up to the ice took about 6 minutes, and we couldn't believe we were actually touching and walking on the glacier. While we were there there were some ice climbers learning to climb so we watched for a while....not a sport I'd really try. We took lots of photos and enjoyed the angles of the ice. We then headed through the Thompson Pass which was lovely, however, as soon as we got on the other side of the mountains, the weather was completely different...rainy, cloudy with little let up. We had planned to hike Keystone Canyon, but gave up with the heavy rain. So we went straight to Valdez, settled in the Best Western, and then headed for dinner at I think it was called Mike's Palace for a pretty good Italian dinner. There's an interesting history to this place for anyone who's curious. The next day we left on the ferry for Whittier in spite of the cloudy, rainy weather. It negated seeing much of the scenery, but it was a comfortable ride. By the time we got to Whittier the weather again changed to sunshine, and we arrived about 20 min. before the tunnel opened. This was the lst time we'd been able to get cell phone service since Anchorage, so we used the time to phone home. Once we were on the road, we decided to skip the Portage Glacier on our way to Seward, and instead visit Exit Glacier while in Seward. That turned out to be a mistake. I think Exit Glacier is overrated, and the hiking near it was minimal. In truth, we were somewhat disappointed with Seward...perhaps our expectations were unreasonable. But the surrounding areas were quite interesting. We took the Major Marine cruise to the Holgate Glacier which was great. I'd definitely recommend this one. They have a ranger on board who is very knowledgable about the area and wildlife. Without Susie Pyle we would have missed alot of information on the animals and glaciers. Though the day started out a little cloudy, it cleared quite quickly, and before we were barely out of port, we were entertained by 5 - 10 sea otters lolling around. There were lots of different birds, including those cute puffins and muirs. The boat stopped close to the roosting area where the puffins, gulls, and muirs hang out and, needless to say, we took lots of photos. We also sailed close to the stellar sea lions which were also lolling around on the rocks; such beautiful creatures that are in jeopardy. We had just gotten past the rocks when orcas were spotted all around us. So the boat cut the engines, and this time we were entertained by these beautiful whales. Along the way towards the Holgate Glacier, the ranger spotted a black bear on the edge of the water....a great sighting. The topper to all this was watching the glacier calve while the boat was motionless. A huge wall of ice tumbled off to the awe of everyone on board. By the time we were returning to port, the weather clouded over, but all on board were thrilled with our trip. We had a good dinner at Chinooks and headed for our newest lodging. More to follow tomorrow.

It's great to have your report, but do wish you would break it into paragraphs for easier reading. Thanks!

There's a great hike at Exit Glacier -- the Harding Icefield Trail. My guess is that if you took that, you wouldn't be using the term ``minimal'' ...

The hiking's far better there than at Portage, so don't worry about what you missed. Portage Glacier is a mere shadow of its former self.

As for Seward, part of its appeal for me is that it doesn't completely live or die pandering for the tourist buck -- and thereby the edges are a little rougher. Its value is as a jumping off point to KFNP.