I and my family recently returned from an 11 day trip touring Valdez, Kennicott-McCarthy and Seward. We all had mixed feelings about Alaska.

We absolutely agreed that the scenery and vista are astounding...when you can see them clearly.While we have visited other beautiful national parks, the Alaska scenery is all encompassing and deserving of accolades.

The same can not be said of the weather. Despite having rain gear and warm clothing, it is still not much fun hiking, biking,kayaying,etc in very cool,wet weather with less than stellar visibility

Also, based on all my research, I had expected the wildlife to be more prolific...did not even see one moose!

We also found touring awkward due to the inability to rent a car in one destination and drop off in another. Costs were also excessive...food particularly. While I understand certain items must be shipped in, salmon and halibut are abundant in Alaska and should be priced accordingly.

Some of our trip highlights include:
1.Ferry to Valdez across Prince William Sound
2.Sea kayaking in Valdez
3.Glacier hike and ice climbing on the Root Glacier
4.Goat trail hike in Valdez
5.Renown tour of the Kenai Fjords(6 hr)
6.Historic copper mill tour in Kennicott

Overall, we enjoyed ourselves in Alaska, but it was not our most memorable trip. I think if we had taken a cruise,followed by a short trip to Denali, our experience would have been more positive.

Don't think we'll be making a repeat visit.

That's an interesting report. I'm sorry Alaska wasn't all you hoped it would be, but hey, you tried something new and that's always a good thing. And I think it's great that you are still bringing home some good memories of your trip.

When I was in Alaska the weather wasn't great either, although the month was August. Most days were cool, drizzly, and gloomy. But we live in TX which is a cauldron in August, so we weren't too bothered by the Alaskan climate. We saw plenty of wildlife there, but only because we visited a zoo. ;-) Other than that, it was just a few mountain goats and reindeer.

In our situation we were there visiting family so we had locals to show us around. I can see how it would be different when you are on your own. But I still applaud your sense of adventure by taking on Alaska, and hopefully some day you can do a cruise, if that is still of interest to you.

I enjoyed your comments ljv.. believe me, our summer on the Kenai was not the hot and dry one we had been spoiled with for the past few years.

>)Weather.. you just can't pick it anywhere huh? I know people who have come back mad that Hawaii rained for days straight, Calif., etc..

As to wildlife, no predicting when they'll want to be on display. For example, every time we have summer visitors, the moose disappear. As soon as my new trees are planted, they come around, sleeping in the yard, frolicking in the sprinklers, eating pumpkins off my deck in October. We actually had to stop at the Wildlife Park on the way to the Anchorage airport one summer(Portage) so my mother-in-law could say she saw one..

Seafood.. my friend, us locals don't get it cheap either.. there are too many costs involved between the time it's caught and put into the stores. Luckily, we are permitted to catch a set amount as residents, but the red returns were slow and the fishermen in our area of Cook Inlet had a poor season compared to previous years(and it has been bad).. halibut, oooh, quite expensive.. best to know someone with a boat and simply share fuel costs, but as a visitor, expect to pay the high prices, like us paying for lobster elsewhere or a good steak, etc..

I have come home from many trip wishing the weather had cooperated, but hope you remember that winter offers much to do in the form of recreation, Northern Lights, dog racing, hot springs..
it's a gamble expecting things to be perfect, and sounds like the rain colored your perception. Thanks for posting, J.

So sorry to hear your trip was a disappointment to you. We went May of 2005 and loved every second of it. We had rain, too, but coming from Louisiana that was nothing new. However, we don't have the mountains, wildlife, glaciers, etc.

We were very lucky to see all the wildlife we saw, but we never saw the beautiful cloudless days some visitors enjoy. We did tons of driving and LOTS of activities, which I believe influenced our trip for the positive, although many would not consider that kind of trip fun. I fell in love with Alaska, but I'm sure it's not everyone's idea of the perfect travel destination.

I'm sorry you had a disappointing trip as well. I've gone twice - in winter! I absolutely loved Alaska. It is so different from anything else I've experienced.

Your comments on weather made me think about an excited comment from a woman who was building a cabin outside Denali. She was thrilled to report that she had been able to work in just a Tshirt for TWO WEEKS the previous summer!

I was lucky enough be in Anchorage in Feb. during the anticipation of the Iditarod and in Haines in November where the bald eagles are clustered around the Chilkat River like oranges on a tree. Alaska amazed me at every turn.

Sorry to hear about the mixed results. I've said it many times, but weather seems to the quality of the trips more in Alaska than many other places.

Not only does it make life physically uncomfortable but the the scenery changes so dramatically with the low clouds.

Plus, there's always the double whammy that comes with high costs and higher expectations. When you pay so much to get there, it's almost natural to expect you'll get to see all those postcard experiences ...

With the weather and the lack of wildlife it sounds like you were doubly unlucky.

that should be ``seems to affect" in the first line. I think I need a posting curfew.

ljv, sorry the weather dampened your enjoyment. We've been lucky with almost perfect weather and some free salmon (thanks to a generous guy who was net fishing) on our visits. We had rotten weather for a windjammer cruise in Maine once and I've never wanted to make a second attempt. We visit Maine frequently but stay off windjammers.