Just Back: How I spent my 3 days in Alaska
Sep 6th, 2003, 10:07 PM
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Just Back: How I spent my 3 days in Alaska
Thanks for your help and insight prior to the trip..here is my report. Left the Midwest on Friday got into Anchorage at 8pm AK time. Picked up my rental car from Hertz, went straight to the Sheraton. Priceline for both..$25/day for rental, $65 for the Sheraton. (Hint: Use priceline for this stuff, Travelocity and Expedia were way higher..saved at least 50-70% off best posted rates anywhere.
Day One
Next morning ate breakfast at a wonderful cafe on 5th street, enjoyed the Saturday Market and explored downtown Anchorage. My wife and I proceeded towards Seward where we made some stops to watch Beluga Whales in Turnagain Arm, visit Portage Glacier (skip it) all while enjoying the terrific drive. We got into Seward, checked into the Harborview Hotel (nice, but make sure you stay in the new building separate from the hotel) and ate lunch at a little Taco restaurant right behind the Shell station (Love Mexican food and while it wasnt the greatest, I was happy to find my favorite cuisine in Seward!) After lunch, headed the 10 minutes to Exit Glacier (Loved it..well kept, beautiful trails and great pictures being able to be so close to the Glacier.) Don't tell anyone we walked right up and touched the glacier. That evening we ate at Rays (Great seats right on the water..food was good..dont like seafood so we ate from the bar menu and had some great hamburgers and got out of their with extra money to burn) Everyone said we had to eat there..I'll give it a thumbs up too. Walked off dinner by walking though town, watching the fishing boats come in and then seeing the fisherman clean their huge catches of Halibut and Salmon.
Day 2
Checked in at the Kenai Fjords boat tour at 745am for the 8am departure. The 6 hour cruise was a highlight, seeing wildlife such as humpback whales, sea otters, harbor seals, puffins and a calving glacier. Was amazed at the noises (groans, creaking, loud canon type booms) that the glacier made..pretty neat. The chicken nuggets lunch they served was very weak, but I didnt book for the "free" lunch. After the boat tour, we gassed up the car and started heading north back to Anchorage...our next stop Denali Flightseeing in Talkeetna The cops were unbelievable..if I saw one I must have seen literally 10 of them pulling people over on my way back north. I just missed being pulled over twice, the guy in front of me got it first both times. We stopped at Fred Meyer in Anchorage for some snacks and headed up to Talkeetna. No reservations so I checked out the Swiss Alaska Hotel (gross) and one other one that is above a bar off the main drag (even worse). Decided to high tail it to the Alaskan Lodge in Talkeetna for the painful $220/night. Got them to get it down to $180 with a little negotiating tactics. Nice place though, really enjoyed the room, "lodgy" feel and restaurant cuisine.
Day 3
Woke up to a cloudy day and some fear that our flight might not take place. Reserved through Talkeetna Air Taxi (wanted a Glacier Landing). Flight was supposed to be at 10..then 12...then 1...Waiting on the weather, we explored the little town, talked to Dave in his Art Shop, ate at Mountain High Pizza Pie (weak) and enjoyed the shops. Finally we were cleared to go at 2pm and that was the climax of the trip. For $400 (less some coupons that I found in the local paper) my wife and I had a 2 hr flight of a lifetime. Circled McKinley, the other peaks, Ruth Glacier and landed on a small glacier at 5000 feet. No one else was up there but the three of us, the mountains and the blue skies..unbelievable. Must do this! Basically was on a high on the drive back down to Anchorage (Westmark downtown..priceline accepted my $55?!! for the 3 star hotel) Got settled in and walked across the street to the Glacier Brewhouse which everyone had so strongly recommended. Loved it.great atmosphere, great food (ok, so I dropped some money that I had cut corners on elsewhere) and a perfect ending to the trip.
Thats it..went to bed..the plane left at 9am the next day...home on my couch in the midwest by 9pm that night..wondering if this all really happened. It did, the pictures are wonderful. What do you think....????
Day One
Next morning ate breakfast at a wonderful cafe on 5th street, enjoyed the Saturday Market and explored downtown Anchorage. My wife and I proceeded towards Seward where we made some stops to watch Beluga Whales in Turnagain Arm, visit Portage Glacier (skip it) all while enjoying the terrific drive. We got into Seward, checked into the Harborview Hotel (nice, but make sure you stay in the new building separate from the hotel) and ate lunch at a little Taco restaurant right behind the Shell station (Love Mexican food and while it wasnt the greatest, I was happy to find my favorite cuisine in Seward!) After lunch, headed the 10 minutes to Exit Glacier (Loved it..well kept, beautiful trails and great pictures being able to be so close to the Glacier.) Don't tell anyone we walked right up and touched the glacier. That evening we ate at Rays (Great seats right on the water..food was good..dont like seafood so we ate from the bar menu and had some great hamburgers and got out of their with extra money to burn) Everyone said we had to eat there..I'll give it a thumbs up too. Walked off dinner by walking though town, watching the fishing boats come in and then seeing the fisherman clean their huge catches of Halibut and Salmon.
Day 2
Checked in at the Kenai Fjords boat tour at 745am for the 8am departure. The 6 hour cruise was a highlight, seeing wildlife such as humpback whales, sea otters, harbor seals, puffins and a calving glacier. Was amazed at the noises (groans, creaking, loud canon type booms) that the glacier made..pretty neat. The chicken nuggets lunch they served was very weak, but I didnt book for the "free" lunch. After the boat tour, we gassed up the car and started heading north back to Anchorage...our next stop Denali Flightseeing in Talkeetna The cops were unbelievable..if I saw one I must have seen literally 10 of them pulling people over on my way back north. I just missed being pulled over twice, the guy in front of me got it first both times. We stopped at Fred Meyer in Anchorage for some snacks and headed up to Talkeetna. No reservations so I checked out the Swiss Alaska Hotel (gross) and one other one that is above a bar off the main drag (even worse). Decided to high tail it to the Alaskan Lodge in Talkeetna for the painful $220/night. Got them to get it down to $180 with a little negotiating tactics. Nice place though, really enjoyed the room, "lodgy" feel and restaurant cuisine.
Day 3
Woke up to a cloudy day and some fear that our flight might not take place. Reserved through Talkeetna Air Taxi (wanted a Glacier Landing). Flight was supposed to be at 10..then 12...then 1...Waiting on the weather, we explored the little town, talked to Dave in his Art Shop, ate at Mountain High Pizza Pie (weak) and enjoyed the shops. Finally we were cleared to go at 2pm and that was the climax of the trip. For $400 (less some coupons that I found in the local paper) my wife and I had a 2 hr flight of a lifetime. Circled McKinley, the other peaks, Ruth Glacier and landed on a small glacier at 5000 feet. No one else was up there but the three of us, the mountains and the blue skies..unbelievable. Must do this! Basically was on a high on the drive back down to Anchorage (Westmark downtown..priceline accepted my $55?!! for the 3 star hotel) Got settled in and walked across the street to the Glacier Brewhouse which everyone had so strongly recommended. Loved it.great atmosphere, great food (ok, so I dropped some money that I had cut corners on elsewhere) and a perfect ending to the trip.
Thats it..went to bed..the plane left at 9am the next day...home on my couch in the midwest by 9pm that night..wondering if this all really happened. It did, the pictures are wonderful. What do you think....????
Sep 7th, 2003, 07:49 AM
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I'm copying your report to send to my daughter - she and my son-in-law leave for Alaska September 27th. They'll arrive in Anchorage at 8:15 p.m. and are staying at Executive Suites Hotel, driving to Seward the next day, where they'll go to some Alaska sealife place. The next morning they'll be taking a 7 hour charter trip. The following day they originally planned to drive to Fairbanks to spend a few nights with SIL's cousin, but after seeing Danali National Park online, they've made reservations for one night in Healy at The Totem Inn so they can spend a day at Danali. They'll then go on to Fairbanks to spend a couple of nights before driving back to Anchorage to fly home at 9:00 a.m. on October 4th.
Seeing their itinary, do you have any comments or recommendations?
Seeing their itinary, do you have any comments or recommendations?
Sep 16th, 2003, 05:36 AM
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The following day they originally planned to drive to Fairbanks to spend a few nights with SIL's cousin, but after seeing Danali National Park online, they've made reservations for one night in Healy at The Totem Inn so they can spend a day at Danali. They'll then go on to Fairbanks to spend a couple of nights before driving back to Anchorage to fly home at 9:00 a.m. on October 4th.
Seeing their itinary, do you have any comments or recommendations?
Are they aware that Denali Park will be closed???? No tours/ shuttles into the park, no ranger activities, they can visit the sled dogs- but no demos???
Seeing their itinary, do you have any comments or recommendations?
Are they aware that Denali Park will be closed???? No tours/ shuttles into the park, no ranger activities, they can visit the sled dogs- but no demos???
Sep 16th, 2003, 07:16 AM
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The park road is closed except for the permit holders from the lottery.
Glitter Gulch, those businesses nearest the park entrance, is currently being boarded up.
The Totem, for it's local flavor is fine, but the live music has stopped.
Snow is beginning to creep it's way down the mountains now. If they are not financially committed to Denali and Fairbanks, I'd get them to focus more on the Anchorage - Seward segment. Kenai Fjords is accessible year round on comfortable boats. And Turnagain Arm is always pretty.
Great report brandon!
Glitter Gulch, those businesses nearest the park entrance, is currently being boarded up.
The Totem, for it's local flavor is fine, but the live music has stopped.
Snow is beginning to creep it's way down the mountains now. If they are not financially committed to Denali and Fairbanks, I'd get them to focus more on the Anchorage - Seward segment. Kenai Fjords is accessible year round on comfortable boats. And Turnagain Arm is always pretty.
Great report brandon!
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