Overview: Princess cruise from Vancouver to Whittier with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. Land tour on Alaska with visits to Denali, Fairbanks, Seward, and Homer.
I know this is very long. I have tried to break it into pieces so you can read just about individual towns. Since it was 18 days, it had to be long.
I have just returned from a trip to Alaska with some family of mine. It was a two part trip. The first part was a cruise onboard the Coral Princess. The second part was a land tour of Alaska, planned by my aunt. On the cruise, there were 8 of us, all family consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The second part only had 6 of us. My cousin and her husband had to leave after the cruise, leaving me with the over 60 crowd.
We left Houston on the 8th for Vancouver. We flew Continental with no problems. Our first checked bag was still free. We even had breakfast served for free. It consisted of cereal, muffins, and a banana. We had to pass through Customs which took about an hour. I almost didn’t make it through. The Customs officer asked me what I was doing in Canada. I told him we were going on a cruise. He asked which company and I said “I don’t know.” (I really didn’t! My aunt had taken care of the planning!) Turns out that that is a red flag to the officers! He then asked if I was traveling alone and I said “No, with family. The lady who just went through is my grandma.” Turns out that she said she was traveling alone. Another red flag. 5 minutes later, after intense questioning, I was allowed to enter the country of Canada.
We got our luggage and took the airport shuttle to the Days Inn on Sexsmith road. It was an awesome hotel. They not only have free wifi, but free computers in each room. It was only 2 blocks away from a liquor store where my family stocked up. We took 16 bottles of wine with us onboard for our daily happy hour. We spent an hour drinking wine and beer at the hotel before boarding the free casino shuttle to the River Rock Casino. It was the only time that I have ever beaten a casino. The hotel gave us a coupon for free $5 at the casino. I went, got the free $5, bought dinner for $4.50, and walked out with $.50 more in my pocket than I walked in with, and a full belly. The hotel also offers free breakfast including cereal, pastries, waffles, and juice and coffee. If you need a hotel by the Vancouver airport, I highly recommend the Days Inn.
The Cruise (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway)
After leaving the hotel, we boarded our cruise ship and set sail for Ketchikan, a 2 day voyage. I was in a balcony stateroom on the dolphin deck of the starboard side. My family had 4 rooms total, all dolphin deck, 3 starboard, 1 port. My aunt wanted it that way so we could have balconies on both sides. The first order of business was to eat lunch. We ate at the Horizon Court, which is the ships buffet. Service is horrible there. They make you wait until a waiter brings you a drink, which usually doesn’t happen until you have finished your meal. The service never got any better. We continued to eat breakfast in the Horizon Court until we found that the Bordeaux room (the anytime fancy dining room) served breakfast. The food and service were much better in the Bordeaux room. Our lunches were usually eaten on shore.
The first day at sea was all at sea. It was rough seas and cold. I hated it because I felt trapped in the ship. I couldn’t go on deck without being blown away by the strong wind and I wasn’t interested in anything on the ship. Cruises are not my cup of tea. I ended up in the library reading a book on hiking in Alaska. My cousin won $500 in a slot machine contest at the casino onboard. Another cousin lost about the same amount at the craps table. Another horrible thing about the cruise was the internet. They offered wireless internet, but it was $0.50/minute. One of my family members tried it, but it took 10 minutes (not exaggerating) to load his home page.
Ketchikan
The next morning, we moored in Ketchikan. I got off as soon as I could and hit the trails. I hiked a trail up Deer Mountain. It was a trail in the Tongass National Forest. The trailhead was on the far side of town, so a quick 30 minute walk delivered me. I hit the trail, hoping to arrive at the summit 2.5 miles later, and 3,000 vertical feet up. I hit the first overlook and spotted whales in the water 1,500 feet below. Around 2,000 feet, I ran into snow. The snow continued until the summit. I was stopped just short of the summit as I was running short of time and the trail to a very steep climb up the snow, and I didn’t have the best shoes on for snow. I headed back down the mountain and met up with my family for lunch at Steamers. We had the halibut sandwich, and it was delicious. About that time it was ready to board the ship and depart for Juneau. We got on board just in time for another happy hour and to share photos.
Deer Mountain summit
If you are in Ketchikan, I recommend hiking Deer Mountain and having lunch at Steamers.
One of my older cousins (well, second cousin, she is my mom’s cousin) was impressed by the idea of hiking on a mountain. She said she had never thought of just seeing a mountain and deciding to climb it. I have rarely seen a mountain that I haven’t considered climbing. You can see the mountain all you want, but can’t appreciate or experience it until you travel on it. Edward Abbey said that a man can see more in a mile on foot than in a hundred in a car. He is exactly right.
Juneau
We arrived in Juneau in the morning and departed for a whale watching trip. We used a company called Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest. We saw humpback whales and sea lions.
Afterwards, we went to the Red Dog Saloon for lunch. I had the reindeer sausage sandwich, once again delicious.
We then went to the Mt Roberts Tram. It goes to the top of Mt Roberts for the price of $25/person.
I opted out and went to tour the state capitol. I then saw the governor’s mansion and toured the state museum. About that time, it was time again to board the ship. My chief complaint about the cruise ships was the limited amount of time in the ports.
If in Juneau, the Red Dog has good food and an interesting ambiance. My guide book said that it was built as a tourist trap and is. I do not recommend the tramway as it is expensive. If you want to see Mt. Roberts, there is a hiking trail that goes to the top and is free. The state capitol is worth a trip. It is free and I had a really good tour guide. She was from Juneau and had lots of insight into how people in Juneau feel about political issues such as building the road to Skagway and moving the capitol to Anchorage. The governor’s mansion is not open for tours. The museum is very interesting; it has a great exhibit on the various native groups in Alaska.
Skagway
We sailed for Skagway, arriving in the early morning. I jumped ship as soon as possible and hit the trails in the Tongass. I hiked the Lower Dewey Lake trail.
Next was a stop at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park headquarters and a ranger lead tour of the park. It was well worth it as they told of the history of the town. I then went to the cemetery (a strange place I tend to visit) and then the Reid Falls.
I was then hurrying back to port to try and make a train. I was hungry and stepped into the Bonanza Bar & Grill and found my family already there. I had the halibut sandwich and Alaskan summer ale (notice a pattern arising?) and then went to catch the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. It took us to White Pass, where the stampeeders had to pass through the mounted police check point with their ton of food.
After returning from the train, it was time to hit up the Skagway Brewing Company with some cousins. We got a pitcher of summer ale and made short order of it. Then to the liquor store and back on ship, just in time for my family’s daily happy hour. (notice another pattern arising?)
If in Skagway, both breweries had good food and good brews. The national park tour is worth the 45 minutes it takes. I felt much more knowledgeable about the town and stampeeders after doing it. I also strongly recommend any of the trails that go into the Tongass. There are several including Lower Dewey Lake, Upper Dewey Lake, Icy Lake and more. If you have a couple of days, the Chilkoot trail looks interesting and you are following in the footsteps of the 98’ers. The train ride was OK, but it was my least favorite (and most expensive) activity in Skagway.
Glacier Bay
We set sail from Skagway and headed to Glacier Bay National Park. Our cruise ship entered the park in the early morning and took on two park rangers who gave commentary. It was absolutely amazing to watch the glaciers calving. One glacier we sat at for 1 hour watching it calf constantly. The ranger said he had never seen it so active. It was worth the trip, but I think in the future I would want to travel by kayak into the park. Another thing along the lines of Edward Abbey’s philosophy.
On the way out of Glacier Bay, we saw more humpback whales, sea otters, and dolphins. We dropped off the rangers and set a course for College Fjord. We toured College Fjord the next day, seeing more glaciers, but not as impressive as the ones in Glacier Bay. We had quite a spectacle at the national park.
Talkeetna
The next morning we moored in Whittier. Princess took us by bus to Anchorage airport where we rented a car from Budget. We just picked the wrong size car. We got a Ford Expedition, which has proven to be too small for 6 people and all their luggage. We each have 1 piece of luggage and 1 backpack, but do not have enough room. An Excursion would have been better for us. My cousin and her husband rented a little Kia and followed us to Talkeetna. In Talkeetna, our first order of business was lunch. We ate at the Wildflower Café. Excellent food. I ate the halibut sandwich and had a Full Sail pale ale. It is an independent brewery out of Oregon (I think).
After lunch, my cousin, her husband, and I took a flight with K2 Aviation. I got the awesome experience of flying co-pilot. The flight was to land on a glacier and allow us to walk on it, however the weather did not. We still got to fly though. The pilot took us over Denali National Park We got to see the summit of Denali and flew low over some glaciers. We then flew over Denali State Park and spotted moose. Even without landing on the glacier, K2 was worth the experience. It cost us $190 to fly, $260 had we landed. In Healy, we found a similar flight to cost $460.
As a side note, Talkeetna is the town Cicily was based on for Northern Exposure. If you are traveling along Route 3, be sure to stop in Talkeetna for the halibut sandwich at Wildflower and the plane ride at K2.
Healy & Denali National Park.
After the flight, my cousin and her husband headed back to Anchorage to fly home. We rest of us continued on to Healy. There are several pullouts along the road that offer views of Denali if it is out. Be sure to stop to take in the views, even if you can’t see Denali.
We stayed at the Healy Hights Family Cabins. The cabin was OK, but I do not think I would recommend it. The towels were clean, but dingy. The sofa bed that my aunt and uncle slept on was broken. The cabin slept 6+ but only had 1 bathroom. Also, no wifi!
We got food at a grocery store in Denali Park. Very expensive as I paid $4 for a loaf of bread. I also got some food for Denali the next day.
We got up early at got to the park by 5:45. I boarded a green bus bound for Eielson visitor center. The rest of my family took one of the wildlife sightseeing brown buses. The ticket for the green bus was $20. You can get off the bus anytime you want and catch any other green buses. It makes for a great way to hike in Denali. I rode the bus to a place called Fish Creek. This is just beyond Stony Dome.
Following a description from a hiking guide I picked up, I hiked Stony Dome, spotting a grizzly from the summit. I hiked back to the road and had my lunch while waiting for the next green bus to come by and pick me up. I intentionally got a west bound bus so that I could see the grizzly again. From the bus, we also spied caribou, moose, and dall sheep.
After hiking, I had dinner at the visitors center, eating halibut and chips. One of my cousins found a coffee shop in Denali Park that had wifi, so he and I grabbed our laptops and went to the Black Bear Coffee Shop. It was awesome! Internet was $5, coffee was $1-2. But the best part was we came on 80’s Day. The workers all dressed in their 80’s outfit and they played 80’s music. We heard a Beastie Boys album and Madonna album while we were there. They mentioned that in a couple of weeks they were having their Pirate versus Robot party. I was sad that I would miss such a tremendous party.
If you are in Denali National Park, ride a green bus and go hiking. If you need a cup of coffee when you get back, go to the Black Bear Coffee Shop in Denali Park. Just don’t forget to wear your robot suit!
Fairbanks
The next morning, we headed north to Fairbanks.
We arrived into town with an empty stomach. Reading my Fodor’s guide book, I saw that Pioneer Park there is an all you can eat Salmon Bake. Unfortunately for us, it is only open 5-9PM and it was noon. We never got a chance to eat there, but hear that it is good.
We went to a restaurant called Pike’s Landing where I once again had the halibut sandwich and summer ale. It is a great restaurant located on the river with three rooms to eat in. 1 is a sports bar, 1 is formal dining, and 1 is the outside decks. Excellent food. However, we were scowled at by some locals because they say the owners are anti-mining. Politics aside, it is a good restaurant.
Next was a stop at the Alaska Pipeline exhibit on Route 2, just south of Fox. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it, but it is worth a stop if you are in the area. You get to see the pipeline all down the state, but here they have some exhibits set up talking about the history and engineering of the pipeline.
We then went to check in at the Taste of Alaska Lodge. An absolutely amazing place. We stayed in the main lodge. There are also several other smaller cabins. The main lodge has two large rooms and a dining room upstairs, and 6 smaller rooms downstairs. The upstairs rooms have 3 queen size beds and a partition that can split the room into 2. It also has a full bathroom. Large windows overlook a pond and field. The downstairs rooms have 2 double beds and a full bath. Each has it owns patio as well. The entire lodge is covered in antiques and handmade quilts. The owners are quite friendly. The lodge is located on the homestead of the husband’s family. They still mine in the area as well. Every morning they serve a hot buffet style breakfast with that caution that if you don’t see it, we don’t have it and don’t ask for it. I highly recommend Taste of Alaska if you ever go to Fairbanks. It is located on Eberhardt Road (named after the husband’s family, the Eberhardt’s) just off of Chena Hot Springs road, a few miles northeast of Fairbanks. While having our afternoon happy hour, a cow moose came out and waded into the pond. The owner’s said that the cow had twins that were still with her.
The next day, we went first to the University of Alaska Museum. It is a very nice museum. One of the most interesting exhibits I found was on the Aleuts during WWII. They were evacuated from their villages in the Aleutian Islands and placed in internment camps during the war. It also talked about the war in the Aleutian Islands, which for some reason is rarely talked about. I learned that actual land battles took place between the Japanese and Americans in the Aleutians.
Next was the Discover Riverboat, which was pretty neat. They take you down the river on a paddle wheel riverboat and make numerous presentations along the way. One stop was at a kennel operated by the husband of a late Iditarod racer. She had won in 86, 87, 88, & 90. They talked about how they raise the pups and even did a sled dog demonstration, having the sled dogs pull a four-wheeler. We also stopped at a reindeer herd before stopped and disembarking at an Indian village. At the village, there were presentations on how the Indians cooked, lived, made clothing, fished, and hunted. The presentations were led by Alaskan natives. It was really quite interesting. The return trip on the riverboat included free salmon spread on crackers. If you are in Fairbanks, I recommend the Discover Riverboat as a way to learn about the native cultures.
We then went to a restaurant called Chena Pumphouse. I do not recommend this restaurant. It is very pricy and the food is just OK. I had the chicken marsala, but others in my party had pasta, clam chowder, chili, and fish. No one was highly impressed with their meal.
After Chena Pumphouse, my cousin wanted to go to a bird sanctuary. We went to Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge on the northside of town and saw Canada geese and sandhill cranes. Then it was back to the lodge for a late night happy hour.
One thing interesting about Fairbanks in the summer is that I never saw nighttime. I went to bed around midnight every night to a bright sun and woke up about 5 or 6 to a bright sun. The sun was only down for about 2 hours in the early morning. Even then, it is still bright enough to see outside. The land of the midnight sun. Fairbanks has a summer collegiate team, the Gold Panners, who play a midnight game every June 21st to celebrate the midnight sun.
The next day we went to North Pole, Alaska. It is just south of Fairbanks on Route 2. Not much in the town except a giant santa by the road and Christmas shop. However, the Christmas shop has a year-round Santa! I got my picture taken with Santa and even ran into an Aggie, class of ‘11, in the store.
We then went back to Fairbanks and had lunch at Sam’s Sourdough Café. We all had halibut on sourdough. Pretty good sandwich. It is a casual dining facility that has some tables outside on a deck. The waitress was really friendly and patient with my fickle family. The café is located on University, next to UAF. Highly recommended by me.
After lunch we went to the El Dorado mine. It is another tourist attraction, but a pretty good one. It is tour of a gold mine that includes a train ride and panning for gold. Everyone is guaranteed to find gold in their pan to take home. It costs $35/person. The train departs the station with a stop inside their permafrost tunnel where they exhibit how the miners worked underground in the permafrost. Coming out of the tunnel, they demonstrate how the sourdough miners (the independents) operated in their trade. They then continued with their tour of historic mining operations before pulling into the gold town. We got off the train and they took us to their box where they use water to separate the gold from the dirt. Slues box? They then demonstrated how to pan the concentrate for gold. After that, they gave everyone a bag of concentrate and a pan and let us pan for gold. Everyone was guaranteed to find gold. If your dirt didn’t have gold, they would give you some more until you found some. They then weighed the gold for you and told you how much you mined. I found 2.5 grains, at a value of $5. I was the worst gold miner in my family. My aunt did the best with $17. They let you take your gold home or they will put it in jewelry for you. Then, they gave out fresh baked cookies and coffee.
Afterwards, we went back to the lodge for our daily happy hour. We had an afternoon toast to the summer sun since it was June 20th, this year’s summer solstice.
If in Fairbanks, stay at the Taste of Alaska Lodge. Eat at the Sourdough Café. If you aren’t big into Fairbanks politics, eat at Pike’s. Tour the museum. The kids will love the gold mining, and the riverboat ride is good for families as well. If you are into baseball, be sure to look up the Goldminers, particularly their midnight sun game on the 21st of June.
Seward
After breakfast at the lodge, we loaded up and headed for Seward. We stopped in Talkeetna for another excellent halibut sandwich at Wildflower Café. It received my vote for my favorite halibut sandwich. We continued to Seward driving along Route 1 to Route 9. The road along Turnagain Arm is amazing. They say it is the most scenic highway in America, and they certainly aren’t far from wrong. There are numerous pullouts along Turnagain Army where you can watch for sheep, birds, beluga whales, and the bore tide.
If you are going to Seward, it is worth flying into Anchorage and driving the Seward highway.
In Seward, we stayed at the Harborview Inn on 3rd Street. We are in the family suite. It has four bedrooms, two baths, and is a nice place to stay. Also includes a living room, full kitchen, and a dining room. It has wireless internet, but it didn’t work for us. Decent room to stay if you have a large group. The inn also has regular inn sized rooms.
The next morning, I went to rent a bike at Seward Mountain Bike Shop on 4th Street. The bike was $30/day.
I rode out to Miller’s Landing for a kayaking trip. The front office staff of Miller’s was a little overwhelmed, particularly when I wanted to buy a coke, newspaper, AND check-in for my trip. It also seemed a little slow in getting ready for the trip. However, all of my doubts were laid to rest as soon as we hit the water with our guides. We kayaked for 2 hours in Thumb Cove. It was easily the best thing I have done in Alaska. We saw sea otters, sea lions, and dolphins while on the water. The guides were very friendly and helpful. They offer both double and single kayaks. They do allow singles. My kayaking group had 8 total. 4 guys who came together from Montana, a couple from San Francisco, a lady from Chicago, and myself.
We all got along very well and had a great trip.
The 4 guys from Montana were such great guys, I ended up going to dinner with them. We ate at the Crab Pot in Seward. Very expensive, but good food. They have an extensive wine list. They specialize in crabs, obviously, but also have lots of fish and other seafood, along with a decent turf menu. After the meal, they provide hot towels. Several of the wait staff were from Europe and we enjoyed talking with a waiter from Germany and waitress from Lithuania.
The next day we went to the Sealife Center. It is expensive ($20/adult), but a really good aquarium. My favorite part was sea bird exhibit. They had a lot of diving birds and the bird exhibit includes a 20 foot fish tank beneath it. You can go below and watch the birds diving down to get fish. They also have a really neat Salmon life cycle exhibit.
After the Sealife Center was lunch at Marina Restaurant on 4th Street. This place is excellent. I had the halibut sandwich and it has been one of the best. My cousin said his double hamburger with jalapenos and BBQ sauce was easily the best hamburger in the state. A great little dive restaurant in Seward.
If in Seward, I highly recommend Miller’s Landing and Marina Restaurant. Miller’s Landing offers kayak rentals and fishing trips as well.
The kayaking trips range from 3 hours to all day trips. Reasonable price and excellent guides.
Homer
Our final destination was Homer. Homer is known as the Halibut Capitol of the World. We stayed at the Lands End Resort. Amazing place! We had a 3 bedroom condo that was awesome. Great view of the water with bald eagles everywhere. Lands End is located at the end of the Homer Spit.
We spent the day being lazy, making a few scenic drives and walking the spit. It has lots of little gift shops along with fishing charters and restaurants.
We then sadly left, returning on Continental.
Alaska is an awesome place! Let me know if you have any questions.
[This message has been edited by Pro Sandy (edited 6/29/2008 5:39p).]
I know this is very long. I have tried to break it into pieces so you can read just about individual towns. Since it was 18 days, it had to be long.
I have just returned from a trip to Alaska with some family of mine. It was a two part trip. The first part was a cruise onboard the Coral Princess. The second part was a land tour of Alaska, planned by my aunt. On the cruise, there were 8 of us, all family consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The second part only had 6 of us. My cousin and her husband had to leave after the cruise, leaving me with the over 60 crowd.
We left Houston on the 8th for Vancouver. We flew Continental with no problems. Our first checked bag was still free. We even had breakfast served for free. It consisted of cereal, muffins, and a banana. We had to pass through Customs which took about an hour. I almost didn’t make it through. The Customs officer asked me what I was doing in Canada. I told him we were going on a cruise. He asked which company and I said “I don’t know.” (I really didn’t! My aunt had taken care of the planning!) Turns out that that is a red flag to the officers! He then asked if I was traveling alone and I said “No, with family. The lady who just went through is my grandma.” Turns out that she said she was traveling alone. Another red flag. 5 minutes later, after intense questioning, I was allowed to enter the country of Canada.
We got our luggage and took the airport shuttle to the Days Inn on Sexsmith road. It was an awesome hotel. They not only have free wifi, but free computers in each room. It was only 2 blocks away from a liquor store where my family stocked up. We took 16 bottles of wine with us onboard for our daily happy hour. We spent an hour drinking wine and beer at the hotel before boarding the free casino shuttle to the River Rock Casino. It was the only time that I have ever beaten a casino. The hotel gave us a coupon for free $5 at the casino. I went, got the free $5, bought dinner for $4.50, and walked out with $.50 more in my pocket than I walked in with, and a full belly. The hotel also offers free breakfast including cereal, pastries, waffles, and juice and coffee. If you need a hotel by the Vancouver airport, I highly recommend the Days Inn.
The Cruise (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway)
After leaving the hotel, we boarded our cruise ship and set sail for Ketchikan, a 2 day voyage. I was in a balcony stateroom on the dolphin deck of the starboard side. My family had 4 rooms total, all dolphin deck, 3 starboard, 1 port. My aunt wanted it that way so we could have balconies on both sides. The first order of business was to eat lunch. We ate at the Horizon Court, which is the ships buffet. Service is horrible there. They make you wait until a waiter brings you a drink, which usually doesn’t happen until you have finished your meal. The service never got any better. We continued to eat breakfast in the Horizon Court until we found that the Bordeaux room (the anytime fancy dining room) served breakfast. The food and service were much better in the Bordeaux room. Our lunches were usually eaten on shore.
The first day at sea was all at sea. It was rough seas and cold. I hated it because I felt trapped in the ship. I couldn’t go on deck without being blown away by the strong wind and I wasn’t interested in anything on the ship. Cruises are not my cup of tea. I ended up in the library reading a book on hiking in Alaska. My cousin won $500 in a slot machine contest at the casino onboard. Another cousin lost about the same amount at the craps table. Another horrible thing about the cruise was the internet. They offered wireless internet, but it was $0.50/minute. One of my family members tried it, but it took 10 minutes (not exaggerating) to load his home page.
Ketchikan
The next morning, we moored in Ketchikan. I got off as soon as I could and hit the trails. I hiked a trail up Deer Mountain. It was a trail in the Tongass National Forest. The trailhead was on the far side of town, so a quick 30 minute walk delivered me. I hit the trail, hoping to arrive at the summit 2.5 miles later, and 3,000 vertical feet up. I hit the first overlook and spotted whales in the water 1,500 feet below. Around 2,000 feet, I ran into snow. The snow continued until the summit. I was stopped just short of the summit as I was running short of time and the trail to a very steep climb up the snow, and I didn’t have the best shoes on for snow. I headed back down the mountain and met up with my family for lunch at Steamers. We had the halibut sandwich, and it was delicious. About that time it was ready to board the ship and depart for Juneau. We got on board just in time for another happy hour and to share photos.
Deer Mountain summit
If you are in Ketchikan, I recommend hiking Deer Mountain and having lunch at Steamers.
One of my older cousins (well, second cousin, she is my mom’s cousin) was impressed by the idea of hiking on a mountain. She said she had never thought of just seeing a mountain and deciding to climb it. I have rarely seen a mountain that I haven’t considered climbing. You can see the mountain all you want, but can’t appreciate or experience it until you travel on it. Edward Abbey said that a man can see more in a mile on foot than in a hundred in a car. He is exactly right.
Juneau
We arrived in Juneau in the morning and departed for a whale watching trip. We used a company called Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest. We saw humpback whales and sea lions.
Afterwards, we went to the Red Dog Saloon for lunch. I had the reindeer sausage sandwich, once again delicious.
We then went to the Mt Roberts Tram. It goes to the top of Mt Roberts for the price of $25/person.
I opted out and went to tour the state capitol. I then saw the governor’s mansion and toured the state museum. About that time, it was time again to board the ship. My chief complaint about the cruise ships was the limited amount of time in the ports.
If in Juneau, the Red Dog has good food and an interesting ambiance. My guide book said that it was built as a tourist trap and is. I do not recommend the tramway as it is expensive. If you want to see Mt. Roberts, there is a hiking trail that goes to the top and is free. The state capitol is worth a trip. It is free and I had a really good tour guide. She was from Juneau and had lots of insight into how people in Juneau feel about political issues such as building the road to Skagway and moving the capitol to Anchorage. The governor’s mansion is not open for tours. The museum is very interesting; it has a great exhibit on the various native groups in Alaska.
Skagway
We sailed for Skagway, arriving in the early morning. I jumped ship as soon as possible and hit the trails in the Tongass. I hiked the Lower Dewey Lake trail.
Next was a stop at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park headquarters and a ranger lead tour of the park. It was well worth it as they told of the history of the town. I then went to the cemetery (a strange place I tend to visit) and then the Reid Falls.
I was then hurrying back to port to try and make a train. I was hungry and stepped into the Bonanza Bar & Grill and found my family already there. I had the halibut sandwich and Alaskan summer ale (notice a pattern arising?) and then went to catch the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. It took us to White Pass, where the stampeeders had to pass through the mounted police check point with their ton of food.
After returning from the train, it was time to hit up the Skagway Brewing Company with some cousins. We got a pitcher of summer ale and made short order of it. Then to the liquor store and back on ship, just in time for my family’s daily happy hour. (notice another pattern arising?)
If in Skagway, both breweries had good food and good brews. The national park tour is worth the 45 minutes it takes. I felt much more knowledgeable about the town and stampeeders after doing it. I also strongly recommend any of the trails that go into the Tongass. There are several including Lower Dewey Lake, Upper Dewey Lake, Icy Lake and more. If you have a couple of days, the Chilkoot trail looks interesting and you are following in the footsteps of the 98’ers. The train ride was OK, but it was my least favorite (and most expensive) activity in Skagway.
Glacier Bay
We set sail from Skagway and headed to Glacier Bay National Park. Our cruise ship entered the park in the early morning and took on two park rangers who gave commentary. It was absolutely amazing to watch the glaciers calving. One glacier we sat at for 1 hour watching it calf constantly. The ranger said he had never seen it so active. It was worth the trip, but I think in the future I would want to travel by kayak into the park. Another thing along the lines of Edward Abbey’s philosophy.
On the way out of Glacier Bay, we saw more humpback whales, sea otters, and dolphins. We dropped off the rangers and set a course for College Fjord. We toured College Fjord the next day, seeing more glaciers, but not as impressive as the ones in Glacier Bay. We had quite a spectacle at the national park.
Talkeetna
The next morning we moored in Whittier. Princess took us by bus to Anchorage airport where we rented a car from Budget. We just picked the wrong size car. We got a Ford Expedition, which has proven to be too small for 6 people and all their luggage. We each have 1 piece of luggage and 1 backpack, but do not have enough room. An Excursion would have been better for us. My cousin and her husband rented a little Kia and followed us to Talkeetna. In Talkeetna, our first order of business was lunch. We ate at the Wildflower Café. Excellent food. I ate the halibut sandwich and had a Full Sail pale ale. It is an independent brewery out of Oregon (I think).
After lunch, my cousin, her husband, and I took a flight with K2 Aviation. I got the awesome experience of flying co-pilot. The flight was to land on a glacier and allow us to walk on it, however the weather did not. We still got to fly though. The pilot took us over Denali National Park We got to see the summit of Denali and flew low over some glaciers. We then flew over Denali State Park and spotted moose. Even without landing on the glacier, K2 was worth the experience. It cost us $190 to fly, $260 had we landed. In Healy, we found a similar flight to cost $460.
As a side note, Talkeetna is the town Cicily was based on for Northern Exposure. If you are traveling along Route 3, be sure to stop in Talkeetna for the halibut sandwich at Wildflower and the plane ride at K2.
Healy & Denali National Park.
After the flight, my cousin and her husband headed back to Anchorage to fly home. We rest of us continued on to Healy. There are several pullouts along the road that offer views of Denali if it is out. Be sure to stop to take in the views, even if you can’t see Denali.
We stayed at the Healy Hights Family Cabins. The cabin was OK, but I do not think I would recommend it. The towels were clean, but dingy. The sofa bed that my aunt and uncle slept on was broken. The cabin slept 6+ but only had 1 bathroom. Also, no wifi!
We got food at a grocery store in Denali Park. Very expensive as I paid $4 for a loaf of bread. I also got some food for Denali the next day.
We got up early at got to the park by 5:45. I boarded a green bus bound for Eielson visitor center. The rest of my family took one of the wildlife sightseeing brown buses. The ticket for the green bus was $20. You can get off the bus anytime you want and catch any other green buses. It makes for a great way to hike in Denali. I rode the bus to a place called Fish Creek. This is just beyond Stony Dome.
Following a description from a hiking guide I picked up, I hiked Stony Dome, spotting a grizzly from the summit. I hiked back to the road and had my lunch while waiting for the next green bus to come by and pick me up. I intentionally got a west bound bus so that I could see the grizzly again. From the bus, we also spied caribou, moose, and dall sheep.
After hiking, I had dinner at the visitors center, eating halibut and chips. One of my cousins found a coffee shop in Denali Park that had wifi, so he and I grabbed our laptops and went to the Black Bear Coffee Shop. It was awesome! Internet was $5, coffee was $1-2. But the best part was we came on 80’s Day. The workers all dressed in their 80’s outfit and they played 80’s music. We heard a Beastie Boys album and Madonna album while we were there. They mentioned that in a couple of weeks they were having their Pirate versus Robot party. I was sad that I would miss such a tremendous party.
If you are in Denali National Park, ride a green bus and go hiking. If you need a cup of coffee when you get back, go to the Black Bear Coffee Shop in Denali Park. Just don’t forget to wear your robot suit!
Fairbanks
The next morning, we headed north to Fairbanks.
We arrived into town with an empty stomach. Reading my Fodor’s guide book, I saw that Pioneer Park there is an all you can eat Salmon Bake. Unfortunately for us, it is only open 5-9PM and it was noon. We never got a chance to eat there, but hear that it is good.
We went to a restaurant called Pike’s Landing where I once again had the halibut sandwich and summer ale. It is a great restaurant located on the river with three rooms to eat in. 1 is a sports bar, 1 is formal dining, and 1 is the outside decks. Excellent food. However, we were scowled at by some locals because they say the owners are anti-mining. Politics aside, it is a good restaurant.
Next was a stop at the Alaska Pipeline exhibit on Route 2, just south of Fox. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it, but it is worth a stop if you are in the area. You get to see the pipeline all down the state, but here they have some exhibits set up talking about the history and engineering of the pipeline.
We then went to check in at the Taste of Alaska Lodge. An absolutely amazing place. We stayed in the main lodge. There are also several other smaller cabins. The main lodge has two large rooms and a dining room upstairs, and 6 smaller rooms downstairs. The upstairs rooms have 3 queen size beds and a partition that can split the room into 2. It also has a full bathroom. Large windows overlook a pond and field. The downstairs rooms have 2 double beds and a full bath. Each has it owns patio as well. The entire lodge is covered in antiques and handmade quilts. The owners are quite friendly. The lodge is located on the homestead of the husband’s family. They still mine in the area as well. Every morning they serve a hot buffet style breakfast with that caution that if you don’t see it, we don’t have it and don’t ask for it. I highly recommend Taste of Alaska if you ever go to Fairbanks. It is located on Eberhardt Road (named after the husband’s family, the Eberhardt’s) just off of Chena Hot Springs road, a few miles northeast of Fairbanks. While having our afternoon happy hour, a cow moose came out and waded into the pond. The owner’s said that the cow had twins that were still with her.
The next day, we went first to the University of Alaska Museum. It is a very nice museum. One of the most interesting exhibits I found was on the Aleuts during WWII. They were evacuated from their villages in the Aleutian Islands and placed in internment camps during the war. It also talked about the war in the Aleutian Islands, which for some reason is rarely talked about. I learned that actual land battles took place between the Japanese and Americans in the Aleutians.
Next was the Discover Riverboat, which was pretty neat. They take you down the river on a paddle wheel riverboat and make numerous presentations along the way. One stop was at a kennel operated by the husband of a late Iditarod racer. She had won in 86, 87, 88, & 90. They talked about how they raise the pups and even did a sled dog demonstration, having the sled dogs pull a four-wheeler. We also stopped at a reindeer herd before stopped and disembarking at an Indian village. At the village, there were presentations on how the Indians cooked, lived, made clothing, fished, and hunted. The presentations were led by Alaskan natives. It was really quite interesting. The return trip on the riverboat included free salmon spread on crackers. If you are in Fairbanks, I recommend the Discover Riverboat as a way to learn about the native cultures.
We then went to a restaurant called Chena Pumphouse. I do not recommend this restaurant. It is very pricy and the food is just OK. I had the chicken marsala, but others in my party had pasta, clam chowder, chili, and fish. No one was highly impressed with their meal.
After Chena Pumphouse, my cousin wanted to go to a bird sanctuary. We went to Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge on the northside of town and saw Canada geese and sandhill cranes. Then it was back to the lodge for a late night happy hour.
One thing interesting about Fairbanks in the summer is that I never saw nighttime. I went to bed around midnight every night to a bright sun and woke up about 5 or 6 to a bright sun. The sun was only down for about 2 hours in the early morning. Even then, it is still bright enough to see outside. The land of the midnight sun. Fairbanks has a summer collegiate team, the Gold Panners, who play a midnight game every June 21st to celebrate the midnight sun.
The next day we went to North Pole, Alaska. It is just south of Fairbanks on Route 2. Not much in the town except a giant santa by the road and Christmas shop. However, the Christmas shop has a year-round Santa! I got my picture taken with Santa and even ran into an Aggie, class of ‘11, in the store.
We then went back to Fairbanks and had lunch at Sam’s Sourdough Café. We all had halibut on sourdough. Pretty good sandwich. It is a casual dining facility that has some tables outside on a deck. The waitress was really friendly and patient with my fickle family. The café is located on University, next to UAF. Highly recommended by me.
After lunch we went to the El Dorado mine. It is another tourist attraction, but a pretty good one. It is tour of a gold mine that includes a train ride and panning for gold. Everyone is guaranteed to find gold in their pan to take home. It costs $35/person. The train departs the station with a stop inside their permafrost tunnel where they exhibit how the miners worked underground in the permafrost. Coming out of the tunnel, they demonstrate how the sourdough miners (the independents) operated in their trade. They then continued with their tour of historic mining operations before pulling into the gold town. We got off the train and they took us to their box where they use water to separate the gold from the dirt. Slues box? They then demonstrated how to pan the concentrate for gold. After that, they gave everyone a bag of concentrate and a pan and let us pan for gold. Everyone was guaranteed to find gold. If your dirt didn’t have gold, they would give you some more until you found some. They then weighed the gold for you and told you how much you mined. I found 2.5 grains, at a value of $5. I was the worst gold miner in my family. My aunt did the best with $17. They let you take your gold home or they will put it in jewelry for you. Then, they gave out fresh baked cookies and coffee.
Afterwards, we went back to the lodge for our daily happy hour. We had an afternoon toast to the summer sun since it was June 20th, this year’s summer solstice.
If in Fairbanks, stay at the Taste of Alaska Lodge. Eat at the Sourdough Café. If you aren’t big into Fairbanks politics, eat at Pike’s. Tour the museum. The kids will love the gold mining, and the riverboat ride is good for families as well. If you are into baseball, be sure to look up the Goldminers, particularly their midnight sun game on the 21st of June.
Seward
After breakfast at the lodge, we loaded up and headed for Seward. We stopped in Talkeetna for another excellent halibut sandwich at Wildflower Café. It received my vote for my favorite halibut sandwich. We continued to Seward driving along Route 1 to Route 9. The road along Turnagain Arm is amazing. They say it is the most scenic highway in America, and they certainly aren’t far from wrong. There are numerous pullouts along Turnagain Army where you can watch for sheep, birds, beluga whales, and the bore tide.
If you are going to Seward, it is worth flying into Anchorage and driving the Seward highway.
In Seward, we stayed at the Harborview Inn on 3rd Street. We are in the family suite. It has four bedrooms, two baths, and is a nice place to stay. Also includes a living room, full kitchen, and a dining room. It has wireless internet, but it didn’t work for us. Decent room to stay if you have a large group. The inn also has regular inn sized rooms.
The next morning, I went to rent a bike at Seward Mountain Bike Shop on 4th Street. The bike was $30/day.
I rode out to Miller’s Landing for a kayaking trip. The front office staff of Miller’s was a little overwhelmed, particularly when I wanted to buy a coke, newspaper, AND check-in for my trip. It also seemed a little slow in getting ready for the trip. However, all of my doubts were laid to rest as soon as we hit the water with our guides. We kayaked for 2 hours in Thumb Cove. It was easily the best thing I have done in Alaska. We saw sea otters, sea lions, and dolphins while on the water. The guides were very friendly and helpful. They offer both double and single kayaks. They do allow singles. My kayaking group had 8 total. 4 guys who came together from Montana, a couple from San Francisco, a lady from Chicago, and myself.
We all got along very well and had a great trip.
The 4 guys from Montana were such great guys, I ended up going to dinner with them. We ate at the Crab Pot in Seward. Very expensive, but good food. They have an extensive wine list. They specialize in crabs, obviously, but also have lots of fish and other seafood, along with a decent turf menu. After the meal, they provide hot towels. Several of the wait staff were from Europe and we enjoyed talking with a waiter from Germany and waitress from Lithuania.
The next day we went to the Sealife Center. It is expensive ($20/adult), but a really good aquarium. My favorite part was sea bird exhibit. They had a lot of diving birds and the bird exhibit includes a 20 foot fish tank beneath it. You can go below and watch the birds diving down to get fish. They also have a really neat Salmon life cycle exhibit.
After the Sealife Center was lunch at Marina Restaurant on 4th Street. This place is excellent. I had the halibut sandwich and it has been one of the best. My cousin said his double hamburger with jalapenos and BBQ sauce was easily the best hamburger in the state. A great little dive restaurant in Seward.
If in Seward, I highly recommend Miller’s Landing and Marina Restaurant. Miller’s Landing offers kayak rentals and fishing trips as well.
The kayaking trips range from 3 hours to all day trips. Reasonable price and excellent guides.
Homer
Our final destination was Homer. Homer is known as the Halibut Capitol of the World. We stayed at the Lands End Resort. Amazing place! We had a 3 bedroom condo that was awesome. Great view of the water with bald eagles everywhere. Lands End is located at the end of the Homer Spit.
We spent the day being lazy, making a few scenic drives and walking the spit. It has lots of little gift shops along with fishing charters and restaurants.
We then sadly left, returning on Continental.
Alaska is an awesome place! Let me know if you have any questions.
[This message has been edited by Pro Sandy (edited 6/29/2008 5:39p).]
). I wish we could do the land tour similar to your's, but beggars can't be choosers. Man, after seeing your pictures, I am ready to go even more.
