We had a shuttle pick me and the folks up from my residence at 5:00pm PDT and take us to Long Beach Airport, where JetBlue has a seasonal non-stop flight to Anchorage. Once we left at 7:30pm, our flight path never allowed the sun to set, so we had daylight the entire way. During the last hour of flight, the views of the mountains and glaciers coming up the coast were amazing. We must have hit some good tailwind, because we landed 40 minutes early, at 11:05pm AKDT. Not until we arrived at our Best Western hotel just before midnight did it start looking like dusk.

So now I've put 2 feet in my 49th state, but it doesn't stop there. Once we pick up our rental car in the morning, that's when the good times begin.

As early as we woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Gotta get used to this extended daylight pretty quickly. We had our breakfast and left the hotel around 9:30am AKDT. We made a pitstop at the local Walmart and picked up a disposable cooler and snacks before beginning a northerly direction using Glenn Highway (Hwy 1) away from Anchorage.

Various mountain ranges made their presence known as we rounded our way in the valleys. No shortage of magnificence, and despite being June, most of the peaks still had plenty of snow. We soon transitioned to the famous Parks Highway (Hwy 3).

Around noon, we decided to make a quick stop in the town of Wasilla. They had a weekly Farmer's Market going at their Historic Town Site, so we spent 20 minutes making our rounds and looking at the old structures.

Onward we drove, with the Alaska Range and its mighty Mt. McKinley easing it's way into our peripheral. The entire top of the tallest mountain in the US is complete white, while the lower surrounding peaks were looking more like white icing dripping off cupcakes. We found the South Viewpoint with the entire peak family posing for the many tourists stopping by.

No more time to lose. We raced to Denali Cedars Lodge and checked in, giving us enough time to settle and rest up for a few minutes. But we had one more event to accomplish. We took a shuttle to Nenana Canyon (the commercial area for Denali) and signed in for our river rafting trip.

Now from the title "Mild Water Evening" I thought this was just going to be a leisurely stroll down a calm river. Oh ho ho ho, noooo. We're dealing with Class I, II, and III rapids. Of course the parents almost balk at such an adventure, especially after hearing the instructions about what to do if you (or the raft) are thrown into 36 glacier water. But they braved through the suiting up and the entire ride like champions. With our New Zealander guide Sophie, we blazed through 11 of the Nenana River for 2 hours, rounding the bends and taking in the scenery. I managed to take dozens of pics (thankfully the SLR is splash-proof) and capture much of the awesomeness. The only thing preventing it from being perfect is the wealth of mosquitos buzzing about. Yup, it's about that time to start applying the DEETS!

We grabbed a Subway and headed back to our lodge. Day 2 starts at 5:00am. Woooo! Stay tuned for more Alaskan fun...

We didn't do any driving ourselves today. That was because our event for the day was the "Kantishna Wilderness Trails" tour, which meant we hopped on a bus from our lodge at 6:10am AKDT and rode the entire 92 road into Denali National Park (a feat you can only do by bus, and only if you choose the right tour option; many other buses turn around sooner). Our Danish guide happened to live out in the boonies of Alaska for many years, so she was well-versed and detailed everything there was to tell about the area during our excursion.

The trip duration lasted 14 hours. And let me tell you, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. We've been far more fortunate than the 90% of visitors who have to deal with some sort of clouds interfering with their views of the Alaska Range. We could not have picked a better day for this. Not only did we get pictures of dozens of different angles of Mt. McKinley and Denali's geologic features, we also saw just about every major species of wildlife that reside in the park (a number of caribou, some bears, a moose, a fox, and the highlight of 15 dall sheep crossing our path and climbing their way up a steep cliff virtually right next to the bus. Incredible stuff.

At the end of the 92 road was Kantishna Lodge, where we were treated to lunch, as well as a presentation on dog-sledding and the annual Iditarod race they run from Anchorage to Nome. We even got to see some of the sled dogs do their thing and pet them for a few minutes. The mosquitos here of course were really annoying. I finally managed to get a bite or two, despite my repellant. The ride all the way back to the visitor center was an opportunity for us to grab a snooze.

After returning to our lodge around 8:30pm AKDT, we headed back up to Nenana Canyon one more time for dinner and a little souvenir shopping. We're now past the most intense part of our trip. Hopefully it will be a little easier and lighter now.

Sunset time here was at 12:15am. When we're in Fairbanks, the sun sets at 12:45am. Really going to aim for a picture of the midnight sun up there if there's a flat horizon and lack of clouds willing to provide me with such an opportunity.

No getting up at the crack of dawn today. We took the time to re-organize luggage and moseyed out of our cabin by 9:15am. Our first stop was something we missed the day before, the main Denali Visitor Center that borders the eastern entrance to the park. We spent a solid hour taking a gander at the exhibits, watching the 20-minute theater presentation, and browsing the bookstore.

We assumed there would be enough time to get up to Fairbanks. But wait! We can't have such a thing, say the construction gods. There was major highway work for a 10 stretch of Parks (Hwy 3), so we lose a good 30 minutes waiting and crawling along the torn-up road. *sigh* You all know from past road trips how much I adore this.

Getting past all that, the GPS now told us we had 20 minutes to spare between arrival time and the departure of our next event. But wait! We can't have such a thing, say the gas gods. The fuel needle on the dash finally started hovering close to E, forcing us to stop in Nenana (where the gas price was outrageously high, of all places) and make like a stellar NASCAR pit team, filling up, washing the bug-splattered windows, and pulling a bathroom break in less than 5 minutes. (Success!)

We raced the rest of the way up, thankfully with no more delays, and arrived just in time to get our tickets for the Gold Dredge No. 8. Here you'll find a mini-train ride around the property, led by a narrator showing/explaining the different contraptions used to extract gold, including the massive Dredge No. 8 itself, at its final resting place in a shallow pond. This thing is massive (over 100 across), and was quite adept for mining the soil below the water in order to profit from the millions of ounces of gold billowing out of the ground.

The next part, everyone got their own poke of dirt to go along with a water trough and pan. We all tried our hand at finding gold, with eventual success. (Mom and I each ended up getting US$12 worth of tiny gold pellets, while Dad netted US$15) Of course, if you want to do something decorative with what you found, they sell you silver and gold laced container necklaces, which is how they make their funds back. (Clever operation, there.) They also had ginormous gift shops for the hundreds of tourists that infiltrated this place.

The final part took us back to the entrance, where part of the 800 Aleyska Oil Pipeline towered above our heads, and received a quick briefing about that. All in all, a pretty full plate for 3 hours.

Our suite hotel was 10 away, so we got our local souvenirs, found some grub, checked in and hunkered down for the evening. At least my folks did. Since this is the farthest north we come, I decided to be a nerd and drive out to photograph the midnight sun, right at the southern border of the International Airport. It's one of those things you just have to experience if you're into that kind of thing. Of course the low-horizon clouds prevented me from actually seeing it, and the mosquitos were so bad I had to take pics from inside the car. Oh well, you make the best of what you got!

Another early start tomorrow for the next event, and then back down Hwy 3 past Denali. These tour packages turned out to be pretty dense after all. It doesn't leave you with much time for anything extra, but I guess that's how it's designed to work. We'll keep cramming in the little side trips where we can.

We left our awesome suite hotel a little earlier than we would have liked, but the next event wasn't gonna wait around for us. We arrived at the Riverboat Discovery tour at 8:15am, where they take you out on a 4-story ferry over the Chena and Tanana Rivers for 3 hours, showcasing different side shows such as a bush pilot take-off/landing on the river, a dog-sled training kennel, and the native Athabascan Village walking tour. (I won't occupy your time with the details; you can find out all about it if you Google "Riverboat Discovery Fairbanks")

After returning, we had lunch, found more souvenirs, and tried out the "40° Below" room where you enter a chamber they have climate-controlled to be between -40 and -50, a winter day you may experience in Fairbanks. You're only in there for about 30 seconds, long enough to get our picture taken, but if you hate cold (like me), it's one of things you never need to try again.

After that was over, we left Fairbanks. As much as we would have loved to return to Anchorage via a different route, we have another activity that requires us to backtrack down the same Parks (Hwy 3). At least it was a more leisurely pace this time, even stopping occasionally for the random scenery pic. I had to fight a little bit of sleepiness to make it to our destination 4 hours later in Denali State Park, at the McKinley Princess Lodge. This place is huge (460 rooms) with 3 restaurants and all the amenities you could ever ask for. Since it's up on the hill, you can also get a great view of McKinley if weather allows. We had dinner at the newest restaurant here called 20,320 Alaskan Grill (named after McKinley's height). Great food!

We're now at the halfway point… but there's plenty more to come.

We're not used to having such fancy accommodations like these last few resorts, and thus spent a little more time at the main lodge after checking out. We could get used to this.

We finally departed around 8:30am AKDT and continued further south on Parks (Hwy 3) passing back through familiar territory... that is, until we reached milepost 98 and turned left on the road that took us to the rustic town of Talkeetna. Here we checked in for our flightseeing tour (using K2 Aviation) that embarked at 11:00am, but we had an hour to kill so we strolled across the tracks over to the main part of town, and had a hearty breakfast over at the Talkeetna Roadhouse. Most of our roadtrips usually have us sticking to chain restaurants (we're such creatures of habit) but I wanted to be "authentic" for once and try something different. This was definitely a hole-in-the-wall type diner, filled with interesting artifacts and people. We should try the local stuff more often.

Off we raced back to the K2 aviation center, and 30 minutes later we (and 7 other people) were guided by our pilot to a beauty of a bush plane, loaded up, taxied to the runway and took off for the Alaska Range. Mind you, this is the first time any 3 of us have been in an aircraft of this size. For the second time on this trip, Mom had a new apprehension to overcome and conquer (small planes). She's moving up in the world, don't you think?

Once we arrived at the Range, the awesomeness of the mountainsides began to show themselves. (And yes, we're still cloud-free, although some nearby forest fires made the surrounding valleys rather hazy.) We got as close as 3 from McKinley's peaks, and were shown many of the glaciers that take up residence down the mountain. We kept around 12,000, which was enough to maneuver around the formations, cliffs, walls, drops, and show us everything in the crevices below. There were even some base camps that we could make out, occupied by climbing teams currently attempting to summit the peak.

But that was only the half of it. We came in and landed on one of the western glaciers, giving us a 360° view of the surrounding landscapes, including the summit of McKinley off to the east. Everyone did their pictures here in one form or another. I filled up my water bottle with glacier snow to drink later, just because I'm a nerd. After spending 20 minutes there, we took off again in between the fairly narrow passageways, following the glacier (we landed on) down to the valley below. You could see the changes in the glacier, from thick snow, to broken up ice formations, to avalanched rock and dirt, and then finally the river below. I've never witnessed such craziness. We finally landed 20 minutes later, and I'm going to go on the record and say this has been the best thing we've seen so far. Good job, K2! A round for everybody!!

After landing and saying our farewells to K2, we went back into old town Talkeetna to briefly take a look at their open air market, and also get some gas (running low again). Then onward south we marched, with Hwy 3 turning back into Hwy 1, followed by re-entry into Anchorage — and then PAST anchorage into new territory with the southern Seward Highway. Soon we could see the reaches of the ocean (Turnagain Arm) following us along with the mountain peaks and railroad tracks, similar to certain places of our own Pacific Coast Highway back home. Of course, PCH doesn't have the Kenai mountain range across the way, giving off beautiful reflections in the water. There were many scenic turnouts to give cameras all over the world a proper workout. Anyone travelling from Anchorage to Seward will appreciate this drive.

Not long after that, we turned off to Aleyska Highway, home to the town of Girdwood. Here we're staying at another fancy resort, the Alyeska Hotel. This place looks like a castle! The lobby and optional amenities are just as grandiose. I don't know how much it cost our agency to book this place, and I really don't want to know. For dinner, we decided to be local once again and try another hole-in-the-wall, the Silvertip Grill. It definitely fits the personality of this little town. Good food, live music, and only enough space to serve about 20 people. I guess that's how they like it around here!

Foaming at the mouth today. Tomorrow should be a little easier... and I may start squeezing in some of those extra-cirricular ideas. We'll see what happens...

Today was a light day (at least compared to the first 5 days). The only planned event was a trip up our resort's famous Alyeska Tram, which takes you up over 2,000 in 7 minutes, near the peak of Mt. Alyeska. Normally there's a bunch of ski runs, but in summer time, only the roundhouse museum and restaurants are open. We ate lunch at the Glacier Express where there were booths with views looking down the mountain. We were back on the valley floor an hour later.

Soon after, we continued down Seward Highway, which turned from Hwy 1 to Hwy 9 before crossing over onto the Kenai Peninsula. More snow-capped peaks continued to guide us further south, with mini scenic points along the way. Before long, we arrived in Seward, AK where we are staying 2 nights at the Holiday Inn Express.

On our way in, we had seen the sign for the Exit Glacier, to which our dedicated RTA forum advisors had suggested. So after our check-in (and a quickie snooze) we headed back up and over the 8.4 road to see this glacier, which is nicely tucked in a corner of the Kenai Fjords National Park. A nature center greets you at the trailhead with exhibits and the usual NPS information desk.

To get up as close as you can to the glacier, it was a 0.9 hike (one way). Along the path, signs were posted with the year the glacier was at that location (there's also a few of these on the highway as you come in). Unfortunately the last half of the hike is uphill and over a rocky path. My folks braved as hard as they could but they could only make it 85% of the way there before their abilities were spent. Upon seeing the next round of difficult stairs ahead, they figured best to make do with what they could see there and rest at the viewing benches on the hill. I went the remainder of the trail to see the glacier up close. The winds here were ferocious, which I didn't mind because it kept the mosquitos at bay. While the glacier looked big, it was only a fraction of what it used to be. Who knows if it will keep receding or make a come back. I snapped my photos and we all headed back. We topped off the evening with a delicious pizza at Apollos in the old historic downtown.

We'll see if tomorrow's event can top the glacier landing flight. It should definitely be another highlight.

Finally, a hotel with a continental breakfast! You can't even begin to know how much we've missed them on this trip.

No driving again today. In fact, our event check-in location was so close, we just walked 1000 south to the Kenai Fjords Tour office to get the tickets for our 8.5 hour cruise that embarked at 11:00am on the Tanaina.

This cruise starts off by taking you through Resurrection Bay, towards the Gulf of Alaska and north Pacific Ocean. We were hardly gone an hour before our captain informed the 120 passengers aboard it was going to be a great day. A pod of Orca killer whales greeted us in the bay. We spent a great deal of time circling the pod so everyone could take pictures. We would go on to see 2 more pods of Orcas, which is almost unheard of. Once out on the open sea, it was prime conditions, with minimal wind and wave height. There were more species to observe, including a host of Puffins, Dall's Porpoises, Bald Eagles, Sea Otters, and several Humpback Whales. We saw so many that it was starting to put us behind schedule. You'd think our luck would run out sometime on this trip, but it continues to hold.

We rounded the thinly sliced Aialik Peninsula, over into the west adjacent Aialik Bay (officially part of Kenai Fjords National Park), known for their famous Aialik Glacier, in which the wall of ice towers up to 700 above the ocean floor. This was the obvious highlight of the entire cruise. We were starting to pass huge chunks of floating ice as we approached the glacier. Once within a quarter mile, the captain shut off the engine and the crowd watched in silence for the next 30 minutes as you could hear pieces of the glacier buckling, pieces falling onto itself, or better yet, into the ocean. There were a few minor instances of calving, which was awesome in itself but nothing big that everyone was hoping for. I loved the silence with the occasional echoes of the glacier "talking" to us (but unfortunately no shouting). I was satisfied enough.

Leaving the bay, we headed back out into the open sea by the outer islands, where we saw additional wildlife including a bunch of fowl, as well as Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and more Otters. It was a little rougher seas at this point so we had to spend some time sitting and holding on while we braved the harsh waters. After a few hours, the boat reached Fox Island, where we docked and entered a huge center where a salmon and prime rib buffet dinner awaited us, all while being shown a presentation by a park ranger. There was an hour to explore the rocky beaches of this island and wonder about, until a blast of the horn alerted everyone to re-board the ship.

One more Humpback Whale was viewed prior to re-entering the Seward Harbor, finally getting in at 6:30pm. Wow, that was a long time to be on the water, but completely worth the journey. This needs to be a must-do on anybody's Alaska list.

This trip is coming to a close, but we're not quite finished yet. Our final day awaits.

Well look what we have here. After a week of 80+ weather, the rain, wind, and cold arrived outside as we awoke for our final day. I think Alaska finally showed up.

But that's OK, because our last event was indoors. Once again, luck keeps falling on our side. After our continental breakfast and re-packing once more, we headed south for a few miles through downtown Seward and to their very own Sea Life Center. Here were exhibits of every regional fish and sea creature imaginable. Not only that, but they had some fowl, harbor seals, and a HUGE sea lion swimming about in their two-story tanks. You can view the surface upstairs, or underwater downstairs. The whole thing is set up in a very educational manner (read: kids love it!)

We also participated in a 30-minute presentation about Exit Glacier (visited on Day 6) narrated by a ranger who gave the whole spiel about how it's been retracting for the past few hundred years. Had we come to Alaska when I was supposed to, it might have been a little bigger and a few less steps to walk! Oh well...

We spent a few hours here and then headed back north on Seward (Hwy 9), giving way again to Hwy 1, and into Anchorage by 3:00pm AKDT. We had many more hours to kill before our red-eye, so we headed into downtown for final souvenirs. Then after getting some dinner and filling up the rental gas tank, we tried our luck by going to some of the regional parks, such as Kincaid (south of the airport). Unfortunately the wind was really strong no matter where we went, so it wasn't making walking around very pleasant. We decided to bite the bullet and just return to the airport at 8:30pm and wait out the rest of the evening.

Our roadtrip is officially over, as we're in the terminal as I write this. I'll be wrapping up on the next post with our flight home, and then all that extra goodness that comes with the conclusion of every trip we take. Stay tuned...

This probably doesn't count, but I am still technically in Alaska when the new day begins, so the purist in me needs to tie up the loose ends.

Even though after midnight, a brilliant below-horizon sunset was still emanating pink and red. When I think of red-eye flights (and none of us have been on one before), I always had visions of quiet near-desolate airports with very few travelers straggling about, and maybe that happens elsewhere. But oh no, not here. Many flights leave between 12:00am and 2:00am, and there were HORDES of sleep-deprived people waiting to get on their planes. We left Anchorage precisely on time, at 1:05am AKDT. Our own flight was half-full, and I managed to get around 2 hours of sleep somewhere during flight. We landed a few minutes after 7:00am PDT back in Long Beach, CA. Our shuttle was waiting for us at the airport, where we arrived home 30 minutes later.

The end.

Wow.

That's pretty much the only word to describe it. My ninth major excursion definitely ranks among the top roadtrips ever taken. I'm not sure if we did something good in a past life, but we were so extremely fortunate with outstanding weather, an abundant generosity of wildlife, and virtually no issues at all with the tour schedule as presented to us. All the locals and tourists we encountered were very friendly (couldn't find a single grouch among them). We met loads of people and shared our stories.

For the first 7 days, it never rained, and the daytime temperature kept above 80, even way up in Fairbanks. (The locals were complaining about it but it's normal to us.) Not until Day 8 in the coastal town of Seward did Alaska revert back to its gloomy side. For those of you that plan to go, the weather can definitely be unpredictable. The views of Mt. McKinley or the tall mountains may be blocked for days or weeks at a time. Mid-June through mid-August gives you the best chance of unhindered scenery.

Even with this "Best of Alaska" package (as our tour agency described it), we only covered maybe 5% of what the state has to offer. When you look at a map and realize you've only seen a tiny sliver, you can't even fathom how much more there is to experience. I have to come back and finish up more destinations. Some day I WILL get north of that elusive Arctic Circle.

Expenses: This has been by far our most expensive trip to date. Despite relatively cheap airfare and a package discount for booking way in advance, it easily broke records from anything else we've done. As avid budgeteers as we are, there were certain expenses that just couldn't be avoided. Not to say it wasn't worth it, because we had a marvelous time and brought home many memories as a result. It's just something to be noted if anyone ever asks how much it costs for an Alaskan adventure. It helps if you know someone or have a connection there.

Although tour packages have changed over the years, there are still many self-driving options to choose from. Although you have the freedom to modify items in order to fit your needs, the only thing we changed was from "Wild" to "Mild" on the river raft trip so my folks wouldn't freak out. We also compared expenses using the tour agency vs. booking everything ourselves, and it was virtually the same amount. So all you really have to gain through using an agency is the convenience of them doing everything for you and delivering a book of vouchers to redeem, which is great for people who either don't have time/desire to research, or trust letting someone else choose what's best. If you're the typical tourist who has never been to Alaska before, a schedule like this would be perfect to start. You can also do bus tours, train tours, or cruises, but then it wouldn't be an authentic roadtrip now, would it?

Favorite Places: And the winner goes to… K2 Aviation and their Glacier Landing Flight. Maybe it was the strange feeling of being aboard a small bush plane for the first time and zigzagging our way through the canyons of the Alaska Range. Maybe it was standing on top of thousands of years of ice. Or having Mt. McKinley right in your face 3 miles away. Whatever it was, I have to highly recommend it if you are able. I know it may not be everyone's cup of tea (or even feasible if you have trouble exiting/entering smaller aircraft) but if you can, do the glacier landing. Do it now.

For the rest of the Top 5: Second place would go to the Kenai Fjords Cruise Tour. Seeing the oceanic wildlife and hearing the snap-crackle-pop-splash of a huge glacier is something everyone needs to partake. Third place would go to our Evening Raft Trip on the river. Fourth goes to the Denali National Park bus tour all the way to the end of the road and back. And finally, fifth would be the Gold Dredge/Riverboat Discovery in Fairbanks.

Least Desirables: As far as the planned events, we weren't disappointed by any of them. The agency could have picked a better lodge during our first stay in Denali, but that's being picky. (All the other resorts/hotels were excellent.) However in general, I do have three items to list, not that any of them can be helped.

1. FOOD PRICES. It must be expensive to have foods and raw materials shipped to Alaska, because you'll pay more than twice as much for a balanced meal than you would in the lower 48. Expect to pay around US$15+ per meal per person, even at little dinky places or fast-food chains. It adds up really quick if you eat 3 times a day. Even the grocery prices at Walmart were abnormal compared to what we're used to. The lack of free continental breakfast at all our hotels (save for the last one) did not help matters. If you're on a budget, make sure to allocate your funds appropriately. I blasted through my cash way faster than anticipated.
2. MOSQUITOS. People aren't kidding when they call them the state bird. It's the one downside of the "good" weather, and they are much bigger size here than I've ever seen before. It's even kind of freaky to watch them swarm around your car after you stop, sensing the emanating vehicular heat. They may not bother some people, but despite long-sleeved shirts, 100% DEETS repellant, Bounce dryer sheets, and whatever other remedies that were advised, it didn't prevent Mom and I from becoming part of the food chain. (Dad didn't get any bites, despite never using any counter-measures. Does that seem right to you???) If you're prone to being bitten and go up there in warm weather, you better prepare for the worst. To minimize exposure, do your activities when it's colder (60 or less), hit a coastal town (they no likey sea water) or go some place that's really windy. Otherwise you'll just have to brave through the inevitable.
3. ROAD CONSTRUCTION. It wasn't too much of an issue with us this time, but it's worth noting, because it can and will happen, especially in a place where winters basically destroy the roads every year. It didn't critically interfere with our schedule, but there are many places where repair work is going on, so expect it between major towns/cities and always allow for extra time. Oh, and your car will get really dirty too.

Statistics:

Total Stops: 10
States Visited: Alaska
National Parks Visited: Denali, Kenai Fjords

Rental Vehicle: 2013 Chrysler 200
Efficiency: 27.29

Total Cost of Trip: $2,626 (includes my share of airfare, tour package, extra fees, food, gas, and souvenirs)

Total Mosquito Bites: 14