My Journey To The Last Frontier via Radiance of the Seas & DIY Land Tours-Pics Galore

[MAHA]

Love your review. We are going on Radiance next June for the southbound cruise, but are planning a DIY trip before to Denali and the Kenai Fjords.

 

Mary Anne

[Tkaklita]

You have a natural eye for capturing STUNNING shots and compositions!! Incredible detail, colors and perfect lighting, of course the subject matter is a true gift in itself, but you are bringing it to life with your shots. Beautiful job!!

[lovelife]

Love your review. We are going on Radiance next June for the southbound cruise, but are planning a DIY trip before to Denali and the Kenai Fjords.

 

Mary Anne

 

You have a natural eye for capturing STUNNING shots and compositions!! Incredible detail, colors and perfect lighting, of course the subject matter is a true gift in itself, but you are bringing it to life with your shots. Beautiful job!!

 

 

Thanks much. Up next: Denali

[HeatherC430]

Great photos & review! Thanks for sharing!

[lovelife]

Great photos & review! Thanks for sharing!

 

My pleasure! Getting Denali pics together.

[sherijung]

I'm waiting anxiously for more pics...so beautiful. I love Alaska.

[centralcalicruzer]

Wow, stunning pics! I loved your photos of ISP, we will be there next week and I hadn't seen a lot of photos of the area. I assume the "nature trail" was well marked and easy to find? About how far/long of a hike was it? We have a kayak excursion scheduled and this looks like something nice to do afterwards. Did you happen to see any of the kayaking excursion? I'm still kind of second guessing my choices in the port, and wondered if you noticed it and if it looked like they did more than just kayak around in a circle so to speak.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a great review and post all those photos!

[lovelife]

I'm waiting anxiously for more pics...so beautiful. I love Alaska.

 

Wow, stunning pics! I loved your photos of ISP, we will be there next week and I hadn't seen a lot of photos of the area. I assume the "nature trail" was well marked and easy to find? About how far/long of a hike was it? We have a kayak excursion scheduled and this looks like something nice to do afterwards. Did you happen to see any of the kayaking excursion? I'm still kind of second guessing my choices in the port, and wondered if you noticed it and if it looked like they did more than just kayak around in a circle so to speak.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a great review and post all those photos!

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

Sorry, I didn't notice the kayak excursion. The nature walk is only about a half mile - real easy and well marked. I found that part of ISP very peaceful. Have a wonderful trip.

[golf43]

I am enjoying your review with the beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[lovelife]

Onward to Denali, 140 miles north. This is another from my Bucket List.

 

Again, no schedules so we stopped whenever something looked interesting. The scenery along this highway is nothing short of amazing.

 

First day was nice and warm, next day was cold, and final day warm.

 

We Made It!

 

 

We drove the 15 miles into the park that personal vehicles are allowed to go without a permit.

 

 

 

 

On the way out of the park we spotted our first moose

 

 

 

When we returned to our car this mew gull insisted on staying on our hood for several yards down the road.

 

Through the Windshield

 

 

 

We had scheduled a time to stand in view of the Denali Visitor Center webcam and friends and family indeed saw us. We were even sent an instant photo of ourselves via cell phone. Cool.

 

We then spent a while in the Visitor Center which is very interesting.

[lovelife]

I am enjoying your review with the beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks!!

[lovelife]

We had reservations for the next two nights at McKinley Village Lodge, seven miles south of the park entrance and away from the touristy area. The lodge is in a lovely setting on the Nenana River. It has a big deck out back with a fire pit and seating. Inside are a big, comfy lobby (forgot pix) nice gift shop, snack bar, and a restaurant. Room was bare bones but served the purpose and we weren't there very much anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

After settling in our room we drove eight miles north to the little touristy area for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner this evening was at Alaska Fish & Chip Company. Simple and delicious. I couldn't believe all this yummy food we were having!

 

 

 

 

 

The Denali Princess Lodge is just across the highway so we walked in just to see it. It was beautiful but swarming with people. A lot of nice shops out back of the property enticed me to purchase some pretty jewelry.

 

 

After a little shopping for more "stuff" it was early to bed as our Tundra Wilderness Tour departed from our hotel at 6:15 the following morning.

[AussieVisi2r]

Thanks. I'm also reliving my trip.

[drarill]

Thanks for your review!! amazing pictures!!:):)

[lovelife]

Thanks. I'm also reliving my trip.

 

Wasn't it amazing?!!

 

 

Thanks for your review!! amazing pictures!!:):)

 

My pleasure! I love your city!!

[lovelife]

Back to hopefully finish my review.

 

Tundra Wilderness Tour

 

It was early to rise and we were waiting in the lobby by 6 a.m. Our driver was very informative and hilarious. A box lunch was provided on each seat and consisted of reindeer and beef sausages, (for those who eat such things), cheese, roll, mustard, carrots, potato chips, and trail mix. There was no specific stop for lunch and we could eat it any time during the day we wanted. Turns out it was a lot for one person so we split one and took the other with us. All the bottled water we wanted was on hand. Frequent bathroom and leg stretching stops were made.

 

What a wonderful tour this was and I'm so glad we did this instead of the cheaper shuttle. With the shuttle you can get off and back on whenever you like but I did not notice any place I would have gotten off. Also, you are not assured a narrative during your ride.

 

Mt. McKinley was nowhere to be seen this overcast day, but what we did see was beyond my wildest expectations. Our driver informed us there are five big sightings in the park: moose, caribou, bear, dall sheep, and canine (wolf, etc.) but not to expect to see all of them in one day. Well, we saw them all!!! Many moose, dall sheep, caribou, grizzly bears, wolf, arctic ground squirrel, mew gull, and other birds I can't remember the names of.

 

 

Caribou

 

 

 

Arctic Ground Squirrel

 

 

 

Those Three Beige Things in the Center are Grizzlies

 

 

 

Dall Sheep

 

 

[lovelife]

Tundra Wildnerness Tour continued........

 

 

This Moose Took the Right of Way

 

 

 

 

 

Bunch of Caribou

 

 

 

More Dall Sheep

 

[Mimi19510]

Interesting!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[lovelife]

Tundra Wildnerness Tour continued........

 

 

I had to try on the caribou antlers at one of the little visitor centers during a rest stop. Really huge.

 

 

 

Up next was the most interesting sighting to me -- a wolf just trotting down the road in front of the bus. We crept along behind him for a half mile or so before he finally left the road.

 

 

 

My camera was a little too slow (or he was too fast) and I just missed him marking his territory on this cone.

 

 

 

Decides to go off the road.

 

 

 

He needed a rest.

 

 

 

To see this wildlife in its natural habitat is extraordinary. Another plus is there are screens on these buses where passengers can view up close while the driver is video recording animals in the distance (yes, he stops the bus for this).

 

This was an eight-hour journey 60 miles into the park but the seats were comfy and I did not get tired at all. Narrow roads and sheer cliffs caused me to close my eyes for a bit, but it was a thrilling day and absolutely worth every single penny.

[Seagalpat]

I just found your review and it is just great. Your photos are incredible, your narrative informative as well as enjoyable with all your little comments. It would seem you loved the whole trip, no matter where you were! We are recently retired and our Alaska adventure in Aug is our #1 bucket item. We too are taking the northbound cruise on Radiance, but decided to continue with the RCCL land tour for 5 days. We also are staying on in Fairbanks for another 4 days, renting a car to explore that area and taking an Article Circle tour.

I do admire your adventurous spirit to hit the road on your own. If/when we return to Alaska we will travel as free spirits as well.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with all of us.

 

Is Flickr easy to use...? I'm trying to figure out something simple to store my pictures. Not tech savvy at all, nor do I have a fancy camera, just a Cannon Digital Sure Shot.

[lovelife]

Thanks for your kind comments. The RCI land tour would be much simpler I'm sure. I wish we had ventured on to Fairbanks.

 

Flickr is pretty easy to use. Some of my photos are with a little point and shoot so that doesn't make any difference. I store a lot of my photos on Shutterfly which is another free site but haven't figured out how to get them to copy to Cruise Critic from that site.

 

You are right -- I enjoyed every moment of my journey. I hope you have a fantastic trip. I don't know how you could not!

[lovelife]

Denali continued........

 

After our incredible Tundra Wildnerness Tour we relaxed a while before driving back to the touristy area. This final evening we dined at the Salmon Bake. The floor of the section we dined in was on an incline and felt quite odd but nothing rolled off the table and we managed to have another fine meal.

 

 

 

A Mew Gull On His Head

 

 

 

Hee Hee

 

 

 

Oh My

 

 

 

Wow

 

 

 

After a killer ice cream cone and some more shopping - thinking we may have forgotten a trinket or two - we headed north for a bit to see what was beyond the touristy area.

 

 

This name cracked me up.

 

[lovelife]

Denali continued........

 

We headed back for our final night at the lodge and reluctantly packed our bags for the journey home. My carry-on bag was so dang heavy with new "stuff" the handle broke when lifting it off the bed. Good thing it has a second handle and wheels.

 

Next morning we saw this from our hotel window.

 

 

 

It was time to head back south to Anchorage.

 

Mark another one off that Bucket List. I love Denali.

[h20cruzer]

All I can say is WOW, great pics, appreciate all your hard work.

Norma

[Mimi19510]

Loving this!!! Alaska is on my bucket list and want to duplicate your DIY land portion!!! Thanks for taking time to post this fabulous review! I do have question. You said you drove 15 miles into the park that was allowed without a permit. Do you get a permit to travel on or what?:)

Debbie