May 24-June 10 Alaska Trip

[southwardbound]

I just wanted to say thank you and give some highlights of our recent Alaska trip so here it goes.

We flew in early to Vancouver and stayed at the Hampton Inn on Robson St. A nice, clean hotel and wonderfully located. I was glad that we flew in early as Air Canada lost out bags. Another story for another time!

We walked to Gastown and saw the clock and ate across the street at Water St. Cafe. Food was delicious.

 

The next day we took the water taxi to Grandville Island and enjoyed the market there. Then walked to Stanley Park where we rented bikes. It was a fun day.

 

Our first stop was Ketchikan. We decided to do our own tour and walked the town looking at the different totem poles. We then headed to Deer Mountain. We were cardiovascularly challenged but the waterfalls and trail was beautiful.

 

Next was Juneau. We had a picture perfect day. 65 and sunny. We took the bus to the glacier and hiked the east loop as was recommended here. It was a great hike with spectacular views. We did come upon a mother bear and her cub which got the heart pounding but we quietly and slowly backed up and waited for another group to join. We took the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts. We couldn't do much hiking as all the trails were snow covered.

 

Next was Skagway. We got off the ship early and went to the ranger station in town. She offered a history walking tour about the gold rush which we found quite interesting. Then we used Frontier Excursions for a personalized trip up to the Yukon Territory. We saw sheep and bear along the way. Emerald Lake is truely amazingly beautiful. Upon returning we headed to Lower Dewey Lake Trail. When you get to the trail head I would suggest going left first. It too was a difficult trail, not as strenous as Deer Mountain.

 

Glacier Bay and College Fjord were truely amazing.

We enjoyed the Coral and used the Thermal Suites every night.

 

We then used Alaska Transportation to take us from Whittier to Ancourage airport to pick up our rental car. We arrived around 10:30am in the rain and headed up to Healy. A long drive but the traffic was minimal and the environment was just beautiful. We stopped at a look out hoping to see Mt. McKinley but she was socked in.

 

We stayed at A Touch of Denali B& B in Healy. Another recommendation from here. It was nice and she was very accomadating for us, making us to go breakfast each morning so that we could get an early start. The sun was out from about 4:30 am to 9:30pm each day, staying out longer each day. We spent some time at Denali Park that afternoon and purchased our lunches before heading back to Healy. As we drove to our B & B a moose was standing by the side of the road. Our first look at wildlife. He greeted us every morning and evening of our stay.

 

The next morning we took the first shuttle to Fish Creek, the farthest the buses go this time of year. Our driver was very informative and we saw so much wild life. We sat on the left hand side of the bus behind the driver. I liked that side the best. We got off the bus at Fish Creek and walked 5miles more along the road. We didn't see anymore wild life but the scenery was beautiful. Another bus driver picked us back up at Fish Creek and took us to Savaga River for another hike. I didn't see many people tipping the driver, which I feel was a disservice.

 

The next day we got up early and went back into the park to see if we could see Mt McKinley. Still pretty clouded. We decided to walk the Mt. Healy lookout trail. Another 4.5 hour walk round trip, a bit strenous, but wow what a view. From there we head to Talkeetna.

 

I think I will stop there and finish tomorrow as this is getting quite a bit longer that what I expected. If you have any questions I would be happy to share. Mostly thanks so much for the wisdom that you shared with me....the word we used most often was "incredible"...it truely was.:)

[Kerry&LuAnn]

Thanks for sharing. Your descriptions make us even more excited about our trip in July!

[southwardbound]

In Talkeetna we were scheduled to stay at the Roadhouse Inn. They have blueberry pie to die for but I just was not able to stay in their housing. We switched to Susitna River Lodging. They are 4 cabins with a mini kitchen. Spacious clean and right on the river, with a beautiful breathtaking sight of Mt. McKinley when she is out. My husband went fly fishing with Denali Anglers and was very pleased with his excursion. I found a great book called Winterdance by Gary Paulson. It was entertaining to say the least about his Alaska experience racing the Iditarod.

 

We took a glacier landing excursion with Talkeetna Air Taxi. The plane landed at the base camp for climbers heading to Mt. McKinley. There is a tour coupon for this excursion and all I can say is I am so glad we went. The mountain makes its own weather....it was cloudy in Talkeetna and absolutely beautiful at the base camp.

 

From there we headed to Seward and stayed at the Alaska Saltwater Lodge. It is on the end of Seward right on Resurrection Bay. This was recommended here and again we were very pleased. Our room was on the second floor and our views were awesome. My husband went fly fishing again with Alaska Troutfitters. His guide was Paul and his experience was a lifetime one. He caught (2) 20 and 25 pound King Salmon and had opportunities for more. He would highly recommend Paul and this outfitting group. The next day we went with Liquid Adventures on a kayaking trip. It was an all day trip to Aliakak glacier. It was a beautiful day and a fun trip....just a bit pricey.

 

We concluded our trip seeing Exit Glacier and a walk near our lodge. Just a relaxing way to end our trip. One that we will always remember.