Alaska 2017

Alaska.... but first, Canada.

We decided pretty early on that this might be our only time ever traveling to the great state of Alaska so we wanted to try to do all the things.  We settled on a Princess Cruise Lines land and sea trip.  Due to the logistical challenges of making it from the Midwest to the distant north, we made a weekend of Vancouver, Canada.  No trip to Vancouver is complete without a visit to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  Gallery

We rounded out our trip to Vancouver by visiting the urban getaway of Granville Island for a good walk while taking in Granville Island Brewing for lunch and a beer.  In an attempt to get our bearings for our disembarkation in Vancouver a mere two weeks away, we traveled to the port of Vancouver where we found our ship preparing to leave and head north to meet us.  We took in the sights of the area, including the Gastown Steam Clock.  

Our travel to Alaska was an all day affair, from Vancouver to Seattle to Anchorage and finally Fairbanks.

Alaska, the 49th state, and the last great american frontier

Our flight into Fairbanks, Alaska landed a little after midnight in broad daylight, not sure I could ever get used to that. We brought document clips with us on this trip because anyone that's spent any amount of time in a hotel knows that curtains will fail to keep light out when you are counting on them most. Our first day in Fairbanks was spent on a pre-planned excursion on the riverboat Discovery, this was a great trip that included a bush plane demonstration, a visit to a sled dog training house, a stop in the 40 below room, and a visit to a replica Chena Indian Village. We got some time to ourselves after the excursion and took a shuttle downtown and visited Big Daddy's BBQ. The northernmost southern BBQ is their motto and while their sides were spot on, the meat itself left something to be desired if you're a no-sauce kinda person.    

From Fairbanks we boarded a coach bus south with overnight stops at two Princess lodges along the way, the drive was scenic and reminded us that Alaska isn't just a land of snow and ice, there were some pretty amazing views along the way, the overcast skies and occasional rain made pictures hard to come by. In what became a reoccurring theme over the next two days, overcast skies and poor visibility hid Denali from our view.  We took the bus ride into Denali National Park, the view was great but the wildlife was lacking, our hopes to see Doll Sheep and bears were dashed. We did stop at the ranger station and got to visit with the sled dogs and see a demonstration and we both really enjoyed it.  A 3 mile hike rounded out our time before boarding a bus and heading to Talkeetna to board the train south.  Talkeetna is a neat little town, it's the jumping off point for climbing groups on their way up Denali.  We had breakfast at Takleetna Roadhouse, which is no bigger than the average first floor of a home, we enjoyed our meal there and the company.  We were seated at a table with two crews headed up in the coming days, one group from Germany, and the other was a nomadic group of friends that decided to take the year off and wander the country in a van and climbing mountains. 

The train ride south follow the Susitna River with the Alaska Mountain Range on one side and the Talkeetna Range on the other.  It was overcast for the most part and the pictures weren't great from inside the train, but it was still a mostly beautiful ride. 

Arriving in Anchorage we made our way to the Captain Cook hotel, we unpacked and set out for the 49th State Brewing Company for dinner.  This place was packed but thanks to the bloodhound ability of some new friends we met, we were able to scope out a group getting ready to vacate their table and we were in. The beer was good and the menu was full of local flavors and some safer options for the less adventurous. 

The following day our tour took us to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. At the time this wasn't the best of experiences, it was raining and it basically amounted to a zoo like setting, but in hindsight it turned out to be our most successful wildlife viewing. There are a number of local species such as  bears, bison, lynx, wolves, and a one-winged bald eagle. 

Our second day at sea took us to Hubbard Glacier and continued cruising through the passageways.  The views were amazing with the ship doing long 360 degree spins so that everyone could see the glaciers, we saw a few calvings and some small icebergs headed on their way towards the open ocean. The weather was sunny and we felt pretty lucky to see these sites since sometimes this area can be too hazardous with the floating ice.  In those situations the cruise ship will try to get as close as it can but will prize safety over scenery. 

Skagway was our first cruise stop, this little tourist trap of a town has a nice main street area with shops, a couple of bars, and even a sweets shop where you can watch them make fudge and other treats.  We had lunch at the Skagway Brewing Company where we learned that the actual bar had been transported to Alaska from St. Louis many years ago.  There was even a St. Louis ex-pat community there made up of a number of families that decided to move after a vacation in Skagway.  The big claim to fame here though is the train ride up the mountain.  This was a fun and scenic way to see the countryside but it was a lot longer than it needed to be and we were certainly ready to be done with it at the end.

In Juneau we did, what was hands down, our most exciting excursion of the cruise, a helicopter ride up to a dogsled camp on the glacier.  We can't emphasize how much fun this trip was, the helicopters go up in groups of three, taking passengers and supplies to the encampment at the top.  The folks up there stay there for several days at a time, taking care of the dogs and keeping the area serviceable for guests.  The entire encampment is airlifted up in the spring and brought back down in the fall.  The mushers are professionals who will share stories of their races, how they survive on the trails, and even fun tidbits about each dog.  You'll get the opportunity to ride as cargo on the main sled, and then take turns mushing from a small sled being towed behind the main one.  The ride up and back on the small helicopters is incredibly smooth, even to people who believe helicopters are one wind gust away from slamming into the side of a mountain.  Try as we might, we still didn't see any doll sheep during the flight.

After our final day at sea we arrived at the port of Vancouver and headed to the airport along our pre-scouted route. We had a long day of travel ahead of us with our first flight to Phoenix and then finally to St. Louis.  We spent some of the time reviewing our trip to Italy later in the year, as much as our Alaskan trip was orchestrated by Princess Cruises, Italy would be a trek of our own making.