The Great Wilderness Dream
I want to go on a big vacation. At first I said “How about Europe for a week in 2 years?” Two years because next year we want to buy a house, so 2 years would be better. But then I was reminded about one of my life long dreams, to go to Alaska. I’d always figured a cruise with the land excursions would be the way to go. But now I’m starting to wonder. I mean, I’ve never gone on a cruise and I don’t know if I’m even a cruise kinda person. Maybe we’d be better off just flying into Anchorage and then making our way to some of the great places on our own and have more control over exactly what we want to do. I’m an outdoors person, a tree huger and wildlife watcher. I’d be happy going camping and hiking for a few days where we can see mountains, wildflowers, bears and eagles. I dream about seeing the aurora borelais.
This is where you come in. Maybe this is mostly directed at Carrie but maybe others of you have been on a cruise or a trip to Alaska and have some advice. I’m open. What should we see? What is “can’t miss”? What is no big deal even though everyone does it? Any and all input is greatly appreciated!
This would be a kid free vacation, by the way.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Hi Dawn! For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to comment on your site at work (the comment portion of your blog does not show), but today I can see it!
First I wanted to say that your kids are very handsome! I think it was last week…there was a photo of them together–so bright eyed and beautiful!
Regarding AK…I’ve never been on a cruise, but I’ve heard that the cruises to Alaska are amazing. It will be interesting to see if you have any readers who have been on a cruise to Alaska because I’d like to know what they are all about as well. Usually the cruises go through the Inside Passage, which is very un-Anchorage. Breathtaking, however. Anchorage is a city, but the best part is…you can be in the mountains in 10 minutes.
I know that most of the cruises are geared towards older individuals, but I do know a lot of families who have been on them too. However, there are many cool things to do in the Anchorage area (and Outside) that could save you some Benjamins having not taken the cruise. The only downside is that you would not see the Inside Passage (that’s in Southeast, which is at least a 2-hour plane flight away), but there is a good substitute within 60 minutes of here…the Kenai Fjords Nat’l Park. Depending on the season, you’ll see whales and all sorts-o-stuff.
Glacier Tour (obviously if you come here via cruise-ship–the cruise is one big glacier tour!)in Kenai Fjords.
Denali Nat’l Park (wildlife abounds and the mountain is RIGHT THERE). Amazing.
Chugach Mountains
Fishing at the Russian River
When you stop at different ports on a cruise, it is certainly very touristy. And some of the shops in downtown Anchorage make us laugh (eg “buy authentic mukluk here!”). But I think that is the case with a lot of towns (I’m thinking Albuqueque, NM). If you come to Anchorage and rent a car, you can certainly drive to a lot of places…but then some places are only accessible by plane or snow machine (in winter). But you can get “the alaska experience” via car by flying into Anchorage.
Outside my front door, we see moose quite a bit. Mostly right after I plant my flowers in the spring…Grrrrr. Bears are around the neighborhood too, (but that isn’t a good thing), but I’ve never seen one in my neighborhood–just in the middle of the street while driving to work. Bears are not something that you want to see on the trails when you have a kid on your back, but it happens. Eagles, check. The Potter Marsh bird refuge is down the road. It’s an awesome boardwalk, and the marsh is now currently a ice skating rink!
If you want to see the Aurora, then you have to come in the Winter (when you will not see bears or wildflowers. It is light 24/7 in the summer…but in the winter, it’s dark 20 hours per day and the Aurora is abundant! There is certainly two types of Alaska: The Summer Alaska and the Winter Alaska. A lot of people come up here in the summer and expect to see the aurora, then realize that the sun (barely) sets at midnight and then it is bright again at 3am. And between that time, it’s still ‘dusk’.
I complain about Alaska a lot, but when I think about it…I am very lucky to live in a place that people pay a lot of money to visit! Whatever you do, you must stop by our house for a visit when you are in Anchorage!