Alaska – Land of the Midnight Sun
I told each of my three girls that when they graduated high schooI, I would take them on a trip to somewhere that interested them. My oldest Kaleigh went to Ireland, as she wanted to learn more about her roots. My middle daughter Brynna is a budding photographer and wanted to see the Greek Islands for her graduation trip – but, Covid had other ideas. We were very fortunate in that we were all able to get vaccinated earlier in the year and decided that we would find a destination in the United States where we could visit yet be socially distant. Alaska seemed like it might fit the bill. Miles and miles of beautiful landscape, within the US – yet it felt like a trip to a totally different country. As we tossed about the idea of Alaska, my cousin Tammy told us that she and her husband Marc bought a new home in Ketchikan and wanted us to come out and visit. It seemed like fate had decided for us, and we began planning our trip.
We found that only three airlines flew into Ketchikan, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Delta. Delta worked best time/price wise for flights from South Florida, so we booked our tickets from West Palm Beach to Ketchikan through them. What most people don’t realize about Alaska, is how large it actually is. Alaska is two times bigger than Texas, and about 15% of the total land mass of the U.S. Mainland Alaska which houses cities such as Anchorage and Fairbanks is fairly drivable, while some of the other popular cities in Southeast Alaska such as Ketchikan, Juneau or Sitka are only available by plane or the Alaska Marine Highway (which is a ferry system). To get from Ketchikan to Juneau for example, you can take a 55-minute flight, or an 18-hour ferry ride. So, depending on what you want to see and how much time you have, you need to factor in more transportation costs than just your flight to Alaska and a rental car. We decided since we were traveling that far, we also wanted to see mainland Alaska, so we bought our Delta tickets as a round-trip, multi-city ticket beginning in West Palm Beach, flying into Ketchikan, and then departing Anchorage to West Palm Beach two weeks later. We had a $600 credit with Alaska Airlines, so we bought flights from Ketchikan to Juneau where were spent 3 days, and then from Juneau to Anchorage where we got a rental car. The nice thing about Alaska Airlines is that you are allowed to check 3 bags, so if you are debating between Delta/ American/ Alaska and are bringing a lot of luggage, don’t forget to factor in baggage costs.
Speaking of costs – Alaska is EXPENSIVE! Summer is tourist season, so everything is at its most expensive then. When budgeting for Alaska, make sure you budget $200 a night at a minimum for average hotels, and if we ate out many times it was $100 for the four of us. One way to offset the costs is to grab a cooler and some groceries when you arrive in Alaska and eat a meal or two that way. We tried to eat one meal a day out, and then used groceries or fast food for the other two meals. There were Subways in almost every town and luckily the girls could eat those for every meal if needed lol! Fred Meyer appeared to be a big grocery store chain there and we visited them a lot. It’s similar to a Winn Dixie so make sure you ask for their store rewards card in order to get the sale prices. There was also a Costco in both Juneau and Anchorage – which I’m told is also a great place to buy bear spray. (Bear spray cannot be brought on the plane so you’ll have to buy it in Alaska). Speaking of bear spray – there is a Facebook page called “Alaska Bear Spray Exchange” where tourists will sell, trade or give their unused cans of bear spray to people arriving when they leave. Bear spray is not cheap, so this is a great way to do it.
Hopefully things will change next year but rental cars are in short supply this summer due to Covid, so as soon as we booked our tickets in mid-April, we booked our rental. Good thing too, as two weeks later the Alaska forums were full of people saying they had bought their plane tickets but couldn’t find a rental car. People were putting their own cars on Turo, and in some cases charging $300 a day!! (Can you say, price gouging?!?). Luckily, we didn’t have any issues getting our rentals, though the car we got in Juneau from Juneau Car Rentals was very old, had 130,000 miles and had a few problems – like the alarm going off every time you opened the door lol! Since the island was very small, we weren’t too concerned about a breakdown and got very good at opening the door quickly, jumping in and trying to shove the key in before the alarm went off and people started staring ;).
Our flight to Ketchikan was very uneventful, unless of course you ask Brynna. Deb and I both have Global Entry, which includes TSA pre-check and allows us to use a shorter security line, leave our liquids and electronics in our bags and leave our shoes on. Whenever we fly with the kids, they receive TSA pre-check as well, because they are minors traveling with a pre-check adult. It didn’t dawn on us that Brynna had recently turned 18 and would no longer receive pre-check when traveling with us. I tried to be a good mom and told her I’d go in the regular line with her, but after about 5 minutes of standing with our heavy backpacks I turned around and said, “sorry baby, I’m old, and I really don’t want to take my shoes off.” She begrudgingly said it wasn’t a problem, but I’m pretty sure as we rested on benches for 15 minutes while she stood in line and unpacked and repacked everything with her sister laughing at her, she was silently cursing all of us.
We were thankful we had no other issues because we figured there was a 99% chance we would miss our connecting flight. Delta has only one flight a day to Ketchikan and we had 38-minute layovers in both Atlanta and Seattle (keep in mind the doors close 15 minutes before take-off on domestic flights) and had either of those flights been delayed we would have been screwed as the flight from Seattle to Ketchikan was full for the next few days. We considered staying a night in Seattle just to minimize the risk, something you might want to consider if you’re worried about the connections. We got up at 4 a.m. to make our plane and arrived in Ketchikan a little before 1:00 p.m. (there is a 4-hour time difference so at about 5:00 p.m. our time). One of the interesting things about Alaska is that due to it’s position on the globe some cities only have a few hours of darkness each night during the summer, and conversely some cities only have a few hours of daylight during the winter – imagine it being sunny at midnight!
The Ketchikan airport is actually on Gravina Island, which is directly across from Revillagigedo Island which houses mainland Ketchikan, so you have to take a ferry across. The ferry runs between 6:15 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. leaving the airport side on the hour and half hour and leaving the Ketchikan side on the quarter hours. The ferry costs $6 per person and $7 per vehicle. When boarding on the Ketchikan side you pay for the ferry after you cross.
Ketchikan is only 4.9 square miles, and the road system is about 32 miles from end to end. We spent 3 days here and fortunately had Tammy to drive us around. There are no Ubers or Lyfts in Ketchikan, but there are taxi services and buses. Tammy and Marc bought a house on the North end of the island with beautiful views of the Pacific. The house itself had four different decks, and our biggest decision while we were there was, which deck we were going to sit on with our coffee each morning! We sat in the hot tub listening for the telltale sign of a whale blow, while watching the eagles fly by and the otters playing on the beach. Our bedroom window looked right out on to the water. The main house was three stories on a small bluff, with a cute little guest house directly on the beach below. Apparently, the former owner used it as an Airbnb, but Tammy is as big an introvert as I am and since that would involve, well….. people, she decided to keep it for friends and family instead. Brynna and my youngest Aislyn were thrilled they had their own place to spend time. Our time there was so relaxing it was a great way to start the trip.
On our first day we visited one of the most famous sites in Alaska – Creek Street. Pick up any cruise brochure and you will see a picture of the colorful buildings built on stilts. Back in the early 1900’s this area popped up when brothels were banned from city center, so these houses of prostitution were built over the water because the terrain was rocky, and they didn’t want to have to blast into the hills. Most of the former brothel buildings are now gift shops, but the largest, Dolly’s house, is now a museum. On Creek Street you’ll find the salmon ladder – salmon ladders allow fish to swim past a dam or other barrier by jumping up a series of steps. Our visit was in late June, so unfortunately it was a bit too early, but the Salmon typically run here (in Ketchikan) between July and August. The downtown area has several shops and restaurants and is a nice walk for an afternoon. The Great Alaskan Lumberjack show also seems to be a favorite, though it didn’t start until late July that year due to Covid.
On our second day we visited the rest of the island. There are several different places to hike in Ketchikan for both experienced and novice hikers. For those of you who like a challenging hike there are trails over Deer Mountain and Northbird peak. We fall into the latter category as most of my family is accident prone lol! So, we did the fairly easy hikes which were still beautiful. The walk around Ward Lake, the beaches at Settler’s Cove and Coast Guard Beach are all nice. We stopped at a little bridge where bears are known to roam in the distance, but unfortunately didn’t see any. Tammy told us that the cruises sold a tour to bring people here in search of bears and charged $85! Of course, we immediately started brainstorming about starting a tour company and buying a bear costume so we could offer a money back guarantee. Our negotiations broke down though when we couldn’t figure out who would have to wear the bear costume in an area where there were, you know, bears lol! Right near Tammy and Marc’s was Southpoint Higgins Beach, a cute little beachy area looking out on the Pacific. We were there at low tide and stumbled across a number of starfish in the tidepools
Totem poles originated in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest and were carved to honor important people and tell the story of important events. Ketchikan is famous for its totem poles and the majority can be found at three different locations. The first is Totem Bight State Historical Park and can be accessed on the city bus. The park boasts several totems as well as a clan house, and right nearby is Potlatch Totem Park which also has totems, a clan house, tribal houses and even antique cars. The second is the Totem Heritage Center which is open daily from May to September. The center is a museum where you can view several totems collected and preserved by Native American elders. Finally, you can also visit Saxman, which is a native village about 2.5 miles South of Ketchikan. You can take a tour which includes a carving house, the clan house and native dancing in traditional dress. We visited both Totem Bight and the Heritage Center as Aislyn read us the symbolism for each animal.
Our last day in Ketchikan we decided to zip line with Southern Exposure Outdoor Adventure Center. The zip had 8 lines and 8 aerial traverses which brought you through forest and 50 feet above the water, as well as a rock-climbing wall. The lines don’t require hand breaking, which always makes me feel better with younger climbers. As far as zips go it wasn’t as long as some of the ones we’ve done, but we enjoyed the aerial traverses which made the second half more like a small ropes course. Southern Exposure also has sea kayaking and zodiac tours if zip lining isn’t your thing. The Center is about 25 minutes away from downtown Ketchikan, and transportation is included with all their tours.
The next day we left for Juneau on an afternoon flight arriving at about 8:00 p.m. We arrived in Juneau and picked up our rental car at the airport. Our flight arrived after Juneau Car Rentals business hours, so they left the car for us in long term parking, and we just had to pay the fee to get it out. This worked out well for us because an Uber to the car rental facility would have been just as expensive. Coming from South Florida I was aghast when they told me they would just park the car in the middle lane with my name on a tag hanging from the window and the keys in the visor. That car would be gone within an hour in Miami, but I guess since there are no roads connecting Juneau to the rest of the state if someone stole it, they wouldn’t get very far lol! As I mentioned earlier, Alaska is expensive and with our late planning we had trouble finding affordable lodging in Juneau and ending up at the Ramada Wyndham at a little over $200 a night. Most of the hotels in the area looked older and a bit run down, but the room was fine. Initially we had a room in the “basement” and when we arrived the clerk told us we had been upgraded to the second floor. The rooms in the basement were two Queen rooms (which we had requested) and the rooms on the second floor were a King with a pullout couch so we initially declined the upgrade – but the clerk told us we didn’t want to be down in the basement (not sure what was in the basement but by her tone you definitely don’t want to be there lol!) and our new room had a view of harbor, so she sent a roll away bed up to the room instead. The roll out bed had a really comfortable mattress, and it was nice since there the kids would now be in a separate room. There was also a restaurant on site, which was decent. The hotel was right next to a Foodland and was within walking distance of several other restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, since we arrived after 9 everything right near our hotel was closed, and we ended up eating a VERY expensive meal made up of Doritos and Ice Cream from a nearby convenience store ;).
The next day we woke up and went to the Rookery, which is a popular brunch spot. They have the classics like Eggs Benedict and Burgers, and the more adventurous items like Cereal Killer French toast and Korean Chicken sandwiches. Be forewarned, the café is small with very few tables so there is usually a line. Next up we visited Mendenhall Glacier. During the summer there is a $5 fee at the Visitor’s Center, but some of the trails are available without the fee. My family aren’t what you would call hikers. At any given point someone usually has a brace or a cast, and my teens enthusiasm wanes at about 2 miles and 80 degrees. I did want to walk some of the trails though, so I searched for the easiest hikes in Alaska. The Photopoint and Nugget Falls trails at Mendenhall made the list. The Photopoint trail was only about 1/3 of a mile round trip and was paved. We saw several baby strollers along the path. This trail brought you to a nice viewing area overlooking the glacier. The Nugget Falls trail was about 2 miles round trip and was paved with gravel. The path leads to the bottom of Nugget Falls, and another good view of the glacier. Nugget Falls is listed as 377ft high though it didn’t look quite that high to us so there must have been some levels higher up we couldn’t see. The Falls are sandy at the base, so though we saw people with strollers and wheelchairs on the trail, they would not have been able to get directly to the base itself without assistance. Adventurers can get to the glacier itself with a much longer and more challenging hike, or by taking a kayak tour. It was a beautiful day and a very nice hike.
Though we were a bit early for salmon, reviews say that there are plenty of viewing opportunities for black and brown bears fishing in the waters later in the summer when the salmon are running. We didn’t see any during our hike, which I’m kind of ok with since we were on foot lol! One word of advice, if you get bear spray, make sure you know how to use it. Make sure you know how to remove the safety tab and know when to spray. You want to spray when the bear is 30-60 ft from you so that they have to go through the cloud of spray. This cloud reduces the bear’s ability to breathe, smell and see, giving you time to escape. The spray doesn’t do you any good if it’s stuffed in your backpack and you don’t know how to use it
On our way back to town we made a few stops along with way. The first was a quick trip to Eagle Beach. I had been told that typically you would see several eagles resting here, but there weren’t any on our visit. What we did see though were fields of beautiful wildflowers with majestic mountains in the background which made for some beautiful photographs. We saw a family of bears on the side of the road and stopped to take pictures – being safe in the car was exactly how I wanted to see bears lol! We also stopped at the Shrine of St Therese, which was dedicated to St Therese of Lisieux, the patron Saint of Alaska. The chapel was beautiful and was built in 1938, constructed of beach sand. Surrounding the chapel are the Stations of the Cross, stone structures depicting a scene from Christ’s passion and death. My family is not religious, but we found it beautiful all the same.
One of Debbie’s bucket list items was to take a whale-watching tour. I researched several tours and decided to go with Jayleen’s Alaska. Jayleen’s tours have 6 people minimum, and the option to book the whole boat if you so choose. I love tours with locals, as you can learn so much from them, and even more I love SMALL tours so that you don’t have to fight for a viewing spot or deal with other annoying tourists. Jayleen’s tour checked all the boxes. The fact that it was a female owned business was a bonus! Private tours are typically much more expensive, but compared to Alaskan prices, Jayleen’s was a steal. Jayleen is a native Alaskan and got her captain’s license at 18. After working for bigger tour operators and deciding she liked the customer-focus of small tours, Jayleen opened her own business and now has two boats in her fleet. She is also an avid photographer and took several pictures on our tour which was awesome since our iPhone pictures did not do it justice. Jayleen provides snacks, drinks, blankets and binoculars on every tour. The boat has a nice interior cabin in case you want to step out of the ever-present Alaskan rain. The tour is four hours long with three of those on the water, and she will pick you up at your hotel to bring you out to the marina in Auke Bay. Our original tour was booked for June 24th, and the forecast showed a storm with an “anomalous amount” amount of rain headed our way – the forecast was 1-3 inches. Jayleen had spent 13 hours on a tour with a group of photographers the morning of the 23rd and called us at 2:00 p.m. to give us the option to switch to that afternoon since she knew we were only in town for a few days and there was a good chance our tour would be rained out. We were so grateful she did as it turned out to be a great tour! We had two sets of mother and baby Humpback whales put on a show for us, constantly coming to the surface to play. We saw sea lions hanging out on a buoy, and the icing on the cake – a pod of orca whales that showed up at the end of our tour! It was an experience Debbie and the rest of us won’t soon forget. NOTE: The pictures below were taken by Jayleen.
For dinner we went to V’s Cellar Door which is a Mexican-Korean fusion restaurant we had heard was really good – and the girls thought it was one of the best meals of the trip. Debbie and Aislyn both had the Tinga Fusion Burrito, which was a burrito with spicy chicken, onions, tomatoes, chilis, kimchi rice smothered with ranchero sauce topped with cheddar and jack cheeses, kimchi aioli, Korean cabbage slaw and avocado. I had the tacos with Bulgogi beef, Tinga and Cochinita, while Brynna had the quesadillas. Their slow-braised Korean short ribs and mode shrub were even featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives! To this day the girls still talk about that restaurant.
The next day, our final full day in Juneau was unexpectedly freed up since we went on Jayleen’s tour the day before. Since the storm was coming in the entire day was drizzly and dreary, so we spent the day wandering around town shopping for souvenirs. We started off at the Hangar on the Wharf for lunch which is a cute little restaurant with windows out on to the harbor where patrons can watch the float planes coming in and out. They serve your typical family restaurant fare – burgers, sandwiches and fish. There were several shops near the port on Franklin Street, and although a lot of them were closed (presumably due to the Covid layoffs) there was still enough to see. If you’re looking for cheap t-shirts and gift items to bring back as souvenirs, the Alaska T-Shirt company is a great place to look. The visitor’s center and Mount Roberts Tramway are also located here if you want to take a ride up to the top.
When our three days were over, we flew to Anchorage for the driving portion of our trip. We used National rent a car and even though we had heard horror stories about this summer our rental was waiting for us when we arrived. We were given a brand-new Chevy Trax, which was a good-sized car, and we were able to fit all our luggage inside. In order to save money on baggage fees we had everyone take a backpack to Alaska. I must admit I had my doubts when I was trying to get my bag closed, but I was able to get everything I needed inside for our trip. This helped for our short layover flights since we could carry the backpacks on, and we wouldn’t have been stuck without clothes if something went wrong. The other good thing about the backpacks is that when you are traveling with four people our trunk was jam-packed and I’m not sure we would have been able to fit medium hard cases in there. We use AT&T for our cell phone service and for the most part we were able to use our phones everywhere we traveled. There were a few spots on the road to Seward and in Denali, but other than that the service was pretty reliable. I imagine if we had gone off the beaten track more there might be issues, but we were fine. One thing we bring with us for driving trips is a multi-USB car charger so that everyone can be plugged in at the same time, it’s particularly helpful when the GPS drains your battery quickly.
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Anchorage Midtown. It was a nice hotel, and they even had a shuttle to/from the airport if needed. Most Marriott branded hotels offer a free breakfast, but since the buffets were removed due to Covid there was a list of items at the front desk you could request for breakfast, like yogurt, a muffing, or a microwaveable egg sandwich. I’ve been told they have recently gone back to the buffet. Our first night in Anchorage we decided to relax and do laundry (one of the reasons we chose the Fairfield) since we were halfway through our trip with a week left. Pro Tip: Bring a few detergent pods from home, so you don’t have buy detergent on the trip. My favorite part of the Fairfield though was that El Jefe Tacos, a local taco joint, was basically in the parking lot, I’m ashamed to say I ate there three times on the trip – I am still dreaming about their street corn lol!
Our first full day in mainland Alaska was an adventurous one. Because this was Brynna’s graduation trip, I wanted it to be special for her. The ONE thing that she had always said she wanted to do was go skydiving. As I was browsing the internet for things to do in Alaska, I came across the Alaska Skydive Center. Skydiving has NEVER been on my bucket list, but for someone who wanted to do it, what better place than Alaska? I decided to surprise her with a reservation for skydiving and because I didn’t want her to have to do it alone, I bought two tickets before I could chicken out. The Alaska Skydive Center is about 45 minutes away from Anchorage in a town called Palmer. Once we arrived, we were outfitted with our jumpsuits, and given the safety training. The planes they used were small and could only hold four people including the pilot (I think my movie knowledge had me envisioning a cargo plane that you all stand up and jump from), so we ended up going up separately. Had I known that BEFORE I paid, I might have made her go alone lol! We weren’t sure we’d be able to go due to the cloud cover, but we found an opening and jumped! Honestly, I thought I would be a little more scared, but being hooked to someone else in that really small plane was so uncomfortable that by the time we found an opening I was ready to jump out of the plane myself lol! Brynna absolutely loved it, and now we have a memory that the two of us will never forget. While you’re in Palmer stop at the Noisy Goose for lunch – it’s a Palmer staple!
Because we drove all the way out to Palmer, we decided to visit the Reindeer farm in Wasilla. The kids groaned when I mentioned it, claiming they were too old – but it turned out they really enjoyed it. Admission was $15 for adults and $13 for kids. The tour brought you around the farm to feed and see moose, bison, yaks, elks and alpacas. They had vendors with reindeer dawgs (which I thought was a bit cannibalistic at a reindeer farm and refused to try it there lol), and fireweed milkshakes. There were even tractor rides for the little ones. The highlight of the afternoon though was the reindeer pen, where you could feed and play with 40 different reindeer who make the farm their home. I imagine it’s even more charming in the winter months with snow on the ground.
When we got back to Anchorage, we intended to go to Moose’s Tooth pizza for dinner – which was rated the 3rd best pizza in the United States – but the wait for the restaurant as with most restaurants this summer was insane. We almost didn’t go, then decided to order take out (which took an hour and a half) and lounged at the hotel while we were waiting. OMG we are so glad we did! Moose’s Tooth has so many different toppings and flavors, and at $9.99-$12.99 for a personal pizza it was a steal with Alaska prices. Aislyn had the Greek Gyro – Gyro sausage, feta, cucumber yogurt sauce, red onions, diced tomatoes parsley and garlic oil. Debbie had the Apricot – blackened chicken, cream cheese, apricot sauce, fresh red peppers, carrot threads, green onions, cilantro, mozzarella and provolone, and Brynna had the Buffalo Chicken – buffalo chicken, mozzarella, provolone, buffalo sauce, carrot threads, green onions and ranch. There were over 41 different pizzas on their menu, and if those didn’t satisfy you – you could make your own.
The next morning, we got up and started our drive to Seward. It’s only a 2 ½ hour drive, but we wanted to make a few stops along the way. Our first stop was in Girdwood, to see Virgin Creek Falls. I love a good waterfall, and this one was probably the one with the least hike to get to. It was only a quarter of a mile trail to a cute little waterfall. This was the only hike we did that would not have worked for people with mobility issues. It was a short hike, but it was uphill with a few stairs. The day we went it happened to be drizzling so the path was wet. Pro Tip: Think about what you’re going to do with your muddy boots and clothes when you’re done with hikes in Alaska – we made a hell of a mess lol! After the falls we stopped at the Bake Shop – a cute little café with all kinds of pastries. As with all good cafés, there is usually a line. Girdwood is next to Alyeska, which has a tram. It was about $30 a person, and since we weren’t having lunch there, we didn’t go – but it would make a nice day to take the tram to the top and eat at the restaurant there. Most people we met had great things to say about the Alyeska Resort. Our next stop was at Byron Glacier – this was another 1.4-mile round trip hike, most of which was paved. This was one of the few places where you could easily reach the bottom of the glacier after passing over a few rocks on a small stream.
We arrived in Seward at 1:00 p.m. and this was one of the few places where we had trouble with food. I’m guessing it was due to Covid and the fact the cruise ships weren’t running, but many of the restaurants in the smaller towns in Alaska were closed. There were two different areas for food in Seward, along the harbor and then on 4th Avenue. We were in Seward on a Sunday and along the harbor there were very few restaurants open for lunch. Initially one of the few places we saw was the Alaska Seafood Grill but there were very few choices, and the wait for food was an hour and a half. We wandered a little further and found the Breeze Inn. The dining room was very plain, and a bit messy, but the food was actually decent. They only had one waitress on-duty and we saw “help wanted” signs in almost every window. Restaurants whose hours showed they were open on Google were closed, so if you’re planning on something specific make sure you call first. Even the grocery stores were a bit short on supplies, so if you’re buying food and coming from Anchorage, save yourself the hassle and buy it there. This also allows locals to get the food they need instead of it being wiped out by tourists. We got a room at the Harborview Inn, though labeling it a harbor view was a stretch (unless you looked out the tiny bathroom window and across the baseball field lol) but it was a good price for the area and looked like it was recently renovated so we would stay there again.
When you think of Alaska, what comes to mind? For me it was always the image of someone dogsledding on a glacier, so there was no way we were going to come to Alaska and not try it. The downside to this plan? Dogsledding tours during the summer are not cheap (think over $500) as you have to fly on a helicopter to a glacier where there is snow – but as the kids say, YOLO! We chose to go with Seward Helicopter tours in Seward. I contacted them to ask questions and they were great and responded immediately – and sent me a coupon for 10% off! They provide booties for the snow, as well as rain jackets. They’ll even come pick you up in town if you need a ride! Seward Helicopters also had an awesome cancellation policy – if you cancelled more than 48 hours prior to your flight you received a full refund. This was key for us since we’ve had so many trips cancelled due to Covid and we weren’t sure what would happen between the time we booked and the time we departed for our trip. The tour is 90 minutes long and begins with a 15-minute helicopter ride to Godwin Glacier. The helicopters only hold three guests, so if you have a larger party you’ll need to split up. The ride was beautiful, and it was nice to see Seward from the sky. Once you arrive at the dog camp you are let out on the glacier. My youngest had never even seen snow so it was very cool for her. There were two baby huskies that were introduced to the group, and you got to hold and play with them for about 20 minutes. My partner and daughters all LOVE dogs so they were in heaven. The adult dogs each had a hutch, though they appeared to like being on top of them rather than in them. When we arrived, they had not yet been hooked up to the sled and were attached to their hutches with a chain. Aislyn was initially concerned that the dogs were being forced to pull and wasn’t sure she’d like the tour. But once the dogs were hooked up and she saw how excited they were to go and that the dogs who didn’t get to go on the run were chomping at the bit to come along she felt better. We then went on a 20-minute ride along the glacier on the sleds. Our musher Travis stopped several times for the dogs, so they didn’t appear to be struggling, and he even let Aislyn steer the sled. Travis was great and explained what was happening and stopped midway to let us play with the dogs while they rested and took our pictures on the sleds. Once both groups had gotten their ride, we flew back to the hangar. Although the trip was expensive, it was an experience none of us will ever forget and we are so glad we did it.
We wandered back to 4th Avenue to visit the gift shops and have an early lunch and once again found ourselves in the same predicament – that the only place serving lunch was the Sea Bean café. We decided to go back to the harbor area and ended up having lunch at one of the few places open, the Mermaid Grotto. The restaurant itself is very cool, and there are even tentacles coming from the bar. The menu is small and a bit adventurous (Blackened Rockfish Tacos, Flatbread Chicken shawarma with hummus, Teriyaki Spam with rice wrapped in nori etc.) but we enjoyed it. They also have a coffee shop with drinks and baked goods that looked amazing.
When we travel, our stops and restaurants are usually dictated by whether or not we bring the kids. When we do, it’s not so much a foodie adventure as when it’s just the two of us because quite honestly, it’s a waste of money since two out of three are such picky eaters. Being that we were in Alaska though, we wanted to try fresh seafood – so we chose Seward as date night. The girls got to walk down to Subway and stop at the ice cream truck, while we drove to the Exit Glacier Salmon Bake. The Salmon Bake restaurant is 2 miles North of Seward on Exit Glacier Road. We had heard good things about their seafood and were dying to try it. I’d seen mixed reviews on how busy it was, with some people saying they walked right in and others saying they waited an hour for a table. Since it opened at 5:00 p.m. we got there at 4:30 and were the only ones there. When the doors opened at 5 however there were about 40 people in line behind us. Since we were the first ones there and ours was the first order taken I can’t really to speak to how fast the service was because ours came out immediately. Deb had the famous Salmon Bake Dinner, and I splurged on the King Crab. Although it was good, I think we’re spoiled by living in Florida and having fresh seafood available all the time, had we been from somewhere else we probably would have thought it was amazing lol! After dinner we took advantage of the Alaskan sun and did a quick hike to Exit Glacier. This was another short hike with a gravel path and it was a great way to walk off dinner.
The next day we got up and left at 9 for our long drive to Denali. The distance is about 361 miles/6 hours, but we were told over and over by locals that all of Alaska’s construction is done during the summer due to permafrost normally covering the ground in the other months, so combined with tourist traffic you should be prepared for drives to take much longer. We had to drive back through Anchorage and were passing through about lunchtime, so we let Brynna pick where we ate. When I tell you that this kid typically wants nothing but chicken (fingers or buffalo) I am not exaggerating. She even follows a “best chicken fingers” Instagram page. One of the top contenders on that page that we didn’t have at home is a fast-food restaurant called Raising Cane’s, which serves nothing but chicken fingers and a sandwich with chicken fingers on it …….. guess where we went lol? Apparently, it was a success because she dubbed it, “better than PDQ”.
We arrived in Denali at about 7 p.m. There was absolutely nothing open as several restaurants were victims to Covid and most restaurants are closed in Alaska on Mondays and Tuesdays anyway. We visited on a Tuesday and even the Subway was closed!! There were a few grocery and convenience stores open, 3 Bears even served pizza – but because we brought groceries, we just had sandwiches and called it a night. There are several cabins and hotels near the entrance to Denali, and we chose to stay at the Alaska Spruce Cabins, a little group of five cabins about 10 miles past Denali. The cabins had two queen beds, a kitchen and a cute little front porch.
There are a couple of different ways to visit Denali depending on how much hiking you want to do and how far into the park you want to go. Typically, personal vehicles can only go to Mile 15 of the Denali Park Road, though there is a Road Lottery held in May of each year and winners are able to take their vehicles as far as weather permits for 3 days in September. If you’d like to see more of the road by vehicle there are several bus options available. The two cheapest options being the tan and the green park buses. The green buses are non-narrated buses which are used to shuttle people around the park. These are ‘hop on hop off” busses for hikers and people who want to stay longer in one spot, and if you get off you don’t have to take the same bus when you get back on, though you may have to wait for a few busses to pass before you find one with seats available. As of 2021 these buses cost $50 to Mile 53 at Toklat River and $60 to Mile 66 Eielson Visitor Center in 2021 and do NOT include the park fee. (In 2021 park buses were not running to Mile 85 Wonder Lake or Mile 92 Kantishna). The tan buses are narrated by a naturalist and the price is based on destination. They do not pick up hikers and go to a specified area (with a few stops) and return to the front of the park. Tourists stay on this bus for the entire tour. Durations for 2021 are 7-8 hours roundtrip for the Tundra Wilderness Tour which goes to Mile 53 (Toklat) in May and to Mile 62 (Stony Overlook) from June to September. The cost for the TWT is $162.50 for adults. In normal years there is also a Natural History Tour which is 5 hours roundtrip and goes to Mile 27 Teklanika River for $101.75 as well as the Kantishna Experience, which is 12 hours roundtrip, goes the entire 92 miles of the Denali Road, and includes lunch, snacks and drinks for $240.75. This tour also picks up at a few local hotels. I knew several people who were unable to book tickets for their preferred dates, but a few days before their trip a few more slots showed up so if you can’t book something there might still be hope.
I was a bit unsure if the 12-hour trip would be too long, but we decided if we were going all the way to Alaska, we might as well see the whole road. Aside from the National Park Service, there are also two private tours that offer the 12–13-hour trip, Denali Back Country Adventure and Kantishna Wilderness Trails which both offer lunch, snacks and drinks for $199. Both stop at a lodge in Kantishna for lunch and include other activities such as panning for gold, or a nature hike. The DBCA is actually cheaper as it includes the $15 park fee while the KWT does not – though if you have a National Park Pass you don’t have to pay this fee, you can just show your card.
Finally, if you are feeling like a big spender, there are lodges located in Kantishna where you can stay the night inside the park which include a bus tour, or there are flight seeing tours which will let you take the bus to Kantishna and fly back or vice versa so you can do it in half the time. When we were at the lodge, they had extra seats on the planes and were offering flights back for $300 (which would have been on top of the $200 you spent for the bus).
We chose the DBCA trip initially because the National Park buses weren’t going that far, but even if they were, this trip was $50 cheaper, and they would pick up from a few local hotels. The buses leave early for the Kantishna trip, from 6-6:30 a.m. depending on your pickup location. The seats on the bus were not assigned, so we chose to get on at the first stop to make sure we got the seats we wanted. Pro Tip: Whatever trip you take, sit on the left side of the bus. All the great scenery will be on this side on the way to Kantishna and you will get much better pictures. Yes, on the way back the right side of the bus gets the same view, but since Denali is past Kantishna you are trying to take pictures behind you which leaves you awkwardly holding your phone out of the window hoping you get a good shot.
The bus driver will provide narration as you go, and whenever someone on the bus yells “stop!” he/she will skillfully back the bus up and try and give you a view of the animals along the route. We fortunately had a passenger who could find any animal out there (thank you lady in the second row who was spotting animals from the opposite side of the bus like a BOSS!). Travelers to Denali want to see two things. They want to spot the Big 5 (Bears, Moose, Sheep, Caribou and Wolves) and to see Denali itself. Denali, also known as Mt McKinley, is the tallest peak in North America with a summit elevation that is 20,310 feet above sea level. Denali is so massive that it creates its own weather system. Temperatures can range from 90 degrees in the summer but can fluctuate to below freezing at night so make sure you bring a jacket! Only 30% of all visitors get to see Denali due to cloud cover, and we were lucky enough to become members of the 30% club! We had beautiful weather and were able to see the mountain the entire trip. We were able to see Bears, Moose, Sheep, and Caribou – we only missed out on the Wolf to hit the big 5. At one point we had a bear wander up to our bus just to say hi! If you’re afraid of heights the only scary part of the ride is Polychrome Pass where you are driving on the edge of a cliff. I did have to hold by breath when two buses had to pass each other on the one-way road, I’m just glad it wasn’t our bus lol
The tour stops about 4 times on the way to Kantishna for bathroom breaks and for you to get out and take pictures and stretch your legs – however most of the time, you are riding on the bus. The bus is very comfortable, and the windows slide open so that you can take pictures. Unlike the park buses which are considered federal transportation, masks were not required which for us was a negative, but others may see that as a positive. When we arrived in Kantishna we went straight to the lodge for lunch. Lunch was decent, we had our choice of soup, salad and a wrap, as well as a cookie for dessert. Debbie, Brynna, and I chose to pan for gold, which we really weren’t very good at, so it turned into a “looking for pretty rocks in the river” expedition, but it was still fun to try, and I rocked those galoshes. Aislyn chose to go on the Botany tour and was able to tell us all about the flora and fauna of the park when she returned. We had heard about how bad the mosquitos were in Alaska June-August, but we really hadn’t experienced that until Denali. I bought mosquito nets that you could throw over a baseball hat on Amazon and the girls both used them here. In preparation for the trip Debbie put some bug spray in a small bottle in our carry-ons (since it was so expensive in AK), and we used that as well. We enjoyed our trip to Denali, and even though we were plenty ready to get off the bus after 13 hours, it wasn’t TOO long and was something I could recommend. We were so tired after the trip and wait times at the few available restaurants were so outrageous that we grabbed something to go and brought it back to the cabin. If you plan this trip, make sure you make reservations, so you don’t have to wait. The 49th State Brewing Company took them, and the menu looked great.
The following morning, we planned a leisurely drive back to Anchorage with a stop in the quaint little town of Talkeetna. Talkeetna is about 2 and half hours from Denali, which is a good halfway point. Talkeetna has a population of almost 1000. There are a few good lookout points where you can see Denali on a clear day so keep your eyes peeled. We stopped at the Flying Squirrel Café on the outskirts of town where they served Paninis and other bakery items. Aislyn is still raving about their Broccoli and Cheese soup. There are number of cute little shops and restaurants in the downtown area that you can wander around and visit. Locals were raving about the Spinach Bread truck, but our eyes were focused on Shirley’s homemade ice cream. I had cookie dough, but Aislyn, always the adventurous one, went for the Fireweed ice cream. Apparently, Fireweed is a plentiful wildflower in Alaska, and they are famous for making ice cream, milkshakes and jelly out of it. The girls said it tasted like a Raspberry/Strawberry mix, but they liked it. Aislyn made us stop at the general store where Mayor Stubbs, the cat who was elected mayor ruled for nearly 20 years until his death in 2017 used to live, hoping to find his successor, the new Mayor Cat of Talkeetna, Denali. We were told he took a break that day, but I’m fully convinced there is no new Mayor Cat and they’re not telling anyone so they can still sell t-shirts lol! The town is very artsy and there are wooden cutouts all over for the kids to put their heads through and take pictures with. Talkeetna is also a great place for excursions with many flightseeing and river trips starting there.
I would like to say we tried several great restaurants in Anchorage, but I’m not going to lie, the girls liked the Mooth’s Tooth pizza so much that they wanted to have it again when we got back. I can’t really blame them because I had El Jefe tacos just as much as they had pizza lol!
The following morning on our last full day in Alaska we got to do my bucket list item – to see a calving glacier. Whenever I plan a trip, I always search for unusual places that on their own might not warrant a trip, but if we’re in the area we would want to see. While researching Alaska, I was intrigued by a town called Whittier. Whittier sits snuggled between the mountains on the West side of Prince Edward Sound, about 58 miles Southeast of Anchorage and has a population of 319 as of the 2019 census. Travelers can either arrive by sea, or via a long one-way tunnel that runs through the mountains. The tunnel alternates one-way train and vehicle traffic and can only be accessed for 15 minutes on the hour from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. in the summer and at night it’s closed completely. (It opens 5:30 – 5:45 a.m. on the Bear Valley side, and 6:00 to 6:15 a.m. on the Whittier side – repeating every hour thereafter). The tunnel isn’t the most interesting thing about Whittier however – the winters there are brutal and for that reason there aren’t many homes. Instead, most of the city’s 300 residents live inside a 14-story building called Begich Towers – a former army barracks. The towers have a post office, a health clinic a convenience store, and a church – there’s even a tunnel that connects the towers to the town’s only school which has a grand total of 33 students. The views from Whittier harbor are unmatched, and there are several companies who run glacier tours during the summer. But if you think you’ll have the place to yourselves, think again. Despite the effort to get there, over 700,000 visitors flock to this little gem every summer – and most of them arrive on cruise ships. Lucky for us the cruise ships hadn’t been running yet and most of the people arriving, were on the same tour we were. Because I really wanted to see calving glaciers, we chose the Major Marine 26 Glaciers tour. The trip itself was 5.5 hours – they had a shorter Glacier Quest cruise that was 3.5 hours, but I wanted to maximize my chance of seeing the glaciers and the longer trip had USB ports at every seat which was a win for my teens who weren’t sure they wanted to be on the boat that long. The boat was a highspeed catamaran, with a nice warm cabin – which was nice to come back to after going outside to take pictures. Each passenger receives lunch (Vegetable Chili, Seafood Chowder or a Hot Dog) and I got the Chowder which was pretty tasty. The lunches also included fruit snacks, sun chips, coleslaw, and a York Peppermint Patty. Coffee and Tea were free, but they also served other things like nachos and liquor that you could pay extra for – you can even have a margarita served with glacier ice! On the way back they bring you warm chocolate chip cookies! They assign seats, so book your tour early and request a window. The beginning of our tour started out rainy, which made it hard to see – but the weather cleared up for the return trip, so we got to see everything on the way back. We saw several waterfalls, sea lions, glaciers and groups of otters playing on their backs as we passed by. The highlight of the trip for me though was the trip to the Harvard Glacier. This glacier was the farthest North on our trip and on our way there we started to see more and more ice floating in the water. The captain stopped the boat and turned it, so you were able to see it clearly from every seat. They even brought out Merry Christmas signs so you could take your Christmas Card pictures in front of the glacier. I got my wish and saw several glaciers calving – and even captured one on video.
On the way back we stopped for dinner at the Bear Tooth Grill in Anchorage. It is owned by the same people that own Moose Tooth pizza so we figured it would be good – and we were right. Knowing the wait for Moose Tooth, we called ahead on our way in from Whittier and our table was ready a few minutes after we got there. Next door was the Bear Tooth Theater pub where you could watch a movie while eating, but since it was so late, we just had food. The beauty was you could pick from the menus of all three venues and there was SO MUCH to choose from. I had a really good salad, Aislyn had a Korean Bowl, Debbie had a Smoked Gouda burger with Rosemary fries to die for, and Brynna had … you guessed it, a Moose’s Tooth Buffalo Chicken Pizza.
On our last day in Anchorage, we stopped at Humpy’s for brunch. It was an ale house type of restaurant that is all over Alaska and had something for everyone. Then we walked around downtown Anchorage looking for souvenirs. If you’re looking for cheap souvenirs for the kids Polar Bear Gifts is your place. Alaska Wild Berry Products has the world’s largest chocolate fountain, and a great photo opportunity for your family is the “Greetings from Alaska” wall located on the Alaska Travel Industry Association building at 610 E 5th Avenue. We stopped in Earthquake park – it’s a very small park but reading the signs about how the earthquake changed the topography is awe-inspiring. On the way out of the park we had our first real wild moose sighting across the street. Deb of course took off after it to get pictures while I went to get the car thinking it might be good to have a vehicle between us and it. We decided to head to the airport a little early thinking we would eat there. I’m not sure if it’s temporary due to Covid, but the few restaurants in our terminal weren’t open – just a pretzel cart. We debated going to another terminal to eat, but our bags were so heavy, that we left Deb to watch them and went in search of something to bring back. Even in the other terminal our options were Humpy’s, McDonalds, Silver Gulch and a sushi bar. So, make sure you eat before coming to the airport. Our flight home was uneventful with only one layover this time, and we left Anchorage at about 8:20 p.m. and got to West Palm Beach at 10:15 a.m. the following morning. Alaska was great in the summertime, and I think it would also be great to see it in the Winter when the Northern Lights are in full view. We had an amazing trip but were very glad to get home and sleep in our own beds. I would say our travel bug was satiated for a while, but as soon as we got home, we requested time off for a possible trip to Spain in November, here’s hoping the world is back to normal by then
