One day we’ll go to Alaska!

And, who knew that one day would be this summer. My hubby, a perfect planner, organized a two-week road trip vacation to Alaska.

To me, Alaska was a place far far away like planet Mars, unfamiliar, so I packed (and overpacked) to prepare. I stuffed monkey caps, thermals, snow pants, jackets, woolen socks, and rain jackets. Phew! 

We flew to Anchorage with our two kids on the Memorial Day weekend and stayed at the Inlet Hotel for a couple of days. The hotel was comfortable, and good part was that we didn’t have to forage for a breakfast place. Cons, were the long lines in the morning to get breakfast.

For the remaining stay in Alaska, we kept changing accommodations based on the cities we explored.

As Alaska is vast, we limited our sightseeing to the SouthCentral region, which is well-connected via roads. We visited the following cities- Anchorage, Palmer, Kennecott, MacCarthy, Copper Center, Valdez, Seward, Denali National Park, Talkeetna, and Girdwood. We saw different State parks and National Parks, each with unsurpassed beauty. We did a lot without spreading ourselves thin. And, this post is my humble attempt to put it all together, for anyone planning a trip to The Last Frontier.

The first week in Alaska

The first couple days in Alaska were ‘the test’ to acclimatize to the new weather, which was drastically and dramatically different than that of Arizona’s triple digits. Also, the sunset occurred at about 11:30 PM, and nights were never pitch dark. There was always twilight. And, I was excited to experience this no darkness phenomena, which I’d read in my elementary school.

ALASKA ZOO

Our first sightseeing visit was to the Zoo.

https://www.alaskazoo.org
It was drizzling all day, and even before we could start exploring, my kids began to give-up because it was cold (rather freezing) and wet. So, we stopped for steaming hot cocoa at the Zoo cafe and continued. And the Zoo did not disappoint us. We saw local Wildlife- caribou, grizzly bear, black bear, polar bear, musk ox, snow leopard, and bald eagles. We also saw two-humped Bactrian Camel. My son spotted an Alpaca sitting leisurely, and said: “Look, a big sheep with no legs!”

We spent two hours at the Zoo, and it was an excellent warm-up to what we’d be seeing the next few days.

KINCAID PARK

Moose sightings are frequent here, is what my research told me.

And as luck would have it, during our drive to Kincaid Park, we saw a mother Moose with a calf, and then many other Moose.
However, I did not brave the trails at the park that boasted of frequent Moose sightings. The locals shared that the docile looking Moose can be more dangerous than Bears. They are powerful enough to overturn a car, and no amount of sound can move them. With that knowledge, I chickened out.

REINDEER FARM

We drove from Anchorage to Palmer to experience the Williams Reindeer Farm (https://www.reindeerfarm.com).

And I’m so glad we did. Our tour guide, Mike, was knowledgeable and shared details about the animals on the farm. Being surrounded by about 30 reindeers and hand feeding them was a fantastic experience; So said the sparkling eyes of my kids. Besides, we also saw Yak, Bison, Elks, Moose, and my older son especially enjoyed chasing the chickens.

I’d highly recommend this place for kids and adults alike.

Eagle River Nature Center

Located in the Chugach (CHEW- gatch) State Park, we stopped at the Eagle River Nature Center. We did a short 3/4 mile Rodak Nature Trail, which was an easy walk with benches and led to Beaver Viewing Deck and Salmon Viewing Deck. We did not spot any wildlife but beautiful views all around.
https://www.ernc.org/trails/ernc-trails

After the memorial day weekend, I saw a spike in the traveling crowd in Anchorage. No surprise, that’s the time many businesses begin to reopen after winter. And, I have to mention that we did not end up using our snow pants or monkey caps (yikes! I overpacked).

In my next post, I’ll talk about our visit to the Wrangel St Elias National Park, the largest park in the USA, and the towns of Mccarthy and Kennecott.