Hi Part Two

Despite its name, Anchorage cannot be reached by ship, with access by ship at Whittier, which is the starting point for the Alaska Railroad - the way you would probably get at Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks. We visited Whittier from Anchorage, passing through the tunnel that the trains take (didn’t used to be allowed, but now is OK at certain hours). The afore mentioned Portage Glacier is just off the highway from Whittier, near the former village of Portage that was drowned when the land dropped six feet into the sea during the Good Friday earthquake. You can get to Portage Glacier on the Alaska RR too. The Begich-Boggs visitor’s center is spectacular, and you can walk on its terminal moraine, but only see the glacier by boat. The reason why the arm of the sea that goes to Anchorage is called Turnagain Arm (named by Captain Bligh) is that it has one of the highest tidal changes in the world (about 30 feet). If you time things right, you can see the tidal bore, which can be as much as six feet high, racing up (or down) the arm, reaching speeds of 15 MPH. A wonderful sight!

Try to take a tour to Denali. We camped there twice, but no private vehicles are alowed past the Savage River Checkpoint (Mile 14 - campers inside the checkpoint can only take vehicles into and out of the campgrounds). The round trip by bus to Wonder Lake (about 92 miles and the end of the road) will take 11 hours round trip. A shorter trip to Eielson Visitor Center (mile 66) takes 8 hours. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the mountain. A bulletin board with pictures drawn by kids had only one (out of twenty odd pictures) that actually showed the mountain. McKinley makes its own weather. Can’t say much about the food, e.g. at Denali Lodge. Lots of opportunities for wildlife - you can get off and be picked up by a later green bus - but be careful to watch for grizzlies!

Fairbanks is another 90 some miles up the road. Plenty of things to do there - our favorite is Alaskaland (Pioneer Park, nothing like Disneyland), a beautiful theme park filled with historic buildings that form a gold rush town, with gift shops and places where you can get an salmon bake or caribou stew and visit the stern-wheeler Nenana. Our favorite places nearby are Chena Hot Springs (where we stayed in a cabin and got up early to watch the moose in the hot springs), and Circle on the Yukon River. It’s possible to get to Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse on the Dalton Road that goes over Atagun Pass (at milepost 244). We would have tried to at least see the Arctic Ocean from Atagun and Coldfoot, (milepost 175) but the weather was against us and there are no services on the way except very little at the three “towns” (the other one being Wiseman, Milepost 188). Definitely a very tough road - good to have survival gear. Also, beware the truck traffic - screens over you headlights would be a good idea, just as on the Alcan! You could fly to Barrow from Deadhorse, the only way to have access to the Arctic Ocean (none at Prudhoe) where you can join the Polar Bear Club. Of course you can fly to Barrow from Fairbanks.

If your cruise ship stops at Seward, you can take one of excursion boats around the corner to see Kenai Fjords National Park. Holgate Glacier was calving when we went there - an awesome experience. If your timing is right, it’s a great place for whale watchhing. And the easily visited Exit Glacier is nearby, and very accessible (but don’t go into any of the ice caverns). Great place to have a salmon dinner.

Sorry to be so long winded.

Peace
Dugg & Chris
Our VI pics are at http://picasaweb.google.com/papadugg/ and the 2014 pics are finally done