Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for alaska
The Switzerland of Alaska
By Linda Tancs
It’s easy to understand why Valdez, Alaska, is affectionately called “the Switzerland of Alaska.” Like its counterpart in Europe, it offers unparalleled scenery. Located at the head of a deep fjord in Prince William Sound, you’ll find glaciers, mountains, a temperate rainforest and scores of wildlife. One of the best places to learn about the area is at the Valdez Museum. The facility’s permanent exhibits explore the history of Valdez, the Copper River Valley and Prince William Sound from Native Alaskan occupation to the present day.
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Remembering the Gold Rush
By Linda Tancs
The promise of gold brought thousands of people to Alaska and the Yukon Territory in 1897-98. Their search for riches is commemorated at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska. The park is made up of three units in Alaska and one unit in Seattle, Washington, each playing an integral role in the stampede to the Klondike. The three units in Alaska are the Skagway Historic District, the White Pass Trail and the Chilkoot Trail (which began at Dyea, once a booming town as a route to the gold fields). The Chilkoot pass is one of only three passes that can be used all winter in the northern Lynn Canal area. If you visit this time of year you’ll avoid the hustle and bustle of the cruise ships that dominate Skagway during the summer season.
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Museum of the North
By Linda Tancs
Located on the Fairbanks campus of the University of Alaska, the Museum of the North is the state’s only research and teaching museum. Featuring an astounding 2.5 million artifacts and specimens, the museum’s exhibits are the best introduction to Alaska’s diverse wildlife, people and landscapes. Highlights include a 2,000-year spectrum of Alaska art, the state’s largest public display of gold and a 50,000-year-old mummified steppe bison. The facility is open year-round, but this time of year you’ll enjoy the midnight sun and warmer weather.
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Natural Wonders in Anchorage
By Linda Tancs
It goes without saying that there’s no shortage of natural wonders in Alaska, even just minutes from downtown Anchorage. That’s where you’ll meet the westernmost boundary of Chugach State Park. Located mostly within the Municipality of Anchorage, it’s one of the largest state parks in the United States. Named after the indigenous people of the Upper Cook Inlet region, it’s a must-see for shutterbugs and day hikers alike. One of the most popular trailheads is Glen Alps on the Anchorage Hillside. You’ll be rewarded with a three-volcano view, a profile of Denali and the Anchorage skyline, among many other things.
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Crossing the Arctic Circle
By Linda Tancs
One of the northernmost roads in Alaska is the Dalton Highway, the only road in the United States to cross the Yukon River, the Arctic Circle and Brooks Range. Named for James William Dalton, a North Slope engineer, it was closed to public traffic for years, having been developed as a haul road connecting the Yukon River and Prudhoe Bay during construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Today it’s one of Alaska’s scenic byways and one of the remotest drives on earth. Some of the highlights along the way are signs of active gold mining in Livengood, mile marker 115 (where a sign indicates that you’ve crossed the Arctic Circle) and Atigun Pass, the highest in Alaska at 4,800 feet. The route begins in Livengood although the only place to rent a vehicle suitable for road conditions is Fairbanks. Over 400 miles long, the journey will take you to Prudhoe Bay, where you can overnight and rest before beginning the long trek back to Fairbanks. The highway is mostly a gravel road with several steep grades and no cell phone coverage. Extra supplies and spare tires are recommended. Due to weather and varying road conditions, the best time to travel is between June and August.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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America’s Largest Glacial System
By Linda Tancs
America’s largest glacial system exists within park boundaries of Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Covering 35 percent of the parklands, glaciers are the headwaters for many of the river systems that flow through the park. One of the most stunning features of this area is Bagley Icefield. Touted as the largest nonpolar icefield in North America, it encompasses multiple glaciers and is 127 miles long, 6 miles wide and up to 3,000 feet thick in some places. In fact, it feeds many glaciers, including the Bering Glacier, the largest in North America. Both public and private lands exist in the park. Public lands are open year round; enjoy snowmobiling this time of year provided there’s adequate snow cover (at least one foot) and frozen ground.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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A Majestic Assembly
By Linda Tancs
From October to February a remarkable sight is yours to behold at Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska. That’s when you’ll find a majestic assembly of more than 3,000 bald eagles, six or more to a single branch, all gathered to feed on five species of spawning chum salmon. The preserve was created in 1982 when the state reserved 48,000 acres along the Chilkat, Klehini and Tsirku rivers to protect this annual reunion, the largest known gathering of bald eagles in the world. Haines Highway between miles 18 and 24 is the main viewing area for eagle watchers and considered critical habitat in the preserve.
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World Class Bear Viewing
By Linda Tancs
Alaskan salmon run at different times depending on the location and species. In southeast Alaska, you’ll find the largest run of pink salmon at Anan Creek during July and August. That means the bears won’t be far behind. Southeast of Wrangell, the Anan Wildlife Observatory is a world class destination for bear viewing—so popular, in fact, that only 20 visitor passes are issued each day from July 5 to August 25. Those passes are issued via a lottery that is conducted in March. Plan accordingly, and happy viewing!
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Gates of the Arctic
By Linda Tancs
With no roads or trails, Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic ain’t your momma’s national park. But for those pioneering enough to brave nature’s elements, it offers spectacular opportunities to discover a premier wilderness. Four times the size of Yellowstone, the park and preserve lie entirely north of the Arctic Circle, straddling the crest of the Brooks Range (the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains). This land is home to the Athabascan and Nunamiut, who hunt the caribou herds that migrate through the park in the spring and autumn. The park was named by intrepid explorer Robert Marshall, citing two mountains paired opposite the North Fork. A lake named in his honor is about 33 miles from Anaktuvuk Pass, an Eskimo village within the park borders and a popular entry point into the preserve. Scheduled flights from Fairbanks serve the area.
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Ten Thousand Smokes
By Linda Tancs
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, a landscape created by the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Open year round, hikers’ favorite destinations include the Baked Mountain Huts, Novarupta lava dome and Mount Griggs. But this time of year, Katmai is prized as one of the premier brown bear viewing areas in the world. This month’s viewing is particularly strong at Geographic Harbor and Funnel Creek. For guides and/or transportation to bear viewing areas, licensed commercial operators stand ready to assist you.
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