A recent visit to Juneau reminded me how fortunate Alaskan’s are to have such an abundance of fresh, local seafood available to us.  In Juneau for meetings, I had the opportunity to splurge on Alaskan king crab, Alaska salmon kabobs, and salmon cakes.   One of my favorite restaurants in Juneau is The Twisted Fish – it specializes in Alaska seafood and is popular with both locals and visitors.  As a result of my trip to Juneau, I have fresh enthusiasm for including Alaska seafood in meal plans this winter. 

Returning to Anchorage, I took a poll around the office asking what they think the best seafood restaurants are around the State, so if you are visiting Alaska be sure to check out some of these restaurants our staff themselves seek out when they want fresh Alaskan seafood:

Anchorage:      Simon & Seafort’s
Juneau:              Twisted Fish
Fairbanks:        Pikes Landing
Skagway:           The Fish Company
Seward:             Resurrection Roadhouse
Talkeetna:        Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge (more…)

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Congratulations to Doug Croft whose photo Yearling Cub was selected as this year’s Alaska Travel Photo Contest winner. Doug is from San Jose, California.  Doug and his wife visited Alaska for a week in the summer of 2010 after many years of dreaming about coming to Alaska, and in particular traveling to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park. Doug describes the opportunity to take the photograph as “The picture was one of the last that I took before we had to depart Brooks and has been our favorite of the trip.  We were ready to leave the viewing platform and go back through the woods to the lodge when we stopped to watch this little guy “fishing” with his mom…he was actually getting in her way.  He suddenly got quite agitated and bolted from the water and up a tree right next to the platform where we were standing, providing the perfect photo op.” 

While in Alaska, the Croft’s also traveled via the Alaska Railroad to Seward, kayaked in Resurrection Bay then took a day cruise into the Northwestern Fjord area.  They hiked Exit Glacier and visited the Iditarod championship Seavey Kennels. Doug was constantly amazed at opportunities to view Alaska wildlife and scenery during their trip to and ran out of superlatives to describe it. (more…)

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Another beautiful day to drive along the Cook Inlet; the tide was out so no chance to see the Beluga Whales, but the mud flats were interesting with many waterfalls and glaciers in the distance; had to slow down for the Dall Sheep near the roadside. Denise, my friend Carol’s sister from California, was excited. Leaving from Anchorage, our drive took about thirty minutes to get to the tunnel entrance, the only way to get to Whittier by car. Denise was a bit apprehensive driving through a two and half mile tunnel on railroad tracks. Me too; hadn’t done it for a long time. It was cool; we were in and out in five minutes but it seemed like fifteen. The tunnel had lights and nice restrooms at both ends. We arrived early so waited and watched the train have its turn. Another five minutes out of the tunnel and we were parked.

Whittier is totally Alaskan. I don’t think it’ll ever grow up. I love to watch the diversity of humanity enjoying their independence; doing what they like to do best near the most beautiful stretch of water in all America. Boats everywhere-such a sight. I’ve never seen so many boats, all kinds: little dinghies, huge beautiful private cruise-like boats, floating in the water or parked on lots near where we parked our car. A few more steps and we were on the ramp shaking hands with the smiling crew as we boarded our own beautiful boat, Major Marine Tour’s Emerald Sea. (more…)

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We’re excited to be able to award Two “Dancers” by Alaska Inupiat Native artist Tony Weyiouanna Jr. as the grand prize for this year’s winning photo in our annual Alaska Tour & Travel Photo Contest.  Valued at $650, the beautiful carvings are made of antler, walrus, ivory, baleen, and polar bear fur and can be viewed all summer in our display at the Anchorage Museum Shop at 625 “C” Street in downtown Anchorage. (more…)

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We’re always on the look out for adventures which get visitor’s off the beaten path and that can reasonably be experienced in a day or less while in Denali National Park or in the South Denali – Denali State Park region.  So working with two of our local Alaska guide services, we’re excited to be able to showcase two new adventures which we’re sure will be among the highlights for visitors this summer.

The Denali State Park Raft & Kayak adventure starts with a visit to Byer’s Lake in Denali State Park, one of my own favorite places to visit.  Byer’s Lake is located in a pristine setting at the foot of the Kesugi Ridge and offers spectacular views of Mt. McKinley.  Along with your guide, you’ll use sit-on-top kayaks to paddle through the tranquil waters while on the watch for resident trumpeter swans, loons, and beavers. If you haven’t ever tried a sit-on-top kayak before you shouldn’t worry as they are easy to use even for new kayakers. One of the highlights for me while at Byer’s Lake is kayaking over pools of spawning salmon – I’ve also seen signs of bears along the far shore of the lake and the local guides say they occasionally see them from a safe distance away while kayaking. 

From Byer’s Lake you’ll head to a unique, Alaskan lodge & café called Mary Cary’s where you’ll have lunch while enjoying views of Denali and the Alaska Range. Then its onward to your launching ground on the Chulitna River to embark on a peaceful, scenic raft trip that takes you through the stunning Chulitna Canyon and ends 19 miles downstream in the town of Talkeetna.  Transportation is provided from both Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge and McKinley Princess Lodge, or if you have your own car you can meet the guides at Byer’s Lake and they’ll bring you back to your car at the end of the day.

(more…)

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Last winter my husband had business he had to travel for to Fairbanks, Alaska.  At first the thought of going to Fairbanks in the winter was not too thrilling to me since temperatures can be extreme that time of year but we decided to gather up our family as well as my cousin’s and make the trip north with him.  Fairbanks is just over 300 miles from our home in Chugiak via the scenic George Parks Highway (Hwy #3).  Traveling this road in the summer you will find many activities and places to stop at and visit but in February most services are closed but it is still a very scenic road to travel, regardless of what time of year it is.  The ride up to Fairbanks took us about 7 hours and as we made our approach into the city we were fortunate to witness the Aurora Borealis in the night sky.  It is incredible to see the colorful mysterious lights dancing in the skies.  We do get to see the Northern Lights at our home but as you go further north into Interior Alaska they appear more often.  (more…)

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Denali National Park has three visitor centers inside the Park.  The Denali Park Visitor Center and the Murie Science & Learning Center are both located just inside the Denali Park entrance, about a mile up the Park Road.  The third is the Eielson Visitor Center which is located at mile 66 of the Park Road. A stop at Eielson Visitor Center is included in both the Kantishna Wilderness Tour and the Kantishna Experience Tour.  Because these tours are about 12 hours long, their best suited for adults and families with older children.  The most popular park tour, the Tundra Wilderness Tour, is shorter but does not go to Eielson due to only traveling to mile 53 of the Park Road.  You can also reach the Eielson Visitor Center by purchasing a shuttle bus into the Park.  This option is popular to local Alaskans and other returning visitor’s to the park as well as those who are camping inside the park.  But be sure to not purchase the Toklat shuttle if a visit to Eielson is important to you as it turns around before the visitor center. (more…)

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Alaska Tour & Travel has received over 550 photos for its 2010 Photo Contest, a record!  We may not have had our best weather this past summer season, but you would never have known it based on the beautiful photos sent to us over the summer.  We were especially glad to have received many photos and stories from visitors who we helped plan their trip to Alaska. Over the next several weeks we will be selecting the top photos received and will ultimately select the photo who’s owner will receive the Alaskan Gold Medallion. In doing so, we are involving all of our staff and have asked several top Alaskan tourism industry managers to assist us.  We hope to announce the winner of the gold medallion on or before November 24th so that one lucky photographer will have something extra to be thankful for on Thanksgiving!

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