Tag Archives: Vacation

Family trip

Posted on by

I’m from the Space Coast of Florida.  My neighbor was an astronaut and I lived close enough to the beach that it took me 8 minutes to literally walk down the street to it.  The area is f-l-a-t.  When I say flat I mean the most elevation you can achieve within a 10-mile radius is when you go up the elevator at Ron Jon’s.  My dad was getting tired of all the people, and the muggy heat that we were constantly engulfed in.  He decided that we would pack up for a week and head to Alaska for a little refreshment.

I blended in pretty well with the people there, not your usual bleached-blond tanned babe.  Of course everyone was just as friendly to my sister, who fits into every stereotype that is ‘Floridian’.  She had issues with the idea of Alaska; the woods, and the man-eating mosquitoes weren’t her in bag of “fun stuff to deal with on vacation”. I, however, loved the idea.  Out rocking it with nature, that was my style.  I do remember how enormous the mountains were, and the smell of pine.  It was a little different than my elevation-less and moldy-musky smelling home.

When we landed in Anchorage I was stiff and thoroughly surprised that it was still light out at two in the morning.  This trip turned out to be a lot more exciting than realizing that your parents couldn’t tell you to be ‘home by dark’.  We settled into our hotel, and were off to Denali by morning.  After an entertaining trip by Motorcoach to the Denali National Park entrance, we boarded the bus to Kantishna and the Denali Backcountry Lodge.  We saw three Grizzly bears.  Three! I couldn’t believe how HUGE they were.  We also saw a few moose, and just one caribou on our way in from Anchorage.

We stayed at the lodge for a night, then went hiking the next day, my sister’s moment of truth.  As it turns out there are no man-eating bugs or too many claustrophobic woods for that matter.  She won’t admit it, but she enjoyed being out in the wilderness.  Florida seems so crowded now that I’m home.  It was pretty humbling to realize how small we really are compared to Denali.  I’m glad I’ll be able to tell my adventures at school next year.

- Felicia & the rest of the Rae Family.

Relaxing in Talkeetna

Posted on by

I desperately needed a vacation, my husband agreed.  We both grew up in the Anchorage area, and knew every little bit of the town.  We decided that we would take a few days off and get out of the city.  We made reservations at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, a mellow drive past Houston on the Parks Highway.

Seeing as how we both knew Alaska pretty well, we figured Talkeetna would be just another small town out in the woods.  How wrong we were.  When we pulled into the town to get our bearings before trying to find the lodge, we were hit immediately with the sheer life of the town.  Cottages littered the roadside, and the smell of cooking food wafted through the trucks open windows.  I told Garth we just had to stop.  He groaned knowing I was going to spend money at the abundant shops, but he soon succumbed to the town’s charm.  Stained glass wind chimes, carved ivory, chocolate, and lots of handmade products were of abundance.  Most, if not all as far as I could tell, was locally made and you could see the pride in the craftsman’s faces.  I had only gotten as far as the woodcarvings before my husband reminded me that we had to check in before midnight. (In my defense, no matter how long you live here, the long summer days never escape you.)

As we took the road into the lodge I was caught by the sent of that true Alaskan wilderness.  The sky was still blue, and Denali would have been visible if not for the curtain of trees that surrounded our little vehicle.  We checked into our room, opting for the Mountain View room so we could admire Denali in all her wonder. (We rarely see her from Anchorage, but it’s not unheard of.)  While we settled into the room it occurred to me that we were only two hours from home.  That’s it, just two hours.    It was easily the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had.  We did a little light fishing in the area, and we let the long days melt away all our tension from the bustling city just across the inlet.

-Marcy & Garth Medaughs

My Alyeska Pipeline Experience

Posted on by

Last summer I touched the Alyeska Pipeline. I didn’t even know it was possible. Alaska Denali Tours made it happen though. My kids and I started in Anchorage, took in the sites and went to the Saturday Market down town. After Anchorage we boarded the Motorcoach and headed to Denali. After a night there, enjoying the sheer vastness of the country, we made it north to Fairbanks, a small town with a large attitude. The Fairbanks North Star Borough, which Fairbanks and Denali both reside in, is roughly the size of New Jersey, but the total population is less than 100,000. That means if you stretched every person in the area out evenly there would only be 11 every square mile. The town was founded around the gold boom, which started in 1902 and still continues today.
The first thing I did while I was in Fairbanks was the Riverboat Discovery tour on the Chena River. I was able to really soak in the heritage of the land. We saw a traditional fish camp and left the boat to learn about the way Native People live in the villages of interior Alaska. After a lunch near the river we headed north to the El Dorado Gold Mine, which has been mining for gold for decades. We took a train, complete with the operator singing us some Johnny Cash, into the mine to learn about the history of the industry. The guides were wonderful and really immersed you into the setting. After the train ride we panned for our own ‘flash’, and even made jewelry out of the flakes. The family who operates the mine was there and we got to touch enormous gold nuggets.
After the gold fever we departed on the train once more and made our way back to the busses. The bus took us up the Dalton Highway to a spot where the pipeline was near the road. My family and I headed right to the exposed pipeline raised five feet off the ground. There was no experience quite like knowing millions of dollars of crude oil was pumping through that enormous structure. We were even given the opportunity to take home parts of retired pipeline. What an adventure!

-Kira Elegy

Alaska Vacation Photo Contest

Posted on by

The first thing you do when you come to Alaska is snap a photo.  It’s the easiest way to record your memories for years to come, why not let those simple pictures work for you.  Denali Lodges & Alaska Denali Tours is hosting the first annual Alaska Vacation Photo Contest.  The winner will receive two framed and matted prints from the renowned Denali photographer Kirstie Knittel, a prize valued at over $1000. The photographs, “Denali and Fireweed” and “Bobbly Skies”, show Mt. McKinley’s scenic beauty.  “Denali and Fireweed” depicts the mountain beautifully captured with the native Fireweed in the foreground.  “Bobbly Skies” shows you two different images of Denali reflected in Kettle Pond.  Both photos were taken inside Denali National Park from the only road that leads to Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna. Visitors to the Lodge can view these same scenes from the Lodge’s bus.

All you have to do to enter this contest is send your one-of-a-kind breathtaking photos of Alaska’s scenery.  We accept submissions over the Internet only, and we recommend that the contestants use high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi) files, between 2-3 MB (for photographs taken with a digital camera or scanned negatives). Photographs can be uploaded to the web site Alaska Travel Pictures or emailed to The Contest Manager.

As always, we encourage you to submit all aspects of your Alaska adventure, group photos, animal sightings, scenic views, and activities in all seasons. Entry is FREE and the deadline is May 28, 2010. Please visit Alaska Denali Tours for terms and conditions. Please check back often for updates.