Around Alaska in 11 Days

I guess you could say we saw Alaska but it definitely was a world wind tour that killed our gas budget. It also had us so sick of driving that we ended up spending almost a week in Dawson City, YT once we crossed back over to Canada just to so we (us, the dogs, the van) could rest.

Alaska is beautiful but we just never found a place we felt comfortable in. It also probably didn’t help that we don’t really fish and we had dogs with us so we couldn’t do those day long boat tour excursions or sea kayaking adventures or the 12 hour bus tour in Denali National Park (as they only allow buses past the 15 mile mark of the road). Also, about 6 days in, it started raining and really never stopped until we got back to Canada.

Where did we go? I think we hit everywhere except Whittier, Seward and Anchorage. So Tok, Valdez, Palmer, Homer, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks and Chicken (yes there is a place called Chicken).

Kenai Lake (near Cooper Landing, AK)

Homer Spit (Homer, AK)

What did we see? Black bears and moose along the highway and tons of rabbits in Valdez. Tall mountains and glaciers. Rivers filled with fishermen and fisherwomen in their hip waders and fly fishing rods. Lots of guns. And many, many over the top touristy places that just weren’t doing it for us.

What didn’t we see? Grizzly bears (despite all the rivers of salmon that we drove by), Mount Denali (previously called Mount McKinley and the highest mountain in North American) as it was covered in clouds on the day we got there (which is pretty typical for the summer). And marine life as we didn’t do the boat or sea kayaking tours.

What we liked? Palmer is just north of Anchorage and was a nice little agriculture town with some decent bike trails. Kenai National Wildlife Refuge had some nice hiking trails and a great Visitors Centre. (Mike also liked their free camping sites). And The Top of the World Highway from Chicken to Dawson City has been our favourite drive so far (even though we drove through it in the clouds, fog and rain).

What we didn’t like. Guns. There are a lot of guns in Alaska. The guy cleaning the bathrooms at one of the campgrounds we stayed at had one in a side holster. The guy that showed up to hike a 5 km nature trail around a lake brought his assault rifle. There were guns on hips in Walmart and guns strapped to chests in rest areas. Guns were for sale at every gas stations we stopped at.

Would I recommend it? My advice is make Yukon your destination because it continues to be awesome (I will likely dedicate one blog post just to Dawson City). Then take the side trips from Haines Junction, YT to Haines, AK or from Carcross, YT to Skagway, AK (and take the ferry between Haines and Skagway) for a little bit of coastal Alaska. Finally drive the Top of the World Highway from Dawson City to Tok and then drive from Tok to Beaver Creek for a bit of interior Alaska. Or if you want to see Mount Denali, supposedly fall and winter gives better chances of seeing it.

For us, we are going to continue to tour around the Yukon awhile longer as if I haven’t mentioned it already – we really like it here!