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Every
great Alaskan trip start with a great travel plan.
The trip planner Alaska below, describes the first
part of my great Alaskan adventure. Its hard for
words to do justice to this great state, but if
you love travel, and RV travel especially, then
this trip is for you. (Click
here to find the best Alaskan deal, compare prices
and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor)
To
me, Alaska was like a great wine - best savored
slowly. If you are pressed for time, though, just
break the trip into two seperate segments.
If you are familiar with this site, you know CamperTrails'
FREEDOM,
FLEXIBILITY & FUN
travel concept plays a big part in our RV travel
philosophy. You can choose to take Alaska in short
doses, a few days at a time, or easily combine
it with a stay in Fairbanks and perhaps a trip
into the Yukon Territory
Our senses were completely inundated on this trip.
Everywhere we looked was awe-inspiring - majestic
mountains, diverse wildlife - nature at its finest.
When to go?
Alaska
is great all year round, so take your pick.
In summer, Alaska has 24 hours of daylight. The
best months
climate-wise for visiting this fantastic part
of the world is mid/late
May to late August/early September. In general,
June is less
crowded than the summer vacation months. In late
August/early
September the tundra turns rich tones of red,
orange and yellow.
Winter is also a very popular travel period. The
days are very
short but there is a lot of activity, especially
in the Fairbanks area.
One of the main attraction is the Aurora
Borealis, the Northern
Lights, which people come from far to see and
of course to
photograph.
Anchorage
to
Fairbanks 6-9 days
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Set
against the backdrop of one of nature's pinnacles,
the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage is a bustling,
modern city with a modern, aggressive skyline
and relentless urban development.
But
the real Alaska is only a 20 minute drive away,
where you can be amongst glaciers, mountains and
whitewater rivers. It was in 1913 that five settlers
occupied Ship Creek, the point on Cook Inlet where
modern day Anchorage now stands. Two years later,
Congress passed the Alaskan Railroad Act naming
Ship Creek as the major staging post for workers
and supplies. Within a month, a tent city of nearly
2000 had sprung up and within a year the new township
of Anchorage had been born complete with water,
telephones, power lines, sidewalks, and schools
to support the
population of approx. 7000. The city is now home
to over 270,000 people, about half the State's
population.The trip from Anchorage to Fairbanks
is one of breathtaking fun and adventure. You
can enjoy a variety of sport activities, hiking,
mountain climbing, canoeing, fishing, cross-country
bicycling . . the list goes on. On top of that,
the stunning views of glaciers, mountain ranges
and rivers present all the rugged outdoors you
expect in an Alaskan adventure vacation.
Departing from Anchorage, we set out on the first
leg of our trip northwards to Fairbanks, traveling
mainly on the George Parks Highway (I-3).
Our
first stop was at the MUSK-OX Farm, in Palmer.
Well worth your time, the farm is a non-profit
organization dedicated to preserving the (you
guessed it ) Musk-Ox, one of the oldest surviving
Arctic mammals.
The
goal of the Musk Ox Project, begun in 1954, is
to introduce a gentle, non-intrusive form of agriculture
to the Arctic. These animals form the basis of
an Alaskan cottage industry for natives living
in remote coastal villages. The soft under-wool
of the musk ox, qiviut, is harvested once a year
and delivered to Oomingmak, an Alaskan native
knitter's co-operative. The knitters work at home
in Eskimo villages throughout Alaska creating
scarves, nachaqs (Eskimo smoke rings) and luxurious
caps. Each village has it's own signature pattern
derived from traditional designs. It is a real
pleasure to see these animals in their original
habitat.
After
about an hour we continued north to Talkeetna.
This is a preserved frontier town, with renovated
trapper and miners' cabins used as shops and restaurants.
We took a flight out to Mt. McKinley which was
awesome. The best time to climb the mountain is
late May-early June, as avalanches threaten after
then. Many mountain climbers fly out from Talkteena
in ski-planes to land on Kahiltna Glacier for
a climb to the summit of Mt. McKinley which may
take up to 30 days. The surrounding rivers also
offer excellent fishing as well as guided rafting
and riverboat tours.
Our
next stop was further north on the George Parks
highway, at Trapper Creek. Formerly a Dena'ina
Athabascan Indian territory, Trapper Creek serves
as the southern entrance to Denali Park. From
here, we took the Petersville Road, driving approximately
40 miles into the Dutch Hills. The drive was much
worthwhile and we were tremendously rewarded by
the magnificent and spectacular views of Mt. McKinley.
The dirt road is ideal for mountain biking, and
we took a shot at that as well (not for the entire
40 miles, though).
From
here we entered Denali State Park which spans
over 325,000 acres (about half the size of Rhode
Island) and is situated between the Talkeetna
Mountains to the east and the Alaska Range to
the west. Denali attracts more visitors in it's
114 day season than the entire state has residents.
The park's shuttle-bus service gives easy viewing
of the spectacular scenery as well as the plentiful
wildlife. The park is home to 37 species of mammals,
the big four being: bear, moose, caribou, and
Dall sheep. The park is also the habitat for an
especially rich bird community with more than
130 species calling the park home.
Denali
Park is basically divided in half by the George
Parks highway. The terrain varies from meandering
lowland streams to alpine tundra, and there are
stunning views of Mt. McKinley along the way.
Formerly known as 'Denali' which means 'The High
One' in the Tanaina Indian dialect, Mt. McKinley
is the highest mountain peak in North America.
It towers over south-central Alaska from its base
in Denali National Park and completely dominates
the skyline. The best views (and they are absolutely
stunning), are signposted along the highway. Perhaps
the best roadside view is at mile 135.2 on the
Parks Highway.. Other excellent views of Mt. McKinley
along the highway are at mile 147.1, 158.1, and
162.3.
During
the early 1900s, when the train journey from Anchorage
to Fairbanks took two days, visitors would sometimes
stay over at Curry to climb the east side of Curry
Ridge to gaze at the wonders of Mt. McKinley from
Curry Lookout. The small building is still there,
weathering storms on the ridge. The many animals
that thrive in the park are a wonderful attraction.
The most visible are moose and black and grizzly
bears (don't get too close!). Many other animals
abound in the park, among them seldom seen wolves,
lynx, coyote, red fox, land otter squirrels and
more.
If
fishing is your game, Denali is for you! The clear
plentiful streams are an absolute delight. You
can fish for Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, arctic
grayling and other species. The Chena River has
great fishing too!.
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