Alaska
The 49th US State is a wild and very unique place. Its the largest state in the country but in general is very sparsely populated. It has a vast wilderness full of animals and beautiful scenery. Much of the state is mountains, glaciers, waterways and frozen tundra. Alaska also has distinct indigenous tribes that live in different regions and have different cultures. The way of life can be much different in Alaska with there being a high number of pilots since there are few roads. We visited Alaska in October 2021 during the beginning of the Alaskan winter. Alaska was our 49th state to visit and it was completely different than the other 48 we have visited. We used Anchorage as our base of operations and visited a few places outside of the city. We also visited the State Museum, Alaskan Native Cultural Center, the Alaskan Zoo, Alaskan Aviation Museum and military museum while there. We also tried some unique food while we were there. It was a great trip and there was a lot to see!
Getting to Alaska and Transportation
When you look at a map of the world Alaska does not really look that far from the rest of North America. That is very deceiving. From Houston our flight time to Alaska with a stop in Seattle was around 7 hours of flight time. Mileage wise it was almost the same mileage as flying to Europe from Houston. The main gateway to Alaska via airplane is to the largest city of Anchorage. Ted Stevens International airport has hourly flights on Alaska Airlines to Seattle. There are other airlines such as United, American or Delta you can fly to the mainland United States but Alaska will give you the most flexibility. Fairbanks and a few other cities has flights from the mainland to Alaska. We used Alaska Air and the service was great and the prices were good. Just a note some flights back home leave very late as ours did at 1am. The airport was full of people and all the stores were open at that time. The only other ways to get into Alaska would be a long drive from Washington State through Canada to the state or going by cruise ship. While in Alaska you can make use of the Alaskan Railway or book tours but the truly best way to see as much as you can would be to rent a car and drive yourself. We rented a car and drove ourselves to the different places we visited. In Anchorage the roads are no different than any other US city outside of some unique animals you might encounter. While driving we had a bull moose running down the street towards us head on. We were able to make a quick turn and avoid it as it ran down the street. Outside of Anchorage the roads are good but you really have to pay attention to road conditions especially as winter comes. We canceled a boat tour in the city of Seward due to iced roads towards the port. We read about many accidents that day so it was a good call to not drive it.
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska at around 300,000 people living there. We used it as our base of operations and spent a good amount of time visiting the museums and attractions in Anchorage as well. You also don’t have to drive very far to visit some wilderness sites and be able to see native animals as we found in Anchorage. Anchorage has all the comforts of any American city with Costco, Target and plenty of other places you are used to. We stayed at the Hilton in Downtown Anchorage so we were within walking distance of many of the museums in Anchorage. We spent three days touring in Anchorage and had plenty to do while we were there that’s for sure.
Anchorage Log Cabin Visitor's Center
Very close to our hotel was the Anchorage Visitor’s center located in a log cabin with grass growing on the rooftop. The ladies inside were super helpful giving us maps and other information including that the state museum was free on that day due to Indigenous People day. They gave us road condition information and details on tours. Its always a great idea to stop at places such as these because the locals running them have great advice on conditions, attractions and food options in the area. We were given some great advice on food as well while we were there.
Alaska Native Heritage Center
Our first stop on a relatively cold and cloudy day was the Alaska Native Heritage Center. The center was completely free (during the winter) and had a great museum that went over each of the different tribes and the regions that they lived in. They normally have daily performances from the different tribes but being the beginning of winter they did not have any. Most people think of Canada and Alaskan indigenous people as people living in log cabins and totem poles. While there are tribes that are famous for totem poles especially in the Alaskan Panhandle region we found a wide variety of cultures who have adapted to live in very harsh conditions. The museum had an exhibit talking about each tribe, and had video and insight from the people themselves. On a non-winter day there looked to be many interactive displays available and crafts for kids. Outside of the museum was a great trail that had replicas of the different traditional homes of the different tribes. We visited one that was full of beautiful painted carvings and had a totem pole. As you moved farther North the home were dug into the ground for extra warmth. We spent a couple hours learning about the people’s of Alaska and came a way with a better understanding of the way they live and how challenging Alaska is. We started our day later than usual on a trip due to the sun not rising until near 9am so we decided to visit one more museum.
Anchorage Museum
A few blocks away from our hotel we decided to go to the Anchorage Museum to once again learn more about Alaska, its people and its history. It was free entry day for Indigenous People day so that was an added bonus. The museum has multiple sections that go over a wide variety of topics. The museum is multiple stories tall and has two wings. One wing is dedicated to Alaskan art and has traditional as well as modern art. Many paintings are of the vast landscapes in wild Alaska. There is a Smithsonian exbibit that has artifacts from all the different native tribes in Alaska that complemented our time at the Native Heritage Center well. There is a wonderful exhibit on Alaska that goes from the ancient days of the indigenous peoples to Russian time and then to more modern days as a US territory and then state. It talked about the gold rushes, oil, tourism and more as ways of living in Alaska. It also went over the challenges from mother nature that include the weather and things such as earthquakes. There is an exhibit about the lesser know WWII battles in the Aleutian Islands where the Japanese successfully invaded Attu and Kiska Islands in Alaska. We found from going to the museum Alaska is a place of vibrant friendly people that have adapted to a very harsh place. Alaska is full of beauty and the art and landscapes show that. There were also several temporary exhibits including one on water art that had water running on drums and other instruments. It is a great museum and its well worth visiting it to learn more about Alaska!
Earthquake Park
Not far from Ted Stevens International Airport is a large park with a great walking and biking trail. Earthquake Park is named after the massive 1964 Anchorage earthquake and is the location of a great landslide. The park has an exhibit about the earthquake and walking trails into the forest. As you walk you have the chance to encounter moose, bears and other animals. We did not see any moose or bears as we walked thankfully. There are cliffs that give you spectacular views of the Turnagain Arm waterway that leads from Anchorage out into the Northern Pacific Ocean, the surrounding mountains and downtown Anchorage. We visited and walked in the park multiple times while we were there including after our visits to the museums on our first day. We also visited it at night to try to see the Northern Lights, it was too cloudy sadly. On a relatively clear day we were able to see massive Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) which is the tallest mountain in North America at over 20,000 feet tall. It was over 130 miles away but still visible to us. The park also has a great viewpoint to watch planes land and takeoff from Ted Stevens International Airport. While the airport has a good amount of passenger traffic it is heavily used as a cargo hub and planes refueling as they go from Asia to the US or vice versa. We watched many large 747s and other long distance aircraft fly over from China, Korea, India the US and other countries. Its a great park to get out into nature even though you are not far from the city. Once you enter the woods you feel like you are miles away from civilization and can relax. After leaving Earthquake Park one day is where we encountered the very large bull moose running in a subdivision street we were driving on. The moose was taller than the small SUV we were driving in. We were able to pull onto a side street and let it run by back into the wilderness we had just left. I loved visiting this park each day we spent in Anchorage.
Alaska Veterans Museum
On the next day we spent in Anchorage we once again walked about a block away to the Alaska Veterans Museum. Its a relatively small museum a long one of the main streets in downtown Anchorage. The museum has many artifacts regarding Alaskans flighting in wars from WWII to more current conflicts like the war against terror. A substantial section of the museum is dedicated the the occupation of the Aleutian islands and the US battles to take those islands back. On Attu island a small weather and military post was captured and native peoples were taken captive and sent to Japan. Many did not survive. The native peoples were eventually resettled to a new island as no one lives on Kiska and few live on Attu. The weather is very difficult to deal with in the area so the fighting conditions were harsh. The US troops fought and took Attu back in 1943 and the Japanese evacuated Kiska Island just in the nick of time as US forces were heading to invade. The people running the museum were very friendly and gave us a lot of information about war in Alaska and about Alaska in general. He also let us know the start of the famous Iditarod dog sled race begins right in front of the museum. Right out side the museum is a statue honoring the heroic dog sledders that helped deliver important things such as medicine around Alaska. We bought a book autographed by the museum curator. The museum worker was nice enough to run after us to give us pens from the museum he gave to us we had forgotten to take. We spent around an hour at the museum and it does have a fee to get in. It was worth it to see another side of Alaska.
Alaska Museum of Science and Nature
Since we had additional time in Anchorage we decided to check out the Alaska Museum of Science and Nature. This museum like many like it went over the prehistoric and natural history of Alaska and the world in general. They had dinosaur bones and models of animals you would have found in Alaska many years ago. The museum talked about the many animals that can be found today in Alaska. They had the shell of a giant Alaskan King Crab that is famous and expensive due to the dangerous fishing out in the Bering Sea. It was a nice small museum to go see to learn a little more about the natural world in Alaska. We spent probably an hour at the museum and it did have a small fee.
Alaska Aviation Museum
We spent an afternoon at another museum that showcases something important to Alaska. Aviation is a key in transportation in Alaska. There are more pilots per capita than any other US state. The airplane is crucial to reaching very remote towns and lakes throughout the state. Pilots in Alaska have to be ready for wild conditions. The museum is located near Ted Stevens International at the Lake Hood Seaplane base. Its the world’s busiest water airport as so many seaplanes are needed to travel to lakes in interior Alaska. The museum had indoor hangers and outdoor exhibits. Inside you could see the histories of the first Alaskan pilots, histories of airlines such as Alaska Airlines and there were great exhibits once again about the air war for the Aleutian Islands during WWII. Inside they have many historic planes located in multiple large hangers. Outside you can see many large planes like a special Alaska Airlines 737 built to fly into airports having treacherous winter conditions. You can board the plane and take a look inside. Inside the restoration center they are restoring many planes and we got a nice tour from the people working on the planes. One very interesting plane is a P-40 Warhawk that fought in the Aleutians and crashed during the battle. It was recently recovered and the museum is working to restore it. Another very neat part of the museum is a small air traffic control tower you can go inside to view operations at the seaplane base. We went on the patio and watched many seaplanes come and go. We also admired the gorgeous countryside. With there being so much wildlife and difficult weather conditions airport personnel have to work hard to keep the airports operating safely. While we were there many ducks and geese kept landing in the lake airport runways. An airport employee would fire special shotgun shells are rockets to scare the birds away. It was a lengthy process for the employee as the birds would move around the lake. Ultimately he cleared the runway. The museum is very unique as is the flying in Alaska. There are few places you can watch a busy lake airport and see the planes fly right in front of you. We spent a couple hours here and there is a small fee to visit.
The Alaska Zoo
We had planned on driving to the small city of Seward on the coast to take a boat tour to see some of the sea wildlife in Alaska. The unpredictable weather at the beginning of the Alaskan winter had other plans for us. We took a look at forecasts and the road reports on the Alaska 511 website that gives detailed road conditions. There was reported ice and slick spots on the two hour drive that included a drive through the mountains. We canceled the tour before we lost our money and decided to visit some other places in Anchorage. We decided to visit the Alaska Zoo towards the outskirts of Anchorage. The zoo was different than other zoos since they cannot have many warm weather animals in Alaska so we got to see quite a few bears, snow leopards, seals, otters and many other more local animals. They have great trails in a more wooded area. One of the most interesting things we saw was the boxing up of a moose that had been rescued that they were sending to a zoo in Wisconsin. They lured the moose into the box with a bottle of milk and once it had entered the wooden box they secured it and moved it with a fork lift. They rescue many animals and will ship them to mainland US zoos. Its a great zoo to walk through and as I said before different than other zoos we have been to. It was a great spot on our extra day in Anchorage. We spent a couple hours here and there is a fee as with any other zoo.
Potter Marsh
Located just South of Anchorage on Highway 1 going towards Seward and Whittier you will find another piece of wild Alaska not far from the city. Potter Marsh like the name says is some Marsh land where you can spot wildlife. There is a great boardwalk that goes from quite a ways into the marsh where you pass over small streams. There are educational signs talking about the area and giving interesting stories. One we read was about Alaskan Frogs that go into hibernation by basically stopping all its bodily functions including its heart and freezing. Once Spring comes it thaws out and comes back to life. We didn’t see any of the frogs in the marsh but we did see Bald Eagles. We saw one dive towards something in the Marsh and we saw another in a nest at a nice bird blind. Its very peaceful at the marsh where you can see snow covered mountains and the Turnagain Arm just beside the highway. This part was completely free and we spent about an hour walking the boardwalk, trail, and just enjoying the tranquility of nature.
Outside of Anchorage
We had one perfect weather day while in Alaska with abundant sun. We are always prepared for whatever weather we might encounter such as rain and that won’t stop us from touring as long as its safe to do so. We had to cancel as mentioned before one of our days outside of Anchorage due to ice on the roads that we were not willing to risk. The one perfect weather day we had happened to be the day we drove down to the small city of Whittier and took a boat ride through Prince William Sound to see Glaciers and wildlife. We also on the gorgeous drive from Anchorage to Whittier on the Seward Highway (Highway 1) made stops to see some of the wonderful scenery in the area. We enjoyed our adventure out into the countryside of wild Alaska!
The Drive to Whittier
We started on our drive just after sunrise South on the Seward Highway. The Seward Highway snakes South with a rocky cliff on onside and on the other is the Turnagain Arm waterway. You get stunning views as you drive along but you cannot go too slow as if traffic builds up behind you the police can pull you over. You have multiple points you can pull over at to admire the snow covered mountains, and large waterway that reminds you a bit of scenes in Norway. We stopped at a place called Beluga Point where there sometimes are whales and other sea life there. We did not see any but the Turnagain arm was full of water. We continued on our way enjoying the view as we came around a corner to see Beluga whales swimming in the sea. We took a turn to Whittier on a small road that went through a canyon and forest. We had some light snow falling so it was a continued beautiful drive. We came up to what was a tunnel that was built during WWII in a hurry so they could have a train that could deliver supplies from the Port of Whittier to US Military bases in Alaska. An expert engineer was sent to blast a tunnel through a huge mountain. Through blizzard conditions they were able to get it done. The tunnel is still there and is the only way to get in and out of Wittier. Its a single lane tunnel with a train track that was opened to car traffic not too long ago. Only part of the hour allows people go into Whittier and the rest of the hour allows people to leave Whittier. If a train is operating the tunnel is closed to cars. We got to the tunnel while it was still open to enter for us so we paid the toll and headed in. The tunnel is around two miles long and is narrow and relatively dark. It reminded me of being in a mine. It is a work of great engineering and has lasted since WWII. We soon left the tunnel and made it into the small town of Whittier.
Spending time in Whittier
We got to our tour company (Lazy Otter) a couple hours ahead of time just in case we ran into issues so we had some time to explore the town. Whittier is surrounded by gorgeous snow covered mountains so just taking time to walk along the pier full of fishing ships was nice. The town only has around 300 people and they all live in one large apartment building. We drove over to the only small grocery store in the city and next door is a small hotel and restaurant with the only public restroom in town as well. There is a great small museum that is dedicated to the building of the tunnel, the fighting during WWII in the Aleutians and Alaska during the Cold War. We spent around an hour going through the exhibits and once again learning about the difficult cold weather fighting to expel the Japanese on US territory. It also told the story of how difficult it was to build the tunnel due to very difficult conditions. The museum also went over some of the maritime disasters that have occured near the Southern Alaskan coast. The museum was un-manned so you put your money in a canister to visit. Much of the town is dedicated to the port and to fishing since it the closest deepwater port to Anchorage. After our short trip around town (it takes 5 minutes to drive around the town) we headed over to board our boat tour.
Glacier and Wildlife Tour of Prince William Sound
We got on a smaller sized boat that held probably around 20 people or so came up to the dock. Us and a pretty full boat headed out into Prince William Sound. The sound is well shielded by the tall mountains so the water was like glass as we headed out. Its part of the Pacific Ocean and is more like a large bay. After we left Whittier there was no real sign of anyone living out there. It was craggy steep cliffs and woodlands. As we continued a long we went outside on the front of the boat where we got a pretty good cold blast of wind as we moved on. There were no other boats out but us since we were at the end of fishing and the tour season and our tour company was the last operating in October. We saw a couple Otter’s lazily laying on their backs just coasting along is the still water. The air was so clear we could see for miles (the guide pointed out a glacier far in the distance at around 30 miles away). The area was surrounded by glaciers slinking up mountain passes and down to the Sound. We stopped and enjoyed the scenery and just the silence of this large and wild land. We continued the tour to visit two glaciers VERY up close. The ship started to approach the glacier and we started running into a lot of ice that had come off the glacier. As expected it started to get much colder as we got closer. We started to hear the ice hit the side of the metal boat (we were completely safe). We stopped not too far from the huge glacier and they fished some ice from the water. We all spent time taking pictures with it and just admiring the Blackstone Glacier. The captain who had been touring this area for many years mentioned that the glacier had receded at least a couple football fields length since he had been there. He showed us the digital nautical map that has not been updated and it showed that we were on land where the glacier used to be. Global warming is definitely having a visible on places like Alaska and Iceland where we visited in the past. We heard a loud crack and a few more chunks of ice fell into the bay. We headed out to one more large glacier near by where we watched it for a little bit and just admired the beauty of the area. Our tour had snacks and hot coffee on board so that was nice. For the most part we stayed outside and enjoyed the view. The four Texans on the tour that you would think would shy away from the cold were the only ones to stay outside. We made a quick stop to get off at a small black pebble beach out in the wilderness. It was high tide so not much of the beach was there but we walked a long. We didn’t go too far into the forest since there are wild bears in the area. In general the day we went out there was not much wildlife visible. The whales had headed to warmer waters. We stopped by a barge that had been brought with supplies from Seattle where quite a few Seals had perched on top of a large buoy. As the barge rocked towards them they became very loud with their barking. While we were not too close we could still smell the fishy smell of them from a ways away. That was our last stop and we headed back into the sleepy town of Whittier. I noticed amongst the fishing boats a ship from Houston, TX. Definitely a long way from home like we were. We thanked our excellent guides from Lazy Otter and got ready to head back to Anchorage.
Our Drive Back to Anchorage
Our tour guide let us know that we could probably make the next opening of the tunnel to head out of town but if we missed it we had up until 10pm where the tunnel is closed and we are stuck in Whittier for the night. We made the two mile drive through the dark tunnel and headed back on the Seward highway. We unfortunately didn’t have time to stop at the Wildlife Sanctuary near the highway due to it being near closing time but we headed over to another small town for a quick visit. As we drove along the side of the Turnagain Arm we noticed where Beluga Whales and a large body of water once was was now just a muddy bog. Nearly all the water was gone and we could just see puddles amongst the dirt bottom. The Turnagain Arm is one of the most tidal waterways in the world and is why Anchorage cannot serve as a deep water port. Its why the military built the railroad tunnel to much less tidal Prince William to get the supplies shipped in. It was amazing to see what was once full of water with sea life completely empty. We have only seen that in small ports in Ireland before. We made a quick stop in Girdwood at the Alyeska resort. The resort was very nice with fireplaces, paintings of the wild scenery and nice small shops. We walked on a trail outside to once again admire the mountains and saw where a aerial tram would usually be running to take people to the top of the mountain to view the area from up high. It was closed for maintenance for the winter. On the way back to the car we once again saw signs of the wild side of the area with the signs warning to not leave food in the cars due to bears. We made one more stop at Beluga point were once again the water was gone but it started to come back as we got close to Anchorage and back into a larger city.
Food In Alaska
As you can imagine in Alaska the common types of food you would find if you are looking for more local food is seafood and a few other things. Most other types of foods are imported and with that can be expensive. If you come to Alaska be prepared for higher food costs. We got wonderful fish one night from a small pub attached to our hotel. The most interesting food we got was from the 49th State Brewing Company that was close to our hotel in downtown Anchorage. From there we got one of the best seafood chowder’s I have had with Alaskan Salmon, clams and other seafood. We also tried the Reindeer sausage and ground Elk Pizza. It was all great and unique. One night we got takeout from Chili’s to get a little cheaper food and we found there was no 2 for $20 and the bottomless chips was near $10 there. As I mentioned above expect a little more expense in your travel budget when coming up to Alaska. We actually stopped by the local Costco that was more packed than any other I had seen with the parking lot nearly completely full to get muffins for breakfast to save a little as the hotel breakfast was not free even for elite hotel members. It was around $30 a person. Don’t let it discourage you from visiting but be prepared. You can find any other types of food you would expect at home up in Anchorage as well.
Tips for Alaska
Alaska is a wild and wonderful place to visit. Its on many people’s bucket lists and I can tell you it will not disappoint. When it comes to flying into Alaska prices are not as expensive as you might think as for us it was only around $200 one way from Houston. When planning your trip keep in mind you will most likely have to change planes and unless you live on the West Coast the flight times will be similar to the flight times to Europe (8 to 9 hours from Houston). Anchorage or Fairbanks will be your best base of operations as you visit different areas of the state. In Anchorage you will be able to find all the stores for the most part you are used to in the mainland US. The best ways to get around will be renting your own car or taking tours that pick you up from your hotel. When in Alaska definitely get out of the city as most people do but don’t neglect the museums and attractions in cities like Anchorage as they are really good as well. The bulk of visitors go to Alaska during the summer months to take advantage of better weather and more activities. The drawback is you will find summer prices are also much higher. We originally were going to take the trip in August but with a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico with the possibility of hitting Texas and us being fatigued from being stranded in different places due to the wild and terrible weather this year we canceled the trip. We talked with locals in Alaska and they let us know that in early October the weather still shouldn’t be too bad and there are still shortened Glacier tours still available. October is the very last month of tourism as most things close except for museums in the city after October. There were much fewer tourists and the prices for things like hotel and rental cars were cheaper. We did run into some winter weather with the icing of the Seward highway but in general we only dealt with cold rain from time to time. Some things like the aerial tram had closed already but we still had plenty to do. The best time for activities will be in the summer but we enjoyed our early Alaskan winter trip. Be prepared for high food costs and other costs while in Alaska as its not a cheap places due to most things being brought in from the mainland. Be prepared for a wide variety of weather. We always pack some emergency rain ponchos. If you have some travel binoculars, Alaska is a place to bring them to. Alaska is a great place to visit and you can do it by cruise or by land. Give it a shot and you will not be disappointed!