Justin’s 50th State! Woo-hoo. Our 33rd state together. While we started to look into and plan Alaska for last year, it was Justin’s work travel that solidified making this state happen. We were fortunate that the first few days were paid for (lodging, his flight, a rental car, and some of his meals)…but that also means he was working, and I had more of a vacation than he did, although I didn’t want to have too much fun without him especially since Alaska is the last US state he visited and he used to have family there.
We spend a lot of time looking at both area attractions and off the beaten path stuff, while also trying to balance our hobbies and areas of interest. After many years of traveling together, our ‘formula’ includes a few prebooked tours or reservations for the stuff we don’t want to miss, and flexible days that we might have ideas, they aren’t must do’s and we’ll see where the day takes us. As we get older, we need ‘rest’ days!
| Day | Location | Estimated | Actual |
| Day 0 – Saturday | Home / Anchorage | Flight. arrive late. get car. check into hotel. | Flight. arrive late. get car. check into hotel. |
| Day 1 – Sunday | Anchorage | Sleep late. Sightsee: Maybe rent bike and bike Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Earthquake park | Rent e-bikes and bike Tony Knowles Coastal Trail for 3 hours. (includes Earthquake Park, Kincaid Park, some Planet Walk) |
| Day 2 – Monday | Anchorage | J: work D: | J: work D: walked around town. Including BLM exhibit, Anchorage Museum |
| Day 3 – Tuesday | Anchorage | J: work D: Potter’s Marsh, Anchorage Museum & evening Class | J: work D: Tour: Musk Ox Farm, Lunch in Parker, Reindeer Farm |
| Day 4 – Wednesday | Anchorage | J: work D: | J: work D: Tour: Matanuska Glacier Hike |
| Day 5 – Thursday | Anchorage | J: work D: Early morning Bird Walk (6:30 – 8:30 am) and afternoon hike to Flattop Mountain. Shuttle $25 (12:15 – 4:30) Do laundry! | J: work D: Laundry. Afternoon shuttle to Flattop Mountain |
| Day 6 – Friday | Drive Seward Highway Girwood | Depart Anchorage in AM. Drive Seward Highway. Turnagain Arm stops Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center hotel fancy soak? | Breakfast at Biscuit Club Ulu Factory Hatchery Drive Seward Highway to Seward. Exit Glacier Hike Drive back to Girdwood |
| Day 7 – Saturday | Girwood | Leave Girwood by 8:45 AM to get to tunnel for 9:30 AM Breakfast in Whittier or Prince William Sound Museum $5pp scenic harbor walkway & see Buckner Building TOUR: 26 Glacier Tour 12 PM – 5:30 PM Return to hotel | Breakfast in Whittier & walk around small town. Tour: 26 Glacier Tour Dinner: 5th Chair |
| Day 8 – Sunday | Girwood | Drive approx. 2 hours to Seward Kenja Fjords National Park / Exit Glacier Dinner at Seward Brewery Return to hotel (2 hrs) | BLM Exhibit (near Whittier before tunnel) Crow Creek Mine Self Walking Tour View Bore Tide |
| Day 9 – Monday | Flight Fairbanks | FLIGHT: 10:20 – 11:20 Visit J family home, lake, University | FLIGHT: 10:20 – 11:20 Brewery for lunch Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum |
| Day 10 – Tuesday | Fairbanks Artic Circle | Morning: Do laundry. Or do next day TOUR: Artic Circle tour 1 pm – 1 am Get there: 11:30 | morning: Laundry Tour: Artic Circle Tour 11:30 AM – 3 AM |
| Day 11 – Wednesday | Fairbanks | Sleep a little later museum Justin Family memories silver gulch brewery | Slept late Harding Lake North Pole Silver Gulch Brewery |
| Day 12 – Thursday | Fairbanks Healy Denali | Drive 2 hours to Denali / Healy. 9 – 12 Denali National Park TOUR: Fat Tire 1 PM – 4:00 PM Drive back to Fairbanks 2 hours (or stay 1 night?) | TOUR: Fat Tire 1 PM – 4:00 PM Denali National Park 4:30 – 6:30 |
| Day 13 – Friday | Fairbanks | North Pole Chena Hot Springs Ice Museum River front | Museum of the North Walk around Chena River Walk |
| Day 14 – Saturday | Anchorage | FLIGHT: 11:05 – 12:05 Afternoon in Anchorage | FLIGHT: 11:05 – 12:05 FLIGHT: 2:25 – 9:30 PM |
| Day 15 – Sunday | Anchorage / Home | Morning in Anchorage Afternoon flight home | N/A left a day earlier so we can have Sunday to regroup before work. |