Alaska Adventure

Arrival in Vancouver

• Evening Flew from Newark to Vancouver, landed at bedtime
• Night Stayed at a float home in Mosquito Marina, North Vancouver

As soon as we got out of the cab at the marina, the kids spotted an otter in the water—our first animal sighting! The view of downtown Vancouver from the float home was spectacular.

Exploring Vancouver

• Morning Sea Bus from Lonsdale Quay to Waterfront Station
• Midday Biked Stanley Park via Spokes Bicycle Rentals, explored the aquarium
• Lunch Stanley's Bar and Grill in the park
• Afternoon Capilano Suspension Bridge Park—the whole family loved it
• Dinner The Flying Pig in Gastown, then the Steam Clock at 9pm

We stopped at the 'Girl in a Wetsuit' sculpture and the totem poles in Stanley Park. The Gastown Steam Clock striking nine o'clock was spectacular to see.

Sea-to-Sky Highway & Cruise Departure

• Morning Kirk & Jesse: Scenic Rush exotic car tour on Sea-to-Sky Highway
• Morning Nora & I: Granville Island Market via Aquabus
• 2:00 PM Boarded Norwegian Cruise Line ship
• 4:00 PM Set sail for Alaska!

The Scenic Rush tour was the highlight of Jesse's life so far—maybe Kirk's as well. Thom, one of the owners, went out of his way to make it the best possible experience and even drove us all to the cruise terminal.

Ketchikan

• Morning Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour on the Aleutian Ballad (from Deadliest Catch)
• Lunch Alaskan Fish House—excellent food
• Afternoon Explored Creek Street, watched salmon running upstream
• Late PM Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show

As the boat approached Annette Island, deckhands tossed rockfish and 15-20 bald eagles came swooping out of the trees to snatch them from the air. Amazing to watch! Creek Street with the salmon ladders was a must-do.

Juneau

• Morning Whale watching with Jayleen's Alaska—watched baby humpback "Bunson" for an hour
• Lunch Tracy's King Crab Shack—crab legs longer than our arms
• Afternoon Helicopter to glacier for dog sledding with Northstar Trekking

The glacier dog sledding was Nora's highlight—spectacular, budget-busting, worth-every-penny, remember-forever, and incredibly stinky (the kind that invades your clothes and hair). We loved every minute. Juneau was by far the best day of the trip for the kids.

Skagway & the Yukon

• All Day Rented a Jeep from DIY Jeep Tours and drove to Carcross, Yukon
• Stops Yukon sign, Emerald Lake, Caribou Crossing (sled dog puppies!), Lake Bennett, Carcross Desert
• Dinner Skagway Brewing Company

DIY Jeeps provided a picnic lunch, maps, and a mile-by-mile guide. The whole round trip with stops was around 6 hours. Don't forget your passport! The kids' favorite stop was the Carcross Desert.

Glacier Bay National Park

• All Day Scenic cruising through Glacier Bay National Park
• Onboard Park Service Guides gave talks and presentations throughout the day

The glaciers were the reason I really wanted to see Alaska—they were spectacular. One of my favorite sightings was watching Park Service Guides climb down a rope ladder from our moving ship onto a small boat. They said they couldn't see our ship in the fog but could smell it, so they knew they were close!

Hubbard Glacier

• All Day Scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier

We enjoyed the ports of call, but the glaciers were truly spectacular—the highlight of why we came to Alaska.

Seward & Kenai Fjords National Park

• Morning Disembarked in Seward
• Daytime Kayaking excursion to Aialik Bay with Kayak Adventures Worldwide
• Afternoon Train from Seward to Anchorage—saw beluga whales in Turnagain Arm
• Night Courtyard Anchorage Airport

We loved kayaking through the icy waters, scooping up pieces of glacier and tasting them. We saw tons of puffins, seals, and sea lions. The train scenery was unbelievable, and we had a delicious dinner on board.

Lake Clark National Park

• Morning Flight to Lake Clark National Park
• All Day Bear viewing drives at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge
• Evening Kids went salmon fishing with a guide

Silver Salmon Creek Lodge is one of the most special places on the planet. We saw so many bears—fishing for salmon, playing in the water, napping on the beach. We were really close but they don't pay any attention to humans. Bear-shaped pancakes for breakfast! One night was great, but two would have been better.

Journey to Denali

• Morning Flight back to Anchorage, picked up rental car
• Lunch Talkeetna—quirky town that inspired 'Northern Exposure', ate at Mountain High Pizza Pie
• Afternoon Drive to Denali (delayed 30-40 min by wildfire road closures)
• Evening McKinley Creekside Cabins, dinner at the cafe

Talkeetna is worth the detour—the town had a cat as mayor for 20 years (Mayor Stubbs lived in Nagley's General Store). It's also a staging ground for Denali summit expeditions.

Denali National Park — Deep in the Park

• Morning Park bus 92 miles to Skyline Lodge at end of the road (all-day ride)
• Evening Arrived at Skyline Lodge, family-style dinner

Skyline Lodge is a small, special lodge with communal bathrooms and delicious family-style meals. It's a great base for hiking deep in the park. Bring lunch for the all-day bus ride.

Denali National Park — Hiking & Gold Panning

• Daytime Long hike deep in the park with packed lunch
• Afternoon Kirk took the kids gold panning—they found several flakes of gold!

Denali Flightseeing & Journey Home

• Morning Kantishna Air Taxi flightseeing tour around Denali
• Afternoon Landed near park entrance, drove to Anchorage
• Night Red-eye flight home

Seeing Denali from the air was spectacular—and it was the only clear day we had. The perfect ending to an unforgettable trip.