Denali National Park: Bus Trip

When we booked our trip to Alaska to explore Denali National Park, we really wanted to go as far into the park as we could. We were visiting too early in September for the road lottery, where you can try to get permission to drive your personal vehicle beyond Savage River, so our only option …

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Hiking the Savage River Trail in Denali National Park

After we spent the morning exploring Fairbanks, we headed south for Denali National Park. By late afternoon, we were checking into the Denali Park Hotel, which is about 15 minutes north of the park entrance, just as a thundercrack split the sky. Storm clouds were gathering in the east but to the west, the sky …

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Highlights of Fairbanks, Alaska

We spent Labor Day weekend in Alaska, exploring Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Denali National Park. We went on an Alaskan cruise four years ago that served to whet our Alaska appetites, and I was thrilled we could head north again to explore parts of the interior and a new national park. We flew into Fairbanks Friday …

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2017 Travel Recap

This ended up being an interesting year for travel in our household. On the professional side of things, Brian traveled more this year than any other. While the airline and hotel points are great for stretching our travel budget, it’s felt a little like we’re back to the long-distance relationship we maintained the first six …

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Totem Poles and Creek Street in Ketchikan, Alaska

Our Alaskan cruise included several interesting days in Juneau, Glacier Bay, and Sitka, bringing us to our final Alaskan port—Ketchikan. It was a relatively short stop so we decided to split our time between a brief trolley excursion and simply walking around downtown. We once again awoke in town and had an ideal spot overlooking …

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Kayaking and Sightseeing in Sitka, Alaska

One of the reasons we chose the Holland America Eurodam cruise to Alaska over other cruise lines and itineraries was because we wanted to stop in Sitka. One of my work friends had lived there the summer before and she raved about the beauty—with lots of photographic evidence to support her claims! Unfortunately the weather …

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Wildlife and Glaciers in Glacier Bay, Alaska

On day three of our Alaskan cruise, after our day at sea and day in Juneau, we had already made up our minds that we much preferred the days in port to the days cruising through the water. Originally I thought seeing Alaska from the water would be an interesting perspective, but we weren't close enough …

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