Wandering Around America one state at a time – Alaska

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State 2:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride! I will be featuring the states alphabetically and next up is

Alaska

Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. The capital is Juneau and it is the only state capital that can only be reached by air, boat, or birth. The largest city is Anchorage.

We spent 50 glorious nights in Alaska in the summer of 2013.

I loved meeting so many wonderful Alaskans and hearing their stories. Wildlife, glaciers, boat trips, a flight seeing tour, eagles, halibut fishing, Denali National Park, taking the RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines, and a train ride on the Alaska Railroad are just a few of the amazing things we experienced while we were there. Our favorite place was Haines. The most exciting thing we did was take a flight-seeing tour from Talkeetna to see Mt. McKinley and land on Ruth Glacier. The farthest north we went was Coldfoot, north of the Arctic Circle.

Pullen Creek RV Park, Skagway, Alaska
Waterfalls along the Klondike Highway
Arriving at the Haines ferry dock
Watching for whales in Haines, Alaska
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Haines boat harbor
Deadliest Catch!
Mendenhall Glacier
The free George Black Ferry crosses the Yukon River from Dawson City to Top of the World Highway.
Poker Creek Alaska
The signposts show other towns named after chickens. Who knew there were so many?
The Pedro Dredge in Chicken is a National Historic Site.
Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska
Downtown Talkeetna.
We went really close to Mt. McKinley
Loving every minute of our time on Ruth glacier
Home of author Mary Lovel in Sherman, Alaska
The Alaska Railroad runs right behind our campsite
Such an amazing sight to see their tail
Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau
Calving on Aialik Glacier one
A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
There were Puffins in the water
Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
Wandering Dawgs at the Arctic Circle
A good look at the Alaska pipeline as it goes underground
Four of these fish are ours!
Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska
Anchor Point is the most westerly highway point on a continuous road system in North America
Our first moose sighting was this cow by a pond
Lukor liked it on top of his house
Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Caribou grazing in Denali National Park
Do you see the profile of a face on the right side of the rock?
Chunk of ice from the Columbia Glacier
Fireweed behind our campsite made the beautiful view even better
Mama bear looking for more fish near Valdez

Every day was memorable, every day was special, every day we saw something spectacular. Was it worth driving over 14,000 there and back? Absolutely!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama

17 thoughts on “Wandering Around America one state at a time – Alaska”

  1. Amazing visit – thank you! Alaska is on my husband’s bucket list, but it has never been on mine. I’ve lived through too many winters, and the idea of going that far for more snow just doesn’t appeal to me. 🙂 But, those puffins, moose, and whales sure made me smile. I certainly see the face on the rock because it is pretty clear, and it reminds of the Old Man of the Mountain in NH. I love this tour you are taking us on. 🙂

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  3. Wow! You make even me want to go to Alaska and I hate snow even more than Judy does – if that is possible! Your photos are just amazing. Since I will never get Rich to go — thank you! I will live vicariously through your tours.

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  4. This was before I started following you here, and don’t be surprised if I come back some time, maybe next year, with questions about doing a land tour there. We would just fly and rent a car for about 10-12 days in the summer and will pass on doing a cruise because we can always do that later on. We want to focus on the land sights while we can do so on our own. I’m open to any and all suggestions or itineraries for such a timeframe! 🙂

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  5. What a fabulous trip! Alaska is definitely on our list—we’re hoping to make it in the next couple of years. 14,000 miles is a lot of miles—but it sure looks like it’s worth the effort. Great photos!

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  6. You made me a little homesick! In seeing this post, it hit me as to how much you covered during your visit. You did a great job in planning the trip, Beth. I never flew to the Ruth Glacier in all my years in Alaska!

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    1. Brenda, thank you! Going through my photos really reminded of how much we loved Alaska. I wish we could have stayed longer. We won’t be taking the RV back but I would really like to take an inside passage cruise or fly back and rent a car.

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  8. What a fantastic trip! Tom and I want to go to Alaska, maybe in 2018. Your map and campground guide will be a big help. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your beautiful pictures!

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