Alaska Photos and Trip Summary

[taxjam]

Here is a link to our Alaska Photos

 

http://taxjam.phanfare.com/album/435346#imageID=27772002

 

We did three days in Vancouver, a one week HAL Northbound Cruise (Ryndam, August 5 to 12) and a one week independent land tour. Thanks Budget Queen, NancyIL and everyone else who answered my posts or posted photos (I actually found posted photos a great trip planning tool).

 

In Vancouver:

 

1. We loved C Restaurant (outstanding fish)

 

2. Found Stone Restaurant disappointing

 

3. Really enjoyed the Aguabus (as a cheap way to do a harbor cruise)

 

4. We loved our day in Stanley Park

 

5. The Big Bus tour was a major disappointment - crowded, failed to maintain schedule, etc. Fortunately, we booked through the hotel concierge and she got our money refunded.

 

We thought the HAL Cruise was great. We had perfect weather for the 2 days of glacier viewing (Glacier Bay, College Fjord) which we thought was amazing (see photos). In Ketchican we did HALs Traitors Bay "flightsee" bear excursion which was wonderful (see photos). We thought the lumberjack was entertaining but significantly overpriced. In Skagway, we used Chilkoot Charters for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad Tour. We took the train departing from Skagway. We were supposed to go all the way to Emerald Lake - the long train excursion - but it was cancelled because of flooding and so we took the 7.5 hour train/bus excursion. If we had it to do over, we would have opted for the shorter trip - train up/bus back. In Juneau, we did the Harv and Marv whale watching which we recommend (Eileen was great) - however, the whales were not as spectacular as the whale watching cruise we did in Los Cabos Mexico - but you can't blame Harv and Marv for the whales' off day - Eileen took us to Mendenhall Glacier after the whale excursion, which is worth seeing.

In sum, we loved the excursions; did not think the ports themselves offered much aside from excursions - but I hate shopping.

 

We disembarked in Seward where we were treated to about 200 fishing boats exiting the harbor for the big fishing tournament while eating breakfast on the ship. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express - which turned out better than we thought except that we are not used to paying New York City prices in such a remote place. On disembarkation day, we took he Renown Charter Fjord Cruise at 1130AM which was a great value (used toursaver coupon) and an enjoyable cruise with a lot of "sealife." A cold beer and an excellent seafood dinner at Ray's waterfront followed seafood. The next day, where we picked up our rental car and spent the morning at the Sea Life Center which we found interesting and the did a short hike at Exit Glacier. Alaska has more Glacier to see than Europe has churches, but we enjoyed them all.

 

We headed towards Talkeetna and Denali. Along our scenic ride through the Kenai Peninsula towards Anchorage, we stopped at the Bakery in Girdwood - great value, little ambiance. Skipping Anchorage we eventually arrived in Talkeetna after a stop in Wasilla for supplies - we stayed at Talkeetna Chalet B&B - Rachel does a great job, the property is beautiful and the breakfast she serves is terrific. We tried the Wildfire Cafe for dinner but found it acceptable but not outstanding. The next morning we got up for our Talkeetna Aero flight; however the flight was cancelled. Based on advice from this site, we had a backup plan when we got to Denali.

 

Denali - we stayed at Denali Lakeview Inn - which we found disappointing. My wife had her only cleanliness issues of the trip here and we found the management system bizarre. We had dinner the first night at Black Diamond which we found equally disappointing - both the food and the flies. The next day we did the 615AM 12 hour shuttle bus tour - I thought the excursion was unique and short of camping the only way to truly see this great National Park - but be warned - the excursion is significantly less luxurious than expectations even if they are not high - we saw a lot of caribu, Mr Moose walked in front of our bus, followed shortly thereafter by Mrs. Moose, and a lot of other wildlife include a Brown Bear at great distance. The different landscapes (tundra, etc) were amazing. We had dinner at 229 Park which we thought was exceptional.

 

The next morning we awoke early for our Talkeetna Aero (Denali Branch) Mt McKinley flightsee. We had built in an extra day at Denali as a backup plan in case of bad weather in Talkeetna. When we looked out the window, we were disappointed by the overcast, drizzly day and cursed our bad luck with the weather. However, when we called Talkeetna Aero to see about getting our deposit refunded we were surprised to learn that the flight was a go - no clouds over 5,000 feet. The flight was amazing and another toursaver value. Clue, when the pilot gathers the group for pre-flight instructions and asks for a volunteer - say "me" immediately - you get to sit in the co-pilots seat - best view of all . . . the flight was spectacular

 

After the flight, we headed for Wasilla - and Anchorage - with a side trip to Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine - via the "paved" route from Wasilla - we found the mine interesting, the short detour scenic. Eventually, we arrived at the Marriott courtyard for our two days in Anchorage - we went back to Kenai to the Wildlife Center lunch in Girdwood and the Anchorage Museum . . .

 

In summary, we had a wonderful vacation greatly enhanced by good weather almost every day (except the Talkeetna rain day) and the good advice we received from this board. Doing the land portion independently really made the trip a great experience.

[sharp_cruiser]

Thanks for such a detailed review. What were the issues w/ Denali Lakeview Inn? Was it cleanliness and management? What room did you stay in?

[sharp_cruiser]

Sorry one more thing... Password to view photos?

[UMTerp]

I am also wondering about your experience at the Lakeview Inn as we have a room reserved there next summer.

 

UMTerp

[taxjam]

I didn't think you needed a password for the photos? I tried the link and it worked for me? If you need one, try Tyler - let me know if that works and I'll change the post so everyone has it; We stayed in the Mt Eden room - the room wasn't up to my wife's standards which aren't exceptionally high - somewhat surprising since we had to leave our shoes at the door - she did point our a few dead insects and some dust/dirt - we thought it was strange the way were left to our own devices to find our room and there was no early checkout system - we called and checked out the night before - the person in the management office was watching a video on her computer . . . they did provide a nice box lunch for our denali excursion

[sharp_cruiser]

Thanks for the info. The password worked fine for me now. Maybe that site already recognizes your computer.

[photodoodle]

I enjoyed your photos. I especially liked those bear shots from traitors cove. You were really lucky with the weather on glacier days!

Thanks for writing up your review, too.

[Italy52]

Your pictures were beautiful, thanks so much for sharing them with us.

[DisneyScrapper]

Awsome pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[fancycroozer]

TAXJAM -

 

What kind of camera did you use? Do you have the web site or the e-mail address of Hals Traitors in Ketchikan? I want to contact them for our May of 08 trip. They are magnificent!!!

[taxjam]

TAXJAM -

 

What kind of camera did you use? Do you have the web site or the e-mail address of Hals Traitors in Ketchikan? I want to contact them for our May of 08 trip. They are magnificent!!!

 

Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera - Olympus 410-E

 

Hals Traitors in Ketchikan - was an excursion arranged through Holland America - all our other excursions were through independent tour operators

[stan wood]

I'm no photo expert, but your collection has to be one of the best I've ever seen on this site. They make me want to return to Alaska and take some more photos of my own. Thanks for sharing.

[fancycroozer]

Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera - Olympus 410-E

 

Hals Traitors in Ketchikan - was an excursion arranged through Holland America - all our other excursions were through independent tour operators

 

 

That's great news. I have a Nikon D200 which I plan on using. They really are fantastic from a "good" amateur" photographer!!!

 

 

How close were you to the bears? Did you have to use a tripod or handheld enough?

 

Also, has anyone been to Alaska in Jan/Feb to see the Northern Lights? I am reasearching that now.

[mdeane]

Photos are fantastic and I love the music. Thanks for sharing them. I only hope to be able to get half as good photos.

[taxjam]

Bears - and correction - This is somewhat embarrassing but that's what what happens when you get busy and wait 2 months to write a summary. The bear viewing flight see went to Neets Bay not Traitors Cove. By way of explanation, I had communicated with a couple of Independent Tour Operators regarding a Bear Flightsee from Ketchican and I didn't like the answers to some of my questions (suggested by Budget Queen - Bear viewing is very seasonal and you need to be sure the Salmon are running and the Bears are waiting around the time of your excursion) and my wife was reluctant - she carefully read the material concerning the one I picked out and noticed that it had an "unescorted" 20 minute walk and rejected the whole idea. I spent a lot of time on Traitor's Cove, dropped that one, and spent about 3 minutes sending one email to an executive in the Alaska tourist industry that I knew very casually. He suggested the HAL Neets Bay excursion and I went with that recommendation. My wife accepted his safety assurances.

 

Photos - How close were we to the Bears at Neets Bay? Very close. At some points, the viewing platform and area was less than 25 feet from a bear although at other times they were up to 100 yards away. A few of the photos were taken using a Manfrotto 785B tripod, but generally I did not use the tripod. If I had it too do over I wouldn't bring the tripod; but rather use a faster shutter speed and be happy with less weight and more freedom of movement.

 

The most interesting thing about the Bears is that when you see them in the wild you realize they have to work for their Salmon - each Bear had a couple of Salmon but took a substantial amount of time for them to get each fish.

 

My wife loved the Bear flightsee, although she did say "it's a once in a lifetime experience." So much for my 3 day excursion to Brooks Falls if there is another Alaska trip.

[Cruizn Mama]

I appreciated your information and your pictures (the PW worked)--thanks very much!