Alaska Adventures

Last summer, we went on an awesome RV trip through Alaska. This summer, we are building on our amazing experience and traveling through the National Parks of the western US, so before I start sharing those adventures I wanted to share some of the highlights of our Alaska trip. 

We went the middle two weeks of August and the weather was rainy and cloudy a lot of days, temps in the 40s (mornings) to 60s (afternoon). There were still some very sunlit evenings—until almost 11 pm! I didn’t feel like the tourists were too bad at the places we went. Denali was crowded and we couldn’t get an RV spot right there in the park (we didn’t try to do it ahead of time), but there were plenty of places with availability outside the park. People said August/early Sept is the end of the tourist season so I think we just hit it on the downswing, which was perfect because things were still open, but not overly crowded.

We flew from Phoenix into Anchorage and stayed overnight in a hotel before meeting up with the person who we rented the RV from (through RVshare).

Day 1: We got the RV, went for groceries and then had lunch at Eagle River Ale House. We then headed to Denali State Park for our first overnight. It was a quiet little park with nice amenities. We attended a ranger talk and had some heavy rain.

Day 2: For our first full adventure day, we headed to Denali National Park & Preserve. First, we hit up the visitor center to get maps and pick up the junior ranger books for the kids. The ranger gave us a good recommendation for a hike so we drove out to hike the Savage River Loop Trail in the cool, misty rain. We saw a moose on the road, which was exciting for the first days of the trip!! All the other tourists were really excited about this sighting too, which created a traffic jam. We faced a bit of rain for most of the day (starting the trip off with this theme), but it really didn't dampen our spirits nor minimize the beauty of this magnificent park. That night we stayed at the Denali RV Park in Healy which was about 8 miles outside of Denali. It wasn't anything too fancy, but we were able to do laundry, cook dinner, and get some rest. 

Day 3: For our second day in Denali, we stopped by the visitor center for the kids to receive their junior ranger badges and then hiked Mount Healy Overlook Trail. This was a hard uphill hike (5.4 miles round trip and 1700 elevation gain!) with some rain, but the incredible views at the top were well worth it. Big props to the kids for making it through this one! We even got praise from others on the trail; lots of adults were struggling and our kids were running up some stretches. After our efforts, we went to the gift shop and got our Denali swag. Barrett's top pick of the trip was his Denali ranger vest, which he proceeded to load up with badges the rest of the trip. As a reward for our efforts, we refueled at 49th State Brewing Company and then hit the road for Fairbanks. That night we stayed at the River's Edge RV Park, which was a cute little place on the banks of the Chena River. 

Day 4: Our first stop in the morning was at Sunrise Bagel & Espresso for bagels and coffee. This was the first of many stops at drive-thru coffee shop because they were all over Alaska and had some really interesting drinks. I usually stuck with my normal iced coffee (even though the temps were much cooler than I would have liked for iced coffee drinking!), but Sean became quite a fan of the Red Bull kickers. Next, we set out to explore Fairbanks, starting at the Large Animal Research Station which is part of University of Alaska Fairbanks. It was a simple little tour, but fun to see and learn about musk ox, reindeer, and their babies, and check out the bones, horns, and hair/qiviut. Next we went to Pioneer Park Pioneer Park and had lunch in the RV before heading in. I will say that initially I was not all that excited to prepare meals in the RV, but found it to be very convenient to fix a quick lunch while we were in between activities. Pioneer Park is an historic village that features a riverboat, a train car, and original buildings moved from downtown Fairbanks, as well as a small museum, a Gold Rush town street, and an airplane museum. Other than a little bit of rain during the afternoon, this was one of our nice, rain-free days! We spent some time in the late afternoon refueling at HooDoo Brewing Company and then went back to Pioneer Park for the Alaska Salmon Bake. I was really looking forward to one of these dinners, which consists of a big buffet with seafood and steak. Kinsey had her first taste of crab legs here! After our full day, we headed just outside of town to the Riverview RV Park for the night. 

Day 5: We drove down the road a bit to North Pole, AK (spoiler alert-there's not much there except the Santa Claus House. We visited Santa and bought some souvenirs in the heavenly Christmas shop and went to the Antler Academy to hang with the reindeer and feed them (and have them practically stampede me for my coffee--oops!). Next we drove to Quartz Lake State Recreation Area for a secluded and tranquil stay at the RV park there. Once we were situated, we set out for a really great hike on a nice wooded trail with lake and mountain views in almost every direction. We saw moose prints, but much to our dismay, did not have a moose spotting! We settled in for the evening, cooked at the campsite, and had our first campfire for s’mores (there were campfire bans in many of the parks).

Day 6: We woke up to the calm and tranquil Quartz Lake and I enjoyed a peaceful cup of coffee overlooking the lake and mountains--so serene! We didn't really have any bait, but the kids had their first try at fishing anyway (without success!). We packed up and headed down the Alaska Highway to Delta Junction where we checked out the Sullivan Roadhouse, a small homestead museum, and had lunch at Buffalo Center Drive-In. We kept going down the Richardson Highway and stopped to see the Alaska Pipeline, which was much more impressive than I thought it would be! We got to Gakona RV Park in the late afternoon and the kids were thrilled to find other kiddos and a small playground there.

Day 7: We headed out to Wrangell-St Elias National Park and went to the visitor's center to check things out and tried to map out our next hike. As we started out to one of the trails, we ended up stopping at a little fishing shop and getting bait and tips for easy-to-access fishing spots. From there, we stopped at Pippin Lake and took out the fishing poles. We saw a common loon but didn't catch any fish again 😞 Next, we followed the advice of a man in the fishing shop and hit up the Kenny Lake Fair that was happening and got a real taste of small town Alaska! We went on our way and found a secluded waterfall Liberty Falls and did a short little hike around the area. Next we headed down the road to Valdez and the views along that drive were incredible! We walked around and looked at the commercial fishing boats and the fishermen bringing their catches in. We even got a look at the ships from the Deadliest Catch. We stayed at the Bayside RV Park right by the water, grabbed dinner at Roadside Potatohead, and then listened to the rain through the evening.

Day 8: We woke up and decided to check out the Valdez Museum and went to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery to see a large salmon run. Even though it was pouring rain it was very cool! As we were leaving, we spotted a black bear off to the side of the road and it was quite the sight to watch him hang out and catch a fish! We hauled back to to Wrangell-St Elias for the kids to turn in their ranger books and get their ranger badges. Then we kept on the road to Palmer and caught some beautiful mountain and glacier views along this route. We called it a night at the Mountain View RV Park. The kids were thrilled to find another family of kids to play with, we had another s’mores night, and the fun ended close to 11, which was still light out (and one of the latest nights for our kiddos!).

Day 9: We left Palmer and stopped at Chugach State Park and hiked the Turnagain Arm trail, which was a manageable hike for the kids and allowed for some exploring of the fauna on the wooded trail. At one point, we hiked a little out and back that gave us great views of the ocean. Next we headed south out of Anchorage and made a fuel stop at Girdwood Brewing Company which was a cool ski chalet building where we drank some flights and ate yummy crepes from a food truck outside. We got to Portage Valley RV Park
 and immediately headed out to Begich Boggs Visitor Center (part of Chugach National Forest) where we got some Smokey the Bear swag and then took a short hiked out to Byron Glacier. It was rainy (again!), but it was a really cool sight to see a glacier up close like that, and the kids even picked up pieces of glacier. There was a lot of rain that evening/night, but the campground had a covered pavilion and we were able to make s’mores around the campground fire.

Day 10: We went over to Whittier through the one-way tunnel and got there early for our glacier cruise so we got the recommendation for a "hidden" spot to explore. Just down the road, there was a hidden inlet/river with a salmon run which was neat to see up close. There was a 4H group there and we got some lessons/tips from their guide for how to check out some cool creatures under rocks throughout the water. We made it to the ship for our glacier tour on Phillips 26 Glacier Cruises. The cruise was very nice; it started with a delicious lunch of salmon chowder and then we cruised around to see lots of wildlife (sea otters, harbor seals, bald eagles, a jellyfish, a mountain goat) and a bunch of glaciers (26 to be exact!). The kids were able to earn another ranger badge while on board and helped out by showing an otter skin to all the boats passengers. Although it was cold and windy on the decks, we got some incredible pictures and won't forget this unique experience! Once we got out of Whittier and back through the one-way tunnel, we headed down the road to Seward. We made it to the Seward Waterfront RV Park, which was right by the water and probably the most scenic RV park we stayed in. We immediately headed to Seward Brewing Company for some eats and beers. The kids were thrilled to have a great park/playground right by the RV so we let them play and do ninja warrior stunts until after 10 pm (and it was still light out!)

 

Day 11: In the morning we walked around a bit in Seward and then headed out to Kenai Fjords National Park to hike up to Exit Glacier and part of the way out to Harding Icefield. It was not a tough hike and we finally had some sunny weather, but Barrett was a little over hiking by this point. We got back in time for a ranger talk on moose and then went for the next junior ranger badges. We scoped out our next RV spot for that night and ended up at the waterfront again (this was  only one of two repeat RV spots). We spent the afternoon on the Seavey's Ididaride tour where we got to see some of the 2017 Iditarod champions! We took a ride on a sled with the dog team pulling us and then the best part was getting to meet/hold the new pups (so cute!!) and try on some of the gear. It rained hard this afternoon but we still enjoyed the tour a lot--it was an excellent experience! To finish off the day we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center to check out the marine animals and saw some of the same ones we saw on the cruise tour and in the water right off the beach in Seward. To me, this was the least exciting part of the entire trip because we had seen so much natural beauty and wildlife that seeing it in an aquarium just wasn't that exciting.

Day 12: We started our drive down to Homer and stopped in Soldotna at the St Elias Brewing Co for beers and pizza (it was really good!). One of the highlights of this stop was a roll down a big grassy hill next to the gas station (the kids, not Sean and me!). After that we went to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to take a quick walk/hike and earn some more junior ranger badges. They said there had been a recent bear sighting so we were on the lookout, but didn't see the guy. Next, we cruised down to Homer and saw incredible ocean views along the route (wow, pictures could not do it justice!). When we got there we walked around the Homer spit to check out some shops and see the fishermen bringing the catches in-it was very cool. We stayed at the Baycrest KOA overlooking the water and the mountains (OK, maybe this was the best RV park--the views were outstanding!). It was another clear night so the views were amazing that evening and again in the morning (though chilly!). The kids loved this park because it had a small playground and Sean was happy to have a campfire.

Day 13: We got up and did a bit of cleaning/organizing in the RV then headed to breakfast at Sourdough Express before checking out the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitors Center and the kids earned their first patch for their (and our) hard work exploring the center (this one was a tough assignment!). We headed down toward the water Bishop's Beach which was quite a surprise and fun to walk and explore at low tide. Next, we headed black out of town and it was neat to see all the seaplanes lined up around Beluga Lake. Once we got back to Soldotna we made a stop at the Kenai River Brewing Company. We continued down the road back to Portage Valley RV Park for our last night before heading back into Anchorage in the morning. Again, the views on this drive were incredible--I could not get over the natural beauty in every direction and how each part of the state that we traveled was so different, but all gorgeous!

Side note: We love checking out the brewery in each new place we visit, but after just a few minutes in the (small) Homer Brewing Company, we left. The bartender was not friendly, there was not ample seating, and we just didn't feel welcome, so we moved on!

Day 14: We took the short drive back into Anchorage and turned in the RV to end this amazing part of our trip 🙁 Next we checked into an Airbnb in Anchorage-it was a really cute house and the host left a lot of great touches including local beer--it's like she really knew us! The funny thing is that we had enough beer from our travels that we ended up leaving more at her place when we left--not like us to leave beer behind at all! We went to the expo for Humpy's Marathon because what would this vacation be without a marathon to cap it off?!?! Nothing like running a marathon with minimal training and after two weeks of an eating and drinking tour of Alaska. 🤷 Yelp reviews told us we could not miss Moose's Tooth Pizzeria so we carb loaded on pizza and craft beer before calling it a day.

Day 15: We ran Humpy's Marathon! It started out pr clear but then started pouring rain for most of the second half of the race. The course was OK, some parts ran along the water and there was a good stretch on the wooded path; we would have liked to have some wildlife spottings and apparently a moose crossed the course, but sadly we didn't see it. As I could have predicted, I had a slow second half (remember all the eating and drinking of the past two weeks?), and Sean broke free around mile 10 and got to the finish about 20 minutes ahead of me. All in all, I had low expectations for my finish time and achieved my goal of checking another state off the list! 

Side note: We used a babysitter from care.com who worked out really well.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and hanging with the kids. 

Day 16: For our last day in Anchorage we walked around downtown and checked out the visitor's center and some souvenir shops. We had lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse and the wildest thing happened--we were seated directly next to the brother of a friend from high school (thousands of miles away in central NY!) so of course we took selfies and traded tales of our trips, both of which were coming to end. We spent the rest of the day at the house doing laundry, and packing up for our return home. All good things must come to an end, sadly.😢

Day 17: Our flight was around 1 am so we headed to the airport in the late evening and then we were homeward bound!

They say this is a trip of a lifetime, and for many it probably is, but we had such an amazing time that there is no doubt we’ll be back to enjoy more of Alaska in the years to come.

National Parks - 3
Federally-run national forests, preserves, wildlife centers - 3
State parks - 3
Breweries - 8